The Clippers – featuring girls from Yarmouth, Freeport and Gray-New Gloucester – controlled visiting St. Dom’s almost completely through three periods on Thursday evening, securing an easy 8-1 quarterfinals victory on the strength of multi-point performances by Katie Brown, Emily Johnson and others.

The Clippers’ win bumps them to 11-7-1 on the season. They entered the tournament ranked fourth in the East, behind No. 3 Greely (14-3-1), but ahead of the No. 5 Saints, who retire for the year at 7-12.

For Clippers head coach Jeff Haley, his girls’ performance Thursday evening was a vast improvement over the last time the teams met, back on Jan. 21. The Clippers won that matchup as well, 3-0, but their execution left something to be desired.

“We talked about the last time we played them,” Haley said. “We seemed to run around a little bit too much, not move the puck; tonight we changed that. We had to make sure we got the momentum early, and we did.”

From the get-go, the Clippers appeared firmly in control. They controlled the puck almost from the opening faceoff, and held the action in St. Dom’s end for long stretches. The Saints managed a couple of clears in the early going, but couldn’t manage to turn any of those into real breakaways, two-on-ones or three-on-twos; they simply couldn’t set anything up.

Brown quickly put the Clippers on top – just over three minutes in – when she scored out of a scramble in front of the Saints’ net; Johnson and Michelle Robichaud assisted on the goal. St. Dom’s held the Clippers silent for roughly the next nine minutes, but it didn’t matter; the Clippers’ next point was practically inevitable.

It came with 3:45 to play in the first period. Johnson and Brown reversed roles this time, Brown shoveling the puck across to Johnson, waiting on the left side of the St. Dom’s net for a redirect and 2-0.

“Any time we can contain them in their own defensive zone and not let them change – physically if you move the puck and get to where you need to be, you wear teams down, and that was our goal,” Haley said.

2-0 after 15 minutes may not seem like a huge margin, but given the grip the Clippers had on the play, the contest seemed already in the win column. St. Dom’s smattering of penalties made life on the ice even easier for the Clippers as the game whiled away: Keely Arnold assisted Katie Clemmer on a powerplay goal to make things 3-0 midway through the second, and five minutes into the third, Arnold notched a powerplay goal of her own, swelling the Clippers’ lead to 6-0.

Haley acknowledged that St. Dom’s short roster is wanting for depth, but added, “They’ve got some talented players on that team, and a strong goaltender. The future’s bright for that program.”

“I’m never going to underestimate any team that we play. If we can get them moving, numbers happen to be what they are,” Haley said. St. Dom’s low headcount meant they were liable to fatigue much more quickly than the Clippers.

St. Dom’s Alexa Kesaris did beat Clippers goalie Hannah Williams once – and what a pretty play it was. Williams stopped Kesaris’s first shot, low on the left side, but Kesaris rolled determinedly right, toeing the crease and carrying the puck until she found the space to chop it upwards, top corner. But with just over two minutes remaining, 8-1 was too little, and too late.

Haley stressed that puck movement was central to the team’s strategy and their win. “We absolutely wanted to move the puck,” he said. “I keep telling the girls, time and time again: One quick pass will beat two players, so we don’t have to run around and get tired.”

Brown finished with two goals and an assist for the Clippers; Johnson had a goal and three assists. Robichaud grabbed a goal and two assists, Arnold two goals and an assist, Colleen Sullivan a goal and two assists, Clemmer one goal and Jenny Holmquist one assist.

Johnson recently set a new team record for points in a career, with 97; at this juncture, she’s well over 100.

The Clippers will face No. 1 Lewiston (17-0-1) in the semifinals.

Katie Clemmer (Yarmouth) shoulders into a St. Dom’s opponent.Jenny Holmquist (Gray-New Gloucester) dashes up ice with the puck, ahead of a St. Dom’s defender.Emma Matusovich (Gray-New Gloucester) cuts through center ice in the Clippers’ 8-1 win over visiting St. Dom’s Thursday evening.The Clippers’ Emily Johnson (Freeport) recently set a new team record for points in a career, with 97; since then, she’s easily surpassed the 100 mark.