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BRUNSWICK — Who else would a Cheverus hockey team turn to when it needs a goal?

Senior forward Lucy Johnson scored three times Friday, including the eventual winner to give the Cheverus/Windham/Medomak girls’ hockey team a 4-3 win over Brunswick.

“It definitely felt good,” said Johnson, the state’s all-time leading scorer in field hockey. “I’ve been a little sick lately, so it felt good to come out stronger and lead the team to a good win.”

Two days removed from the Stags’ first loss of the season, Johnson opened the scoring 3:06 into the second by gathering the puck in transition, skating past one defender and slotting the puck past goalie Hensleigh LaBonte.

The Stags (4-1-1) took a 2-0 lead at 7:57 of the second period when freshman forward Jaylee Radford set up right in front of the goal and tipped in a pass from sophomore defender Grace Townsend. Thirty-four seconds later, Johnson scored her second goal.

“Coach was just telling us to move the puck a little faster and make sure we weren’t too hesitant to help each other out,” Johnson said. “Move with each other and move as a team so we could get those offensive opportunities.”

Despite the big deficit, Brunswick did not roll over.

At 12:43 of the second period, senior defender Lisi Palmer put the Dragons (4-1) on the board. Her knee-slide celebration energized the Brunswick bench and the home crowd at Watson Arena.

A power-play goal by junior Solveig Ledwick at 14:28, 21 seconds after Briella Doherty was called for a hook, brought the Dragons to within 3-2.

Midway through the third period, Brunswick senior forward Lauren Labbe tied it as she converted a pass from Gillian Countway after a faceoff.

Even as their lead disappeared, the two-time defending state champion Stags stayed composed.

“We have two choices,” Cheverus Coach Scott Rousseau said. “We can either get down in the dumps and cave, or we can find a way to dig deep and fight. I thought we responded right away, after (Brunswick’s third) goal, with some good shifts. We got some good territory time. We had some good cycles. Kind of built some momentum, shift after shift. And then I really thought after (Johnson’s third) goal, we played very well. … We didn’t sit on the lead. We defended with puck possession.”

Johnson netted the go-ahead goal at 10:36 after missing an initial shot. The puck was cycled back to her behind the net by linemate Ashley Cloutier, then she took back in front and completed her fourth hat trick of the season.

Brunswick had one last chance on a power play with 11 seconds remaining, but Cheverus goalie Ellie Skolnekovich held strong.

Dragons Coach Chris Ledwick didn’t think Brunswick’s 10-day break between games had a big impact on the final result, but more so a slow start that included not playing aggressively or cutting off passes on defense. Play improved as the game went on, but eventually it came down to the clock.

“Last year and the year before, I think that (Friday’s result) would have been a very big confidence booster for us,” Ledwick said. “This year, I think we really expect to win those games, so it’s a frustration. It feels like we let two points slip away to a team that we feel like we can skate with. We can beat anybody, any team in the state, but you got to skate with them for 45 minutes, not 27.”