High school is all about education, but some lessons are more painful than others.

The Brewer hockey team’s final exam comes at 1 p.m. Saturday, when the Witches play the Greely Rangers of Cumberland Center for the Class B state championship at the Colisee in Lewiston.

This marks Brewer’s second straight trip to the state game, but this time the Witches hope to represent themselves better than when last year’s title quest was lost amid 19 penalties and three ejections, a breakdown of epic proportions for a championship contest.

“It was totally discipline,” said senior captain Devin Fitzpatrick of the 4-2 loss to Cape Elizabeth.

“We went down and played stupid. We got too jacked up for a game that didn’t turn out like it was cracked up to be,” Fitzpatrick added. “I don’t think we went down there and got beat by a better hockey team or got beat on the ice. I think we killed ourselves in the penalty box.”

The aftermath of that defeat produced considerable self-assessment within the program, and ultimately a commitment to a more tempered approach to a most aggressive sport.

Credit that to the players and new coach Bill Schwarz, a former Marine known as a disciplinarian during his long coaching tenure, which included a previous stop in Brewer.

“We’ve harped all year on staying out of the penalty box because that makes this team that much better,” he said. “Self-control, not taking stupid penalties, not back-talking anybody, just going out and playing the game and letting the puck go where it goes. We have players who can do that and be successful, but we have to stay out of the penalty box and play under self-control.”

No doubt reinforcing that approach involved some tough love.

“Coach Schwarz came in and everyone looked at him as a disciplinarian,” said Fitzpatrick, “and I think that made us behave. He came in and just put the iron fist to us. He said if you’re going to disobey me and not play by the rules, you can sit on the bench.”

Brewer is 20-3 entering Saturday’s game, and the penalties have been held in check for the most part. The Witches drew just three minors in Wednesday’s 8-0 victory over Presque Isle in the regional final.

“They’re pretty smart kids,” said Schwarz. “I was looking at the honor roll the other day, and a lot of these kids are on the honor roll. I just think it needs to be reinforced every day. At practice, every game, every shift on the ice, we tell them ‘self-control, self-control.'”

“They’ve done a pretty good job overall this year,” Schwarz added. “We’ve had some breakdowns here and there, but they’re kids and that’s going to happen. They’ve continued to play hard, though, that’s the big thing.”

That hard work has led Brewer back to the brink of a state title. This time, the Witches plan to finish that title quest not in the penalty box but at center ice.

“We’re looking to play hockey, we’re not looking just to take somebody’s head off,” said Fitzpatrick. “I think last season a lot of times we might have been looking to intimidate a team by throwing our bodies around in the first period. There have been a couple of rule changes to cut down on physical play, and I think the team we have now knows when to lay a hit and when to step back and play the game.”

Ernie Clark may be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or at eclark@bangordailynews.net.