BREWER – There were almost too many highlights to pick just one as THE highlight.

There was a hat trick from one player, a solid goaltending performance from another, an offensive onslaught that produced a 4-0 lead, and a defensive effort which killed nine power plays – one of which was a minute-long, two-man advantage…

But Brewer High School coach Bill Schwarz didn’t think too long about it when asked what the biggest development was in Brewer’s 5-1 victory over cross-town rival Bangor at T.J. Ryan Center Wednesday night.

“Oh, scoring the first two goals was huge. It gets into other teams’ heads,” said Schwarz, whose Witches improve to 2-1.

It seemed to get into both teams’ heads as the Witches parlayed that momentum into a convincing win despite holding a slight 27-23 shot advantage overall.

“They just worked harder than we did tonight,” said Bangor coach Ted Taylor. “It’s important to score first and we were kind of shocked after that first period.”

Taylor tried to settle down his 3-2 Rams during the first intermission, but Brewer’s third goal midway through the second period – the third of the game by junior forward and top scorer Dylan Fitzpatrick – pretty much gave Brewer the momentum for good.

“He had something to prove tonight. He walked around five guys on his last goal,” Taylor said.

Fitzpatrick credited his linemates for setting him up.

“Ryan [Nadeau] and Nick [Risser] set it up and got it in front,” Fitzpatrick said. “On the first one, Ryan threw it out and a Bangor player came out to get it, but Nick dove and kind of pushed it back and threw it right in front to me and I got the goalie sliding down.”

That was just 72 seconds into the game. His second goal came with 2:10 left in the first and it was all Fitzpatrick.

“I kind of saw on the faceoff that the centers weren’t really picking me up, so I just kind of chipped it through his feet, stepped around, picked it up and scored over his left shoulder,” he explained.

His third, with 7:32 left in the second, seemed to combine hockey and figure skating.

“I figured I’d try a few things, do a few spins, and it worked out,” said Fitzpatrick, who took a pass from Andrew Bush from the right side, moved from center to the left, spun around and slapped a hard shot into the net.

Risser made it 4-0 1:34 later when Lopez found him with a pass from the corner to the red line. Risser got to the top of the circle, tucked it between a defenseman’s legs, went around, and hit goalie Andrew Riley with a shot in the facemask that rolled over his head and into the net.

Nadeau scored Brewer’s last goal on a breakaway up the right side off assists from Fitzpatrick and Risser to make it 5-0 just 23 seconds into the third.

Sophomore goalie Eric White made 22 saves and his defensemen had a stellar game, not only killing a two-man Bangor advantage in the first, but keeping the Rams without a shot in that 56-second span.

“That was nerve-wracking to say the least, but we killed it and I think that really picked us up even more,” Risser said.

Bangor finally scored with 1:13 left as sophomore left wing Nate Lewis flipped a shot that deflected out by White into the net. Noah Frost was credited with an assist.

Riley made 17 saves on 22 shots before giving way to Zac Hamilton after Brewer scored its last goal. Hamilton made four saves on five shots.

Even only three games into the season, none of the Witches were downplaying this win.

“I think this is one of the biggest games we needed to win this year,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s already a rivalry game, but this really pumps us up.”

WITCHES 5, RAMS 1

Bangor (3-2) 0 0 1 – 1

Brewer (2-1) 2 2 1 – 5

First period – 1. Brewer, Fitzpatrick (Risser), 1:12; 2. Brewer, Fitzpatrick (unassisted) 12:50; Penalties: Brewer, Swett, roughing, 2:48; Bangor, C. Dionne, charging, 3:36; Brewer, Lopez, roughing, 8:39; Brewer, Helfen, cross-checking, 9:37; Brewer, Helfen, high-sticking, 13:26.

Second period – 3. Brewer, Fitzpatrick (Bush) 7:28; 4. Brewer, Risser (Lopez) 9:02. Penalties: Brewer, Kotredes, high-sticking, 1:19; Brewer, Helfen, interference, 5:22; Bangor, King, tripping; 7:55; Brewer, Fitzpatrick, tripping, 8:46.

Third period – 5. Brewer, Nadeau (Fitzpatrick, Risser) 0:23; 6. Bangor, Lewis (Frost) 13:47. Penalties: Brewer, Helfen, holding, 1:45; Brewer, Lopez, hooking, 3:56; Bangor, C. Dionne, interference, 4:16; Brewer, Helfen, hitting from behind, 5:20; Bangor, bench minor (served by S. Dionne), 5:20; Bangor, Knox, cross-checking and slashing, 7:32; Brewer, McNally, roughing, 14:22; Brewer, Kotredes, interference, 14:58.

Shots on goal: Bangor 9-7-7-23; Brewer 13-8-6-27

Goaltenders: Bangor, Riley (22 shots-17 saves), Hamilton (5-5); Brewer, White (23-22)

Power-play opportunities: Bangor 0 of 9; Brewer 0 of 4

Attendance: 250 (est.)