PORTLAND – Megan Fortier was fed up. This was not going to be the game her Falmouth girls’ hockey team would lose to Portland/Deering. Not now. Not in their Western semifinal Saturday at Portland Ice Arena.

With the score 2-2 early in the second period, Fortier scored twice and had an assist in a seven-minute span to lead Falmouth to a 6-3 victory.

Fortier finished with four goals and an assist as Falmouth (18-1) moved to the final against York.

But the Yachtsmen certainly got a scare from Portland/Deering (10-10). After Raechel Allen scored 18 seconds into the second period to make it 2-2, Fortier responded 42 seconds later, unassisted. Then she fed Jayde Bazinet to make it 4-2, and scored unassisted again at 7:14 of the third.

“She’s the focal point of this team,” Falmouth Coach Rob Carrier said. “She demands so much of (the other team’s) attention, she gets so much respect, that she’s able to take advantage of it and find somebody who’s open. It almost makes it difficult for us to not get caught up in watching her play.”

She’s certainly on the ice a lot.

Advertisement

Fortier, a defender, was on the ice to start the third period. Due to penalties and a Portland/Deering goal that made it 5-3, she didn’t step off until 6:38 was left.

“It’s pretty common for me to skate a lot. I don’t know about skating that much,” Fortier said. “I was a little tired. I knew everybody was giving everything they had, so I just had to push through it.”

Not that her teammates seemed to miss her. Monica Aaskov, another senior defender, scored with 5:57 left to pull Falmouth out of the danger zone.

Credit Portland/Deering just for making it close after losing to Falmouth 9-1 and 8-4 in the regular season.

With the score 2-2 in the second period, Coach Courtney Rideout had about 42 seconds to feel excited.

“I was really pumped,” she said. “I thought we were in this, then the puck goes the other way and we lost momentum. It was one of those games. A couple of pucks bounce (wrong) and it’s a different game.”

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.