LEWISTON — Yarmouth High made certain not to repeat last year’s disappointment, playing a thorough game of hockey Friday night to beat Kennebunk 5-1 in a Class B South boys’ semifinal at the Colisee.

Cooper May scored twice for Yarmouth. Walter Conrad and Patrick Grant also scored, and Christopher Romano added an empty-netter. Dan Latham made 17 saves.

Bo Beveridge scored and Spencer Desrochers recorded 31 saves for Kennebunk.

The top-seeded Clippers (15-4) moved on to the South title game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Colisee against the winner No. 2 Gardiner (14-4-1), which beat Cape Elizabeth 5-4 in the other semifinal.

Fifth-seeded Kennebunk is done at 10-9-1.

Last year Yarmouth came into the Colisee seeded No. 2, only to be upset by Gorham in overtime in the semifinals.

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“We’re still tasting that,” Yarmouth Coach David St. Pierre said.

These Clippers have their eye on the top prize and why not? Some of these same players were instrumental in Yarmouth’s soccer state title last fall.

“Two very different teams,” said Grant, who scored the winner in the Clippers’ state soccer title game. “But we have the guys who know how to win playoff games.”

Having Grant and Conrad (a captain on both teams, along with Grant) helps.

“Character guys. Heart and soul guys. Talented guys,” St. Pierre said.

“They pick us up.”

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Conrad did the picking up early Friday. After Kennebunk carried the play for the first minutes, Conrad, a solid two-way defenseman, pushed the puck by two Kennebunk players.

Conrad shot from the slot. It was blocked and Conrad swatted in the rebound at 3:16 of the first period. Grant and Romano assisted on the play.

“One of the things we talked about was trying to get on them quick,” Conrad said. “Just get the puck on the net and hope for good stuff to happen.”

Less than four minutes later, May redirected an Owen Ramsay slap shot for a 2-0 lead at 7:05.

In the second period, Grant scored at 10:18 on a screened shot, assisted by Romano.

Kennebunk was getting shots, with Beveridge and James Ross creating solid opportunities, but the Rams trailed 3-0 after two periods.

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“We had our chances to score and we didn’t bury them,” Kennebunk Coach Sean Smith said. “(Latham) is a good goalie. We rode him hard. He made some timely stops.

“Get another goal or two, momentum changes and it could be a different outcome.”

But Latham, a sophomore in his first season on the varsity team, “has been there for us all year,” St. Pierre said.

Beveridge put Kennebunk on the board 5:31 into the third period. Two minutes later the Rams went on their third power play but got nothing.

“We couldn’t capitalize and you have to do that against good teams,” Smith said.

May scored his second goal at 13:05 to seal it at 4-1.

May, a sophomore, has been unheralded because he missed the early part of the season, but he has 22 goals in the 11 games he’s played.

Not all the news was good for Yarmouth. Junior Anders Newberg, who played on the second defensive line, was ejected for fighting, along with Beveridge, and is ineligible for the rest of the playoffs.

Yarmouth has played Gardiner once, in the season opener, beating the Tigers 2-0.


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