PORTLAND – Defenseman Megan Fortier could not be contained and goalie Kirsten Mazur was on her game Wednesday as Falmouth beat York 4-0 in the girls’ hockey Western regional final at the Portland Ice Arena.
Top-seeded Falmouth (19-1) moved on to the state final against Greely at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lewiston.
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York (13-4-3) was the defending West champion.
Fortier led Falmouth with three goals. Jayde Bazinet added a goal and an assist.
The Wildcats played a tight defense, especially against Fortier, but one of the results was seven penalties against York, five committed against Fortier.
The Yachtsmen converted two of those power plays.
Throughout the game, Fortier and Falmouth kept attacking.
“We talked about it before the game, about not getting frustrated,” Fortier said of York’s special defense. “The whole team kept our composure.”
On the other end of the ice, York was outshooting Falmouth, 20-19.
“We just couldn’t put it in the net,” York defenseman Julia Hird said. “But I thought we played a good game, a team effort. Just didn’t go our way.”
York kept the shots coming but Mazur, a 5-foot sophomore in her first year as a starter, stayed in position.
“She did a great job,” defenseman Monica Aaskov said. “She doesn’t fill up a lot of the net but she does well.”
Mazur stopped a break-away early. Then Fortier gave Falmouth a 1-0 lead at 7:29 of the first period, driving to the left circle and roofing a shot. Abby Payson assisted.
Falmouth made it 2-0 on its second power play, with Bazinet stuffing in a goal at 12:23. Maddy McConnell and Lucy Meyer assisted.
“We came out fast and set the tone early,” Fortier said.
Fortier’s power-play goal in the second period made it 3-0 (assists by Aaskov and Gabby St. Angelo).
Fortier completed the hat trick in the third period, rebounding her own shot at 13:41. Samantha Welch and Bazinet had the assists.
York’s defense often focuses on an opponent’s top player, which meant a shadow on Fortier the whole game.
“That was our strategy going in,” Hird said. “We’ve done well with it in the past.”
Falmouth Coach Rob Carrier didn’t want his team doing anything different against the Wildcats.
“We talked about not getting out of our element,” he said. “Just being disciplined was the key to our success.”
Other keys included Fortier, Mazur and a defensive effort that stymied York.
“We were pretty much working on getting their good scorers to skate to the outside,” Carrier said. “We really wanted to contest their shots.
“Now we have one more.”
Falmouth defeated Greely twice in the regular season, both by 4-1 scores, the last one on Jan. 30.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: KevinThomasPPH
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