Chelsea Barrett is one of those rare hockey players with the talent to tip the scales in her team’s favor at any given second. In the third period, the freshman forward broke loose from her opponents’ defensive grip Saturday afternoon to lead Scarborough to a 2-1 comeback victory against Gorham at USM.

The young skater was complemented by an experienced cast of seniors in giving the Red Storm a memorable finish to their final home game of the season.

“Barrett is a very talented player,” said Gorham coach Chris Bowring. “She’s an end-to-end player which makes it somewhat easy for us to contain her, because all we really need to do is put one of our girls on her.”

Containing Barrett is a lot like using a wall to block a hurricane; there’s really nothing to do but hope and withstand the storm.

The Rams’ strategy was successful throughout the first two periods. The Gorham defense centered their crosshairs on the freshman from the outset, forcing Barrett to pass the puck.

It was only a matter of time, however, until the forward seized the smallest opening for a breakaway and tied the game 1-1 with 7:54 remaining in the contest.

“(Barrett) has been such an asset to the team in many ways. She’s not only brought her own talent, but in the process she’s also brought it out of a lot of people,” said Scarborough coach Breanne Fortiguerra. “A lot of the girls this year have picked up their game and intensity because they all look up to her, even though she’s a freshman.”

The Gorham girls were the initial aggressors as the puck dropped to commence regulation. The Lady Rams made a persistent push toward the Scarborough net, choking the Red Storm defense into the center of the ice.

When a host of white jerseys converged toward the puck, a deflected shot was recovered by Gorham captain Becky Muller, who then slipped a wrist shot into the upper right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Rams outshot the Red Storm, 8-4, in the period, including a run of six shots in a row.

“Our goal was to get as many shots on net as we could,” said Bowring.

“”I think we came out a little weak,” said Fortiguerra. “Our first period is usually our hardest; it takes a while for the girls to get their feet under them.”

The momentum see-sawed in the second. While Gorham was still getting more shots on goal than Scarborough, Fortiguerra’s crew forced some scoring opportunities of their own. Neither squad was able to capitalize on the limited advantages that emerged.

“We had a lot of scoring opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of them,” said Muller.

Following Barrett’s goal in the third, Annie Bolton nailed a slap-shot from the left side of the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Gorham made a final desperate attack with under a minute remaining, but the Rams were denied repeatedly by Scarborough’s goaltender Sarah Mills.

In their final home game, seniors Jess Bolton, Brittany Heller, Annya Lounsbury, Eliza Timpson and Sarah Mills have etched a memory that will not soon be forgotten.

“(The seniors) are all so great, I’m going to miss them so much,” said Fortiguerra. “They’re such a great group of kids and I’ve been able to watch them grow into hockey players over these last four years.”

The girls hockey tournament is scheduled for March 1-4.

“I’m trying not to think too far ahead right now,” said Fortiguerra. “We’re going to take it one game at a time.”