PORTLAND — Marc Halsted likens the hockey postseason to a title bout in boxing.
”The first day of the playoffs, at a 7:30 a.m. meeting, I told my team, ‘I’m going to punish you. This is boot camp. This is a heavyweight title fight. And you’ve got to get to the 12th round to win the fight,’” the Yarmouth coach said.
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The third-ranked Clippers took on the challenge and made the most of their collective strength in critical moments Saturday to earn a 3-1 win over No. 2 Camden Hills in a Western Class B semifinal at Portland Ice Arena.
Davis Brown broke a 1-1 tie with 6:19 remaining as Yarmouth scored three third-period goals to rally from an early deficit.
”We had two hard weeks of practice and our coach’s main goal was to condition us, to make sure that we were ready,” said Joey King, who scored Yarmouth’s other two goals. ”Coming out in that third period, we knew all we had to do was move our feet and pucks would find the back of the net.”
Yarmouth (10-9) will face No. 1 York or No. 4 Greely, the defending state champion, in the regional final at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Colisee in Lewiston. It’s Yarmouth’s first trip to a regional final since 2002 — the last time the Clippers won the state title.
”Our four seniors — Ian McGilp, Ethan Gray, Conor Costello, Steven Petrovek – went through a lot of tough times, a lot of disrespect, and a lot of people who did not believe in them,” said Halsted. ”But they battled. And guys like Scott Matusovich, Dave St. Pierre and the guys before us, I’m proud to make people remember those times. It’s a pretty special time for us.”
Jeffrey Jordan gave Camden Hills (14-5) a 1-0 lead just 1:38 into the game when he tipped William Orne’s shot from the left point past Yarmouth goalie Ethan Gray (18 saves).
King tied the game at 2:56 of the third, 12 seconds after Camden Hills killed off overlapping penalties to Jordan (boarding) and Max Mercier (interference).
Brown beat Jacob Filderman (35 saves) to give Yarmouth its first lead, and King added an empty-net goal.
”Their goalie was impressive in the last six-and-a-half minutes,” said Camden Hills Coach Karl Enroth. ”We got down 2-1 and it was desperation time, and he was solid in net. And Jacob Filderman played very well in the first two periods. There were some tough penalty-kill situations, but he was solid in net and both goalies played well.”
Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com
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