GORHAM – One minute.

It doesn’t seem like that much time, but on Monday afternoon, it was the difference that led the Cape Elizabeth boys hockey team (5-3) to their fifth straight win as they topped Gorham (2-5) 4-1 at the University of Southern Maine.

The Capers out shot the Rams 36-18, but had trouble getting the puck past Gorham goalie Nate Holloran for much of the game.

Except for that one-minute span.

After going down 1-0 on a goal by the Rams’ Spence Cowland at 4:30 of the first (Chris hardy and Eliot Gagne were credited with assists on the play), the Capers looked like they were in for a tough contest as they kept pelting Holloran with rubber, but couldn’t beat him.

Then, at the 10:10 mark of the first, the floodgates started to open for the Capers. Drew Grennon opened the scoring for Cape, getting the puck out in front and putting it home to tie things at one with assists from Matt Ross and Nick Breed.

Cape had just barely finished celebrating the goal when they struck again. Thirty seconds after Grennon connected, Breed beat Holloran to put Cape up on top 2-1. Will Bollenbach and Will Laprade were credited with assists on the play.

But Cape wasn’t done yet. Just over 30 seconds after Breed’s tally, Vinnie Dell’Aquila cam streaking across the blue line and put an absolute laser blast just inside the post by Holloran’s pad side to make it 3-1.

After the game, Cape Head Coach Bill LeBlond said his team had to adjust to playing on the large ice surface at USM, but once they did, he was happy with how they responded. “Playing on the big ice is different. I think Vin Dell’Aquila had a great game,” he said, adding that he thought that his goalie, Jake Rosenfield had a strong game between the pipes as well.

After Cape’s outburst, it seemed that the Capers were going to run the Rams right off the ice.

Not so fast.

Despite being out shot 29-8 through the first two periods, the Rams refused to let the game get away from them, with Holloran and the Gorham defense coming up with big stops time after time to keep things close.

LeBlond said that the Caper defense played a big role in keeping the Rams’ from getting shots on goal. “(Our) defensive zone coverage is working,” LeBlond said.

After a scoreless second period, it appeared that Gorham still had a chance to crawl back into the game, but Cape had other ideas. With 7:25 remaining in the game, the Capers drove the final nail into the Rams’ coffin when Grennon took a cross pass from Breed and put the puck through Holloran’s legs to make it 4-1. Ross was also credited with his second assist of the game on the play.

After the game, LeBlond said that the Capers were still a work in progress and had some tough tests ahead of them as they look to wrap up a playoff spot. “We’re moving along, but we’ve certainly got a long way to go,” he said. “We have a showdown with York on Thursday, we’re 2-3 in the league, it’s a big one for us, and for them.”

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