BRUNSWICK’S JEN MACHIN (7, above) carries the puck while being chased by Greely’s Halley Taylor (15) during the Eastern Regional high school girls hockey final at the Portland Ice Arena on Wednesday. Machin scored on the play, but her Dragons fell 7-2. In the photo at the top of the page, Dragons forward Eliza Brooks battles with Greely’s Etta Copenhagen for this faceoff.
Greely scored three powerplay goals on four chances, plus added a short-handed goal. Three third-period, evenstrength tallies closed out the scoring for the No. 2 Rangers, who improved to 15-5, including three victories over the Dragons.
“We psyched ourselves out the first time we played them (a 5-1 Brunswick loss), and I don’t think we ever came back against them after that,” said Brunswick defenseman Caroline Wild, who played her final game along with seniors Annie Kelly, Alexa Rivers, Kate Bernier, Suzannah Smith and Sarah Thibeault. “They forechecked with three people and it was always hard for us to get past that.”
A big goal
The turning point came late in the second period.
Brunswick, which cut a 3-0 lead to 3-2 on goals by Jen Machin and Gillian Ford, had a golden chance to tie the game. Rachel Moroney broke in alone on Greely goaltender Emma Seymour (21 saves), who made the save. Moroney tumbled to the ice, clutching her stomach.
During the injury timeout, Brunswick coach Bill Bodwell was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct, giving the Rangers a two-minute power play, which they cashed in on when CC Hodgkins put home a rebound of a shot from Halley Taylor for a 4-2 Greely lead.
“We had some inconsistent officiating during the tournament,” said Bodwell. “However, it was a great year, and the girls were very supportive of each other. They got along so well, and that was a big part of our success.”
“Tonight we got a couple of bounces early that went our way, whether it was us getting a goal or them narrowly missing one,” said Greely coach Nate Guerin, who was missing top scorers Paige Tuller (sickness) and Meg Finlay (injury). “For whatever reason, when it seemed they had some momentum we were able to fend them off and get right back on top.”
Greely jumped on top with two power-play markers in the first period. Moroney was whistled for a body check, and Sarah Kurland scored her first of three goals when she tipped a shot from defenseman Mary Morrison past Brunswick netminder Claire Mendes at 10:37.
Moments later, Moroney went back to the penalty box, and again Greely scored as Chelsey Andrews’ wrister from the blue line beat a screened Mendes for a 2-0 edge with 2:06 remaining in the opening frame.
“The power play has not been great for us lately, so it’s nice to have some success there,” said Guerin. “We told the girls the power play is not a two-minute vacation, so we have to step up when we get those chances, and we did that tonight.”
“Brunswick is a really good team and a goal for us was to beat them,” said Kurland, who made it 3-0 at 1:08 of the second period when she stole the puck behind the Brunswick net and scored inside the near post for a shorthanded goal. “We worked as a team. Our passes were connecting and our energy was really good. It was a fun game to play.”
The Dragons crept back into the game. Machin stole the puck at her own blue line and darted for the Greely net. Her shot found a hole in Seymour’s pads before just slipping past the goal line to get Brunswick on the board.
Seven minutes later, Ford’s hustle negated an icing call. Eliza Brooks grabbed the loose puck and found Ford in front of the net to get the Dragons to 3-2.
But, Hodgkins’ power-play goal with 1:36 remaining in the middle frame gave Greely the 4-2 edge through 30 minutes, and Etta Copenhagen scored a pair of goals 1: 41 apart before Kurland completed her hat trick. Taylor added two more assists in the period to give her three helpers.
Mendes turned aside 26 shots before being relieved by Erin Gay, who made five stops. Greely held a 38-23 shot advantage.
No. 2 Greely 7, No. 1 Brunswick 2
Eastern Regional Final
At Portland Ice Arena
Greely — 223 — 7
Brunswick — 020 — 2
First period — 1. (G) Sarah Kurland ( Mary Morrison), pp, 10: 37; 2. ( G) Chelsey Andrews (Mary Morrison, Etta Copenhagen), pp, 12:54.
Second period — 3. (G) Sarah Kurland, sh, 1:08; 4. (B) Jen Machin (Caroline Wild), 4:36; 5. (B) Gillian Ford (Eliza Brooks), 11:28; 6. (G) CC Hodgkins (Halley Taylor), pp, 13:24.
Third period — 7. (G) Etta Copenhagen, 7:24; 8. (G) Etta Copenhagen (Halley Taylor), 9:05; 9. (G) Sarah Kurland (Halley Taylor), 9:31.
Shots on goal — (G) 12-11-15 — 38; (B) 10-8-5 — 23.
Saves — (G) Emma Seymour 21; (B) Claire Mendes 26, Erin Gay 5.
Power play — Greely 3-4; Brunswick 0-2.
Records — Greely 15-5, Brunswick 15-4-1.
Next — The Rangers take on Western champ Falmouth on Saturday in Lewiston, 7 p.m.; Brunswick’s season is completed.
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