Jared Wood, Carl Bear and Carter Landry combined for seven of Gorham’s goals in their 13-1 defeat of the Seagulls/Mustangs (call them “Sea Stangs”) Wednesday night, Jan 15. Six other Rams scored as well, including Jordan Ward, who bounced in the lead-sealing tally midway through the first.

The home-ice victory moves Gorham, second in Class B West, to 6-1 on the year. Massabesic/OOB, last in A West, drop to 0-8.

“The first thing I wanted to do was get off to a good start,” said Gorham head coach Jon Portwine. “Our last game out, against Bonny Eagle, we really didn’t play very well in the first period, so I wanted the boys to dump the puck and chase and forecheck really hard and play within the system. They did that; I was happy with that.”

The Rams controlled play throughout the game, keeping the puck in the Sea Stangs’ zone for long stretches, working it ably from the points to the corners and through the defense into the slot. Massabesic/OOB managed to thwart that attack for much of the first period, but eight and a half minutes in, their resistance faltered.

Bear lit the lamp first – shorthanded and unassisted, no less – when he picked up the biscuit near the point, squeezed between the Sea Stangs’ defenders and pushed a goal past pipes-minder Craig Finley. 1-0.

About 45 seconds later, Ward repeated the feat on assists by Dylan Turner and Willy Baxter. Wrapped in a scramble close on Finley’s left side, Ward chopped the puck off the ice; it jumped over Finley’s shoulder, bulging the twine for 2-0.

“I kind of knew what to expect coming in,” Portwine said. “I knew that we would be able to handle the puck – for the most part – and control the flow of the game. I just wanted us to play at a high level.”

Gorham went further up when Shawn Sullivan picked up a puck knocked out front of Finley from behind the net. Sullivan dished prettily, whirling while passing backhanded through the crease to Wood, who redirected and gave his team a 3-0 lead.

With just under four minutes to play, Massabesic/OOB did, in fact, get on the board – a Michael Crowley assist on a Brandon Roy punch past Gorham goalie Griffin Germond – but it would be the Sea Stangs’ lone offensive highlight of the night.

By the final buzzer, Wood had notched two more (the first assisted by Tucker Buteau, the second unassisted) and Bear another (from Ward); Landry (from Buteau to open the third, and Sullivan to close it) had two.

“We moved on to the second period,” Portwine said, “and I told them to move the puck and pass the puck a lot. I think, at the end of the game, you saw a lot of it – it didn’t happen right away. But it was good; I was happy with the way things went.”

Turner (unassisted), Buteau (Sullivan and Turner), Matt Anderson (Michael Chapin and Drew Eid), Sullivan (Andrew Schmidt) and Travis Mansir (Landry, Anderson) each had one goal.

“My second line, I just put together,” Portwine said. “So I was looking for chemistry from them. At the end of the game, they picked it up: just a lot of familiarity with each other.” Bear, Ward and Mansir comprise the Rams’ second line.

Finley faced 41 shots Wednesday night, and saved 28. Germond faced six, and saved five.

Gorham hosts Cape Elizabeth (1-6-1) on the 20th and Greely on the 25th.

Massabesic/OOB, on the other hand, have a long stretch off; they don’t play again until the 25th, when they travel to Kennebunk (5-2-1).

Massabesic/OOB’s Eryca Leclerc (an OOB freshman) lines up prior to a faceoff.Sea Stangs goalie Craig Finley fends off Gorham’s Austin Violette Wednesday night. Finley faced a barrage of shots in the game, 41 all told; he saved 28.Jared Wood of Gorham and Nick Vigue of Massabesic/OOB vie for the puck deep in the Sea Stangs’ zone Wednesday night. Wood had a hat trick in the Rams’ 13-1 victory.Massabesic/OOB freshman Jacob Picard shows no fear in putting the hit on his much larger opponent, Gorham junior Andrew Schmidt.Old Orchard Beach junior Caleb Grenier plays cautious defense against Gorham Wednesday night.Massabesic’s Michael Crowley pushes forward on the attack.Gorham junior Travis Mansir carries the puck along the boards Wednesday night, haranged by poke-checking Sea Stang Brandon Roy.Gorham’s Carl Bear harasses Massabesic’s Brandon Roy.Rams senior Dylan Turner cuts through the neutral zone, stick readied to receive the puck.Justin Crowley of Massabesic guards his goalie against Gorham incursions Wednesday night.Gorham’s Jared Wood flips the puck past Massabesic defender Tim King.OOB freshman Joey McCullum pushes along the boards, Gorham freshman Carter Landry hot on his heels.In third-period action, Tucker Buteau, of Gorham, assists teammate Carter Landry for a goal.