Perpetual threat Hannah Bosworth hashed two goals for Cape Elizabeth/South Portland/Waynflete on the road vs. Gorham/Bonny Eagle/Massabesic Friday night, Jan. 29, leading her team to an eventual 4-2 victory.

No. 5 CE/SP/W jumped to 6-12 on the result. The No. 8 Rams dropped to 0-18.

“We wanted to win this game,” said CE/SP/W head coach Bob Mills. “We wanted to have a good showing for going into the playoffs, and they did.”

The action unfolded fairly evenly to start; neither squad held a clear advantage over the other. For the Rams, who’ve struggled all year, keeping pace with CE/SP/W boded extremely well; perhaps tonight, they might get in the win column – and against a strong outfit, no less.

The Rams turned some big chances early; if CE/SP/W netminder Abby Joy hadn’t been atop her game, her squad might’ve fallen behind.

They didn’t, though, and in fact surged ahead with a pair of goals in the waning minutes of the first period. Kate Ginder fed to Bosworth for the 1-0 notch at 6:07, and Bosworth and Laura Baginski returned the favor on a powerplay around 3:30, assisting Ginder for 2-0.

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Mills described his team’s headspace of late. “Mentally, we’re doing well. They’re in a good mindset right now.”

The Rams battled admirably back in the second. Isis Adams pulled a two-minute tripping minor for the team early, but her girls killed it off, and the moment she jumped out of the box and her skate blades hit the ice, she plunged into the fray, a scramble at Joy’s feet. There, she picked up a loose puck and shoveled it home for 2-1. Maddi Russell earned the assist.

Then, with 4:58 remaining, the Rams leveled the score at two-all. Jordan Currier’s shot from the high slot looked like it might sail wide-left, but in reality it slipped past Joy and in. Russell earned that assist as well.

Plagued with recent injuries, CE/SP/W featured a short bench for the bout – much shorter than the Rams did. No doubt their higher headcount proved a lucky circumstance for the home team, who likely tired less rapidly than their guests; perhaps it even helped the Rams balance the board.

“We’re really short, got a lot of injuries, a couple players who are sick this week,” Mills said. “I thought [the girls] played very well, considering the numbers we had.”

Beat up or not, CE/SP/W soon surged back. When Ram Mary Adams drew two minutes in the box with just 25 seconds to play before the break, Bosworth quickly capitalized, grabbing a whiffed-on Rams’ attempt to ice the puck from the neutral zone and dashing in toward goalie Ally Johnson. Bosworth split the defense and beat Johnson one-on-one for 3-2.

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Baginksi capped the scoring with 9:25 to play in the third, when Ginder shoveled the puck inward to her from the left side for a quick redirect past Johnson and 4-2, the final.

“It was close, going into the third period,” Mills said. “They talked to themselves in the locker room, just said, ‘We need to come out and play aggressively,’ and they did, and got the win.”

CE/SP/W traveled to No. 4 York (9-9) on Wednesday the 3rd for the tourney quarterfinals; the winner of that bout will face first-place Scarborough in the semis.

CE/SP/W’s Laura Baginski (12) and Hannah Bosworth (18) converge on G/BE/M goalie Ally Johnson.CE/SP/W’s Sophie Miller carries the puck along the boards.CE/SP/W’s Kate Ginder drives forward on the attack at G/BE/M on Friday night.


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