LEWISTON — He was the one player that Yarmouth High did not want to see with the puck.

Waterville High defenseman Andrew Roderigue has practiced his slap shot for years in his backyard rink, and it shows.

Roderigue unloaded a missile in the second overtime, over the goalie’s blocker and inside the far post. That goal gave the Panthers a 3-2 win over Yarmouth in the Class B boys’ hockey state championship game Saturday afternoon at the Colisee.

The win capped a comeback from a 2-0 deficit. The Panthers tied it at 6:38 of the third period and won it 5:13 into the second overtime.

On the winning goal, Nicholas Denis won a faceoff back to Matt Jolicoeur, who crossed it over to Roderigue.

“Andrew always does a lot of things well for us,” Waterville Coach Dennis Martin said. “And his shot is pretty darn good.”

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It was the first Class B state title for Waterville (19-1-1), which had won 20 Class A championships, the last coming in 2008.

Yarmouth, looking for its first state title in 14 years, finished at 16-5.

Pat Grant and Noah Grondin scored for Yarmouth. Dan Latham made 26 saves, several of them Grade-A efforts against a potent Panthers attack.

“He was amazing,” said Roderigue, who took several shots.

Michael Bolduc and Cooper Hart were the other goal scorers for the Panthers. Nathan Pinnette made 25 saves.

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“Even as a coach having to go through (a loss), that was a fun hockey game to watch,” Yarmouth Coach David St. Pierre said.

The two teams met once during the regular season, with Waterville erasing a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 victory on Jan. 9. Saturday’s game was even more competitive.

“It was a good battle,” Grondin said. “It was going to take a 45-minute effort. And they pushed it to extras.”

In the first period, Waterville dominated in terms of possession but Yarmouth was more opportunistic. On a Waterville power play, Walter Conrad blocked a shot and took off on a rush, passing to Grant. Grant got it back to Conrad, whose shot was stopped, but Grant stuffed in the rebound for a short-handed goal 6:15 into the game.

Waterville then resumed control of the play, but Grondin got possession and skated into the high slot. He unleashed a laser under the crossbar for a 2-0 lead at 11:55.

“That’s the way it goes,” Martin said. “I told my players to keep working and the bounces would go our way.”

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Roderigue skated deep into the left circle. He crossed a pass to Bolduc, who one-timed it in at 12:43.

In the second period, the Panthers got fewer chances – although Roderigue fired in some shots that Latham got a pad on.

“Dan did everything he could for us today,” St. Pierre said.

The Clippers drew two penalties near the end of the period – earning a five-on-three advantage for 91 seconds.

Those penalties carried over to the third period, but Waterville killed them.

“We had a good opportunity there,” St. Pierre said.

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“Credit Waterville on the penalty kill. They were aggressive when they had to be.”

The Panthers tied the game at 6:38. Latham made a great skate save on a Roderigue blast, but Hart gathered the rebound and fired it in.

In overtime, Yarmouth’s best chance came on a Conrad blast that was stopped, as was Grant’s rebound try.

With Yarmouth playing without one of its top defensemen, Conrad was on the ice nearly the whole game, not taking a break after the second period. It limited his offensive charges, “but that was the style we had to play,” Conrad said.

The defense-first mentality almost worked. But Waterville rallied and then Roderigue and his explosive stick got a clear shot.


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