BIDDEFORD— Thornton Academy set off on a rough start against Cheverus that did not get any easier Wednesday night at the Biddeford Ice Arena, and lost, 4-2.

Cheverus took an early start when Jesse Pierce scored a goal within the first five minutes of the first period. 

TA attempted retaliation, players Richard Martin, Noah Logan, and Noah Poulin making a loose formation around the Cheverus goal, seemingly poised to score as Logan circled from behind the relative safety of the Cheverus goal. Cheverus’ defense soon poked holes in that strategy and began a campaign of constantly hassling the TA offense. 

Echoes of, “we love Dube,” fell across the ice regularly, especially after TA’s goalie Seth Dube used both stick and body to block the goal.  Helping Dube by taking plays out of TA’s danger zone, Chandler Bilodeau flew through to do damage control. 

The rest of the first period saw rough handling and wide shots, as TA, inflamed, struggled against preventing Cheverus gaining any traction.

The second period started 1-0, Cheverus. The first ten minutes had all the appearance of a full-contact game of keepaway, until 5:24 when TA’s Evan Balzano scored with an assist from Chase Wescott.

35 seconds later, Cheverus’ Mike Hatch broke the tie immediately with an assist from Sean Walsh, bumping the Rams, 2-1.

To end the second period, TA’s Liam Nash and Cheverus’ Hatch fought against the wall, neither giving an inch in a vital window of time before either side could gain a decisive advantage. 

Cheverus gained ground four minutes into the third, when Ryan McSorley scored unassisted, 3-1. Eight minutes of collisions and high shots later, Thornton’s Luke Chessie scored off Spencer Bergeron’s rebound to set TA closer at 3-2 with 2:14 remaining.

Cheverus’ Colby Anton sent a puck into an untended goal for the last score of the game, 4-2 Cheverus.

“All we’re looking for right now with a young team is to get better every single time we’re out on the ice. We definitely took a step forward tonight. Putting a lot of new guys in a critical situation in a tight game against a very good opponent, they played a good game. I was proud of our effort in the end and not giving up there,” said TA head coach Jamie Gagnon.

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