AUBURN

The new theory in Maine high school hockey has become that two, three or even four schools will pull their resources together to put together a squad.

There are still the traditional stand-alone teams — Lewiston, St. Dom’s, Bangor, Brunswick, Waterville — but each year more and more programs are finding the going a bit easier, along with finding the tough-to-find ice time, by putting a handful of squads together to form one team.

On Wednesday at Norway Savings Bank Arena, the three-school cooperative team of South Portland/ Freeport/Waynflete visited the four-squad co-op of Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester in a Class A matchup.

The visiting Red Riots were able to battle back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie with the home-standing Kings in a penalty-filled, chippy contest.

For Red Riots coach Joe Robinson, in his 10th year behind his team’s bench, working with Freeport and Waynflete athletes has been easy.

“It hasn’t been difficult and has been a very thankful thing from the get-go,” said the coach. “They all get along and it has been awesome. This is my 10th year coaching the program and my staff has set the tone and the culture. It has been a much easier transition than people might have thought.”

“This has been great playing with this team, and us players from these different towns really get along together well,” said Red Riots freshman forward Deven Hannan of Freeport.

Early deficit

The opening period flew by with both teams earning solid scoring chances. It was the hosts that scored first as Kings center Theo Mahaleris cleanly won a face-off to linemate Drake Goupil, whose wrist shot beat Red Riots goaltender Joe Grant to the glove side for a 1-0 lead.

The Red Riots failed to take advantage of a four-minute power play early in the frame, and a major penalty gave the visitors a five-minute power play as the first period came to a close.

South Portland/Freeport/ Waynflete again struggled on the power play and a penalty ended the man advantage.

Skating four-on-four, the Kings grabbed a 2-0 lead as Garrett Derocher hauled in a lead pass from Taylor Scribner and slipped a shot past Grant.

The second frame turned into a chippy affair. After most whistles, players on both sides battled it out, with several matching penalties called.

A Red Riots goal by Max Winson off assists from Aidan Schifano and Caleb Rowland at 9:48 of the period made for a 2-1 contest.

The power play continued to be an issue for the visitors, who went scoreless on seven man-up opportunities.

Late in the second period, the Kings earned their first power play and took advantage, with defenseman Lucas Perry skating in and slipping a shot into the cage with three seconds left in the frame for a 3-1 lead.

“Last game against Brunswick (a 4-1 win), we had success on the power play, but tonight we had trouble,” said Robinson, whose team finished 0-for-7 on the power play. “We let up that goal with three seconds left. We knew that we had the skill, we just had to have the heart.”

“We were frustrated. They were out-manning us, and that is why they were up 3- 1,” said Hannan.

The turning point in the contest came early in third period. Mitchell Adams stole a pass and fired a shot on Kings goaltender Ashton Dozois (28 saves). The rebound found the stick of Hannan, who made no mistake to get the Red Riots within a goal just 1:16 into the frame.

“That was a big moment for us,” said Hannan. “Coach talked to us after the second period about getting going right away and we were able to do that. That goal kept us going.”

The Red Riots kept coming, putting seven shots on Dozois’ goal. With 1:33 remaining in regulation, Rowland slipped in the tying goal to send the teams to an eight-minute overtime.

“We finally came and battled in the third, and if we would have played that way all the way through we would have come out with the W,” said Robinson. “Deven’s goal was huge, especially after we had to play catch-up the entire time.”

In overtime, the Kings took over, putting 12 shots on Grant. But, the senior goaltender stopped them all, making 37 saves in all.

South Portland/Freeport/ Waynflete returns to action on Friday, facing Thornton Academy at Biddeford Ice Arena at 3:50 p.m.

Red Riots 3, Kings 3

At Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn

Red		Riots	—0	1	2	0	—	3
Kings		—	1	2	0	0	—	3

First period — 1. (K) Drake Goupil (Theo Mahaleris), 9:00. Penalties — (K) Brandon Michaud, cross-checking, double minor, 4:41; (K) Drake Goupil, major hit to the head, 14:35. Second period — 2. (K) Garrett Derocher (Taylor Scribner), 2:30; 3. (RR) Max Winson (Aidan Schifano, Caleb Rowland), 9:48; 4. (K) Lucas Perry, ppg, 14:57. Penalties — (RR) Gus Lappin, hit to the head minor, 1:56; (RR) Aidan Schifano, roughing, 4:45; (K) Brandon Pelton, roughing, 4:45; (K) Taylor Scribner, crosschecking, 6:32; (RR) Deven Hannon, unsportsmanlike conduct, 11:20; (K) Julian Clements, unsportsmanlike conduct, 11:20; (RR) Gus Lappin, cross-checking, 14:06. Third period — 4. (RR) Deven Hannan (Mitchell Adams), 1:16; 5. (RR) Caleb Rowland (Aidan Schifano), 13:27. Penalties — (RR) Max Winson, hooking, 2:48; (K) Brandon Michaud, hooking, 8:48. Overtime — No scoring. Penalties — (K) Hunter Soucy, unsportsmanlike conduct, 4:04; (K) Lucas Perry, elbowing major, 8:00. Shots on goal — (RR) 11-11-7-2-31; (K) 12-8-8-12-40. Saves — (RR) Joe Grant 37; (K) Ashton Dozois 28. Power play opportunities — Red Riots 0-7; Kings 1-2. Records — Red Riots 1-1-1; Kings 1- 0-1. Up next for the Red Riots — Friday at Thornton Academy, 3:50 p.m. at Biddeford Ice Arena.