LEWISTON — The Yarmouth boys’ hockey team ran out of magic, and York made sure the Clippers wouldn’t pull off another playoff upset.
After beating No. 3 Cape Elizabeth 4-1 in a Class B South quarterfinal Monday, sixth-seeded Yarmouth had its hopes of a second-straight regional title stopped cold by No. 2 York, which took control early on its way to an 8-1 victory Friday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
The Wildcats (16-2-1), who hadn’t won a playoff game since 2012, will face No. 4 Greely in the regional final Wednesday at the Colisee.
“Sometimes, you go through a bit of a drought,” York Coach Jim Powers said. “This is a well-rounded squad right now.”
Yarmouth ended its season 8-11-1.
“Considering their success last year, we knew we had to give it our all,” York’s Jake Martin said. “This is new to all of us.”
York outshot Yarmouth 49-20. Martin, Andrew Bertolini and Jake Nelson each scored twice, and Dalton McCann and Julius Lundgren contributed a goal apiece.
“When you see guys giving up the puck and moving it – they’re not playing for themselves,” Powers said. “It’s harder to cover.”
York shut out Yarmouth 7-0 on Feb. 11. But the Clippers proved they shouldn’t be overlooked when they knocked off Cape Elizabeth, which tied York 4-4 in the final game of the regular season.
“We beat them earlier in the season, but that was one of our best games all year,” said York goalie Keenan Gamache. “They came out and beat Cape, and we knew we were going to be in for something good.”
Yarmouth goalie Dan Latham, who made 34 saves in the quarterfinals, stopped 41 shots against York but couldn’t do much to slow the Wildcats’ onslaught.
“Dan has been a rock for us all year,” Yarmouth Coach David St. Pierre said. “But a good hockey team is going to break through eventually.”
York outshot the Clippers 21-5 in the opening period. Bertolini turned a McCann pass into a goal with 7:45 left in the first. Martin made it 2-0 less than four minutes later, with an assist from Spencer Pickett during a power play.
The Wildcats added three goals in the second period.
Nelson found the back of the net after a pass from Max Pickett less than three minutes into the period, and Lundgren scored from Joe Graziano two minutes later. McCann extended York’s lead with 4:31 left in the period by putting away the rebound of a Tom Carr shot.
Bertolini scored his second goal early in the third, assisted by Carr and McCann. Martin then notched an unassisted goal before Bennett Travers put the Clippers on the board with 4:40 remaining, on an Owen Ramsay assist.
Nelson recorded a power-play goal with 55.6 left, assisted by Henry McCaddin and Graziano.
“It was nice to see we didn’t quit,” St. Pierre said. “I’m proud of the fact we made it to this point. Last year, we made a good run, and this year we ran into a good team. Hats off to them.”
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