GORHAM — Scarborough team advancing to the girls’ hockey Southern Maine semifinals isn’t exactly new.

But heading into that playoff game as an underdog is unfamiliar territory for the powerhouse squad which has reached the past five regional championships.

Make it one more step to six straight.

Lauren Topchik of Scarborough and Paige Boudreau of Biddeford try to control the puck in the third period.

Fourth-seeded Scarborough shut out No. 5 Biddeford/Thornton Academy/Wells 2-0 in the quarterfinal game on Tuesday at the University of Southern Maine. The Red Storm (9-9-1) will face No. 1 Cheverus/Kennebunk (17-1) on Saturday at the William B. Troubh Ice Arena for a shot at making it to their sixth straight Southern Maine final.

“Scarborough has dominated girls’ hockey, but Cheverus has a tremendous team,” said Scarborough Coach Caitlin Jordan, who took over the Red Storm’s program this season. “We’re going to work on our goal scoring and driving to the net. If we can just break through and get some pucks in the net, I think it will make a big difference just with morale.”

Jordan said scoring has been a bit of a challenge for the Red Storm this season, and that was the case against Biddeford. Scarborough controlled most of the game, outshooting the Tigers 34-6 despite the close score.

Trinity Atwater of Biddeford keeps her eye on the puck as Grace Murphy of Scarborough crashes into the goal in the first period.

Both teams had players who typically play forward in goal for them. Scarborough’s Ivy DiBiase finished with six saves, and Ailaina Keely made 32 for Biddeford (10-8-1).

“She kept them in that game tremendously,” Jordan said of Keely. “We’ve had scoring issues all season. We spend a lot of time in the offensive zone and don’t get many pucks in the net.”

The Red Storm got on the board 1:35 into the second period when Lucy Bogdanovich scored from Marielle Smith and Lauren Topchik. Keely stopped one shot before losing track of the puck, which Bogdanovich found on the goal line before tapping it between Keely’s legs for a 1-0 lead.

Scarborough outshot Biddeford 13-3 in the second, but the Tigers did create some chances late in the period. With 4:30 left, Raelin Boisvert nearly capitalized on a power play when she converted a cross into a hard shot on goal – Biddeford’s first of the period.

“We kind of focused our last few practices on our defensive-zone coverage, so typically when we do that, we expect to play a lot of defense,” said Biddeford Coach Adam Flynn, who is also a first-year coach for the Tigers. “We just started to pressure them more – that’s exactly what we talked about.”

Losing by such a close margin was somewhat of a feat for Biddeford, which fell to Scarborough 7-0 on Nov. 29.

Paige Spooner of Scarborough slaps the puck through the legs of Biddeford goalie Trinity Atwater as Carrie Timpson of Scarborough moves in the third period. Timpson finished the play to make it 2-0 despite the defensive effort of Jaigan Boudreau of Biddeford.

“That was early on in the year – we didn’t really have any established systems at that point,” Flynn said. “We’ve come a long way.”

Scarborough’s Caroline Timpson added an insurance goal 5:12 into the third, scoring off a Paige Spooner rebound after a scrum in front of the goal.

“I heard Paige’s voice so I passed it to her and then I skated to the net,” Timpson said. “We knew we really had to execute on rebounds at the end of the game.”

Execution will certainly be a priority against Cheverus, which swept Scarborough in the regular season by scores of 7-2 and 8-0.

“It’s different,” Bogdanovich said of Scarborough’s underdog status. “We just have to play our game and hopefully, this time, it turns out better.”

Taylor Vortherms can be contacted at 791-6417 or

tvortherms@pressherald.com

Twitter: TaylorVortherms

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