LEWISTON — Tied 1-1 with 7:30 left in regulation, Greely/Gray-New Gloucester captain Courtney Sullivan would score the game-winner and another goal minutes later to secure the hat trick and lead the Rangers to the Maine girls hockey state title over Cheverus/Kennebunk on Saturday.
Sullivan capitalized on the Stags mistakes to add the final two goals. The first came on a defensive turnover and the other came when a Stag stick broke, essentially putting Cheverus/Kennebunk down a defender. All three of Sullivan’s goals were unassisted.
“She’s got the physical tools to make her effective. I thought we did a really good job against her for most of the night, we just got some really bad breaks,” said Cheverus/Kennebunk coach Scott Rousseau after the loss. “A broken stick turning into a breakaway in the biggest moment of the year is really unfortunate.”
Greely-GNG took control early in the contest. The two clubs were scoreless at the end of the first period, but the Rangers held a 6-3 shots on goal advantage.
Sullivan would finally break the tie and score under four minutes into the second to make it 1-0. However, Sophia Pompeo would answer 33 seconds later to tie the score at 1-1. Emma McCauley and Abby Lamontagne picked up assists on the play.
The two clubs battled until midway through the third period but the Stags could not hold on.
It was a defensive battle from the start, with the two teams combining for just 25 shots on goal. Rousseau was pleased with his team’s performance in front of the net.
“I mean look at the shot total. I think both teams played a really tight defensive game, they were evenly matched, the goaltenders played fine. We were tied 1-1 deep in the period and they got the break, we didn’t. It’s tough,” said Rousseau.
The Stags finish the year with a 19-2 overall record.
After finishing at just 9-9 and with an early playoff exit in 2016-17, Rousseau was proud of the programs’ progress this season.
“We were at 3-8 at one point (last season). We’ve come a lot farther a lot faster than I anticipated,” said Rousseau. “This has been the most enjoyable hockey season I’ve ever had — these girls are amazing competing out there everyday. It’s a tough way to end.”
The young Stags will now turn the page to next winter, and will try to replace a handful of their seniors, including goalie Anna Smith, who finished with 10 saves on Saturday.
“Anna was really good, she made a lot of great saves,” said Rousseau. “For a girl who didn’t play a meaningful hockey game until last season and to put up the year she did, she’s going to be difficult to replace.”
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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