GORHAM — South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete entered a matchup with Windham/Westbrook needing a win.
The Red Riots had dropped their last two games, and currently sit in the seventh and final playoff spot in the Class A South Heal Point Standings.
The visitors put together a complete game at the University of Southern Maine Ice Arena Wednesday, skating to a commanding 9-0 win.
“This came at the right time,” said Red Riots coach Joe Robinson. “We definitely needed a win, but we needed a confidence booster in a way.”
South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete overwhelmed Windham/Westbrook with puck movement in the first period. Bradley McMains, Mitchell Adams and Deven Hannan combined for the opening goal. Quick passes in the offensive zone led to a tap-in goal for Hannan 3:47 into the game.
Gus Lappin extended the lead before the midway mark of the period. Lappin took the puck off the boards and cut to the front of the net, tucking a shot beyond the pad of goaltender Sean White.
McMains added the third goal on the power play, taking a pass from Adams and roofing a backhand shot with just over two minutes remaining in the first. Adams added another goal six seconds later, capping off a 4-0 period where the Red Riots outshot Windham/Westbrook, 11-4.
“I was just trying to tell them don’t change anything,” said Robinson. “You get tempted to kind of turn it into a pond hockey game, where everyone tries to score instead of staying to your gameplan, but I felt we did a pretty good job with that.”
The Red Riots stuck to the gameplan for five more goals in the second period. Lappin opened the scoring 1:59 into the period, ripping a shot off the crossbar and in. Under three minutes later, Lappin set up Hannan for his second of the game and a 6-0 lead.
Red Riots netminder Sebastian Couturier was given his best test of the game in the second period. Couturier made seven saves in the period to keep Windham/Westbrook off the scoreboard, including a pad stop on a Derek Corbett, who stole the puck behind the Red Riots’ cage, skated in front and released a hard shot.
“(Couturier) played well,” said Robinson. “This season we’ve been struggling in a lot of facets, but tonight goaltending, defense everything looked pretty good.”
Carter Dexter added his name to the scoresheet 5:15 into the second, taking a pass from Dylan Houle through the slot and beating Smith. The Windham/Westbrook keeper did his part to keep his team in the game, making some impressive saves as Red Riot pressure continued. Robinson was pleased with the way his team used the large Olympic-size ice surface at USM.
“There was a lot of nice cycling down low,” said Robinson. “There’s a lot of room here, but sometimes you don’t use that well. Tonight I thought we did.”
Anthony Panciocco and Josh Bourgoin broke through late in the period to cap off the scoring for the visitors. Bourgoin poked a rebound home just before the buzzer to give the Red Riots a 9-0 lead after two.
Couturier made four more saves in the third to preserve the 15-save shutout.
The Red Riots improved to 5-6 with the win, while Windham/Westbrook fell to 1-9. South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete hosts Thornton Academy tonight at 8 p.m. inside Troubh Arena, starting a stretch against three current playoff teams.
“Overall this season we haven’t been playing that great,” said Robinson. “We’re kind of underperforming. This was a good showing tonight, but we’ve got a tough schedule coming up here with Scarborough, Lewiston and Thornton Academy.”
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