Ian O’Connor and the rest of the seniors on the Cheverus/Yarmouth boys’ hockey team were freshmen when the two schools formed their co-op squad.
After a 5-3 win Saturday over Greely in a Class B South semifinal at Troubh Ice Arena, O’Connor clutched his sweater and pointed at the team’s crest, a shield highlighting the logos of both schools.
“This emblem on our jersey is starting to mean something,” said O’Connor, a team captain. “To be a part of that is unbelievable.”
With the win, top-seeded Cheverus/Yarmouth (16-2-2) advances to the regional final for the first time as a co-op team, and will face No. 2 Leavitt/Gray-New Gloucester/Oak Hill/Poland, which beat No. 3 York in overtime, 4-3.
No. 4 Greely ends the season at 13-7.
The Class B South final is Wednesday at Cross Insurance Arena.
Cheverus/Yarmouth took a 2-0 first-period lead on a pair of goals by senior Sam Bradford, who rejoined the team this season after a few years away from hockey.
“I’m just glad to be on the team and working hard. This is my last couple of games, and I really want to win,” Bradford said.
The game plan was to try to slow down Greely and prevent the Rangers from gaining speed through the neutral zone as they attacked, according to Cheverus/Yarmouth Coach Dave St. Pierre. Throughout most of the first period, St. Pierre’s team controlled the puck and buzzed around the Greely net.
In the second period, the Rangers found some offensive momentum. Lucas Martin cut the deficit to 2-1, then Charlie Moore scored at 7:37 to pull Greely within 3-2. Moore’s goal came just nine seconds after Lucas Soutuyo gave Cheverus/Yarmouth a 3-1 lead.
“We kept them outside, for the most part. They got through a couple times, but they’ve got some good players over there,” St. Pierre said.
A pair of goals by O’Connor, a defenseman, late in the second period gave Cheverus/Yarmouth a 5-2 cushion. O’Connor credited the forecheck of his teammates for getting him the puck and open looks at the net.
“I don’t score much. I just kind of put it on net,” O’Connor said.
Martin scored his second goal at 11:37 of the third to make it 5-3. The Rangers pulled goalie Will Klein (20 saves) with two minutes to play, but Greely could not get any closer.
“It was nice to be close a couple times, but obviously we couldn’t keep it tight enough long enough to maybe get that next one,” Greely Coach Barry Mothes said.
Ethan Tucker stopped 20 shots for Cheverus/Yarmouth.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.