PORTLAND—You never know when an opportunity is going to present itself in a championship hockey game, so you better capitalize when it does.

Wednesday evening, in the Class B South Final at the Cross Insurance Arena, the second-seeded Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester Kings didn’t take advantage of their chances.

Top-ranked Cheverus/Yarmouth did.

And as a result, it will play for a state title for the first time.

Neither team could score in the first period, as Cheverus/Yarmouth sophomore goalie Ethan Tucker stopped 10 shots.

In the second period, Cheverus/Yarmouth went in front, when junior Owen Walsh scored at 3:23.

Cheverus/Yarmouth then killed a Kings’ power play and after Cheverus/Yarmouth went on the power play, Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester had a great chance to draw even short-handed, only to be robbed by Tucker, then with just 5 seconds on the clock, Cheverus/Yarmouth got some breathing room, when senior Andrew Cheever scored a power play goal.

In the third period, the Kings made things interesting, when senior Luke Gladu hit the post only to have senior Parker Pelletier put home the rebound with 3:42 to go, but after Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester pulled the goalie, the final break went Cheverus/Yarmouth’s way, as junior Quinn McCoy blocked a shot, then raced in for an empty net goal which produced a 3-1 victory.

Tucker stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced, three different players tickled the twine and Cheverus/Yarmouth won a regional title in its fourth season as a co-op, improved to 17-2-2, ended the best season in the history of the Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester co-op at 17-4, snapping the Kings’ 15-game win streak in the process, and advanced to the Class B state final to take on Camden Hills (15-6) Saturday at 1 p.m., at the Cross Insurance Arena.

“This group has come together and put it together at the right time,” Cheverus/Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre said. “It’s special. I’m proud of the culture we’ve developed. The boys deserve all of the credit.”

Teamwork

Cheverus and Yarmouth, longtime contenders in their own right, came together as a co-op team just in time for the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Two years ago, Cheverus/Yarmouth lost a five-overtime heartbreaker to eventual state champion Brunswick in the Class B South semifinals and last winter, it lost again to the eventual champion, to Cape Elizabeth in the semifinals.

This season, Cheverus/Yarmouth lost early to Greely and midway through the season to York and also tied Gorham and York but won its other 14 contests to earn the top seed in Class B South. After pulling away to blank No. 8 Mt. Ararat, 5-0, in the quarterfinals, Cheverus/Yarmouth downed No. 4 Greely, 5-3, in Saturday’s semifinals.

Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester formed as a co-op in 2016 and prior to this season had never won a playoff game, but after a 2-3 start to the regular season, a 13-game win streak to close gave the Kings the No. 2 seed for the tournament, where they eliminated No. 7 Kennebunk (10-1) in the quarterfinals and survived No. 3 York’s spirited comeback in a 4-3 overtime victory in Saturday’s semifinals. In that game, however, senior Will Keach, the top scorer in Class B South this year, suffered a knee injury and wouldn’t be available for the regional final.

Cheverus/Yarmouth swept the Kings during the regular season, winning both games by a 3-1 margin, but those meetings came before Christmas.

Wednesday, Cheverus/Yarmouth did it for a third time.

By the same exact score.

But it didn’t come easily.

Cheverus/Yarmouth had its share of trouble hanging on the puck and as a result, was on defense much of the first period, but Tucker kept the game scoreless.

Just 11 seconds in, after a Cheverus/Yarmouth turnover, Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester senior Hunter Bussiere shot just wide.

Cheverus/Yarmouth’s first shot came courtesy Cheever, but it was saved by Kings senior goalie Ian Guerin.

Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester then went back on the attack, but Tucker denied junior Breck Langevin on the doorstep, junior Brody Emond on a rush, Emond after a nice move, junior Isaac Ormberg and Bussiere.

At 6:45 of the first period, Cheverus/Yarmouth went on the power play, but the best scoring chance went to the Kings, as Emond raced in shorthanded only to be denied by Tucker.

As the penalty expired, sophomore Colby Carnes put a shot on goal for Cheverus/Yarmouth, but Guerin made the stop.

After Guerin made a glove save on a shot from senior Ian O’Connor, Tucker denied a Emond back-hander and just before the horn, he thwarted Bussiere on a rush and the game went to the first intermission still scoreless.

Ten Tucker saves allowed Cheverus/Yarmouth to escape early trouble.

“I went into the game feeling really confident, wanting to stop everything I could to keep the team in it,” said Tucker. “I knew it would be a hard game. The first period showed that. It was really electric here. The student sections went back-and-forth. When I made a big save, they all screamed for me. I felt like I saw the puck really well.”

“I was a little worried in the first period,” said St. Pierre. “We were nervous. The boys were a little skittish, but we did a great job staying in our defensive structure and we held them at bay. Ethan was great for us. I thought he was probably our best defensive player in the first period for sure. He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to regroup a little bit.”

In the second period, Cheverus/Yarmouth got its opportunity and struck.

At 3:23, on a break-out from its zone, Cheverus/Yarmouth got a fortuitous bounce, as the puck went off a defender, came to Walsh on the right side and Walsh raced in and fired the puck past Guerin, just inside the far post, to make it 1-0 at 3:23.

“That first goal was great,” Tucker said. “I was hoping it would come earlier in the game, but I was excited.”

“We calmed them down after the first period and I thought we played much better after that,” St. Pierre said.

It stayed 1-0 for quite awhile, as Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester continued to be flustered.

After Tucker denied Langevin, Emond tried a wraparound shot, which was saved. Emond then redirected Langevin’s shot, but Tucker stopped that as well.

After Bussiere had a shot on a rush denied, the Kings went on the power play at 9:48, but couldn’t capitalize, as Langevin had a shot saved by Tucker.

At 13:24, Cheverus/Yarmouth got its chance on the power play, as Emond was sent off for interference, but just seconds in, Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester had a look to tie the score, as sophomore Conner Boulay got behind the defense and skated in one-on-one on Tucker, but Tucker made a sprawling save.

Then, with only five seconds on the clock, McCoy raced in, dished to Cheever racing down the right side, then Cheever launched the puck past Guerin and into the net to make it 2-0.

“We’ve talked about moving the puck up-ice,” Cheever said. “We had good puck movement and I got a shot off and it went in. I have to give credit to my teammates for giving good passes.”

“I sent him a one-time pass and the goal was all (Cheever),” McCoy said. “That gave us motivation.”

“That sequence epitomized the culture of this team,” added St. Pierre. “Everyone on the team knew Ethan was making the save. They all went back hard because they knew the rebound was going to be there. Cheever posted up, in a veteran move, and he knew when and where to shoot the puck. You can’t teach those things. It’s an example of how much we believe in each other. That play shifted the game I think.”

The Kings did their best to rally in the third period, but Tucker denied Bussiere after a turnover in the first minute.

Cheverus/Yarmouth then looked to put it away, but sophomore Hakon Yeo, senior David Swift and senior Evan Hankins were all stopped by Guerin, with Hankins trying to rebound his own shot but having that saved as well.

Midway through the period, Tucker stopped shots from Pelletier and Bussiere.

At 9:09, Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester went on the power play and would eventually score, but it took all but one second of the two minute penalty to break through.

After Tucker robbed Bussiere on a rush, it appeared Cheverus/Yarmouth was going to escape damage, but the puck came up to Gladu at the blue line and he ripped a shot through traffic that hit the post. Pelletier then flicked the rebound home to cut the deficit to just one.

“It got blocked in front and he got (the puck) over me,” said Tucker. “I couldn’t let that bother me. Once you give a goal, it happens, and I have to get past it.”

The Kings had chances to tie the score, as Langevin eluded a defender, but had his shot saved, then Tucker denied Gladu as well.

With 1:06 remaining, Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester coach Jason Rouleau called timeout and pulled Guerin for an extra attacker.

It backfired, as Gladu attempted to sent the puck in, but not only did McCoy block it, but the puck rolled forward and McCoy ran it down and skated in to score the easy empty-netter to put it away with just 59 seconds to go.

“I was thinking that I had to do anything I could,” McCoy said. “I blocked it with my thumb. I knew I had one guy trailing on my left, but I knew I had him beat and waited until I was close enough and put it in. I was so relieved to put it away. There was no chance of them coming back after that.”

“At that point, I knew we capped it off, so that felt good,” said Tucker.

“I told them in the timeout, ‘From day one, you guys have worked hard and this last minute-and-a-half is no different, it’s just a little more important, so just do what we’ve talked about and play your responsibility and good things will happen,'” St. Pierre added. “Quinn did a fantastic job shooting through the gap, blocking the shot. He executed what we’ve talked about all year.”

At 10:20 p.m., the final horn sounded and Cheverus/Yarmouth celebrated its 3-1 victory.

“It’s been such a great year,” Cheever said. “The team has come together so well. We’re so deep. Every line can score. Every guy on the team has equal points. We play together and for each other. We have great camaraderie.”

“We have a lot of championship pride in the two schools,” St. Pierre said. “We’ve talked to the boys about that and the alumni has reached out and has encouraged them. This senior class is the first class to know nothing but the co-op. All the classes that came before them helped set the stage for this and those guys deserve a lot of credit for what’s happening now.”

Tucker made 26 saves.

“Knowing we have a good defense and ‘Tuck’ behind our back is a great feeling,” Cheever said. “We’ve been a great defensive team all year and Ethan saved us tonight. He’s a great kid and a great goalie. We’re so happy to have him here. One goal on 27 shots is unreal. He’s a stud, what can I say.”

“Ethan was great,” McCoy said. “He saved all those shots down low.”

Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester out-shot Cheverus/Yarmouth, 27-19, and got 17 saves from Guerin, but its season came to a disappointing close.

“The teams that Dave puts on the ice, they’re always well-disciplined and they always play well defensively,” Rouleau said. “I knew we were going to have a hard time picking up second-chance opportunities. We put the puck on net. We just couldn’t pick up those second-chance opportunities. We came ou, and we gave it everything we had. We had multiple scoring opportunities in that third period, we capitalized on one. We just didn’t capitalize on enough.”

One more

Cheverus/Yarmouth didn’t face Camden Hills this season and the teams have no playoff history.

Cheverus/Yarmouth is ready for its final challenge and believes if it does what it does best, the big prize will be the end result.

“It’s a great feeling, but we all know the job isn’t finished,” Cheever said. “We’ll stay together and we’ll come here to play Saturday. We’re excited.”

“We have to do the same thing we did today,” said Tucker. “Maybe have a better first period and get more shots on net. I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’s an honor to be part of this co-op program and be part of the first team to not only play at the Civic Center but also win and make it to the state final,” McCoy said. “We just have to play our game and work hard.”

“We haven’t seen (Camden Hills), so we’ll watch some film and break it down, but at the end of the day, it will come down to how well we execute,” added St. Pierre. “We have to do our job and play our game. We wanted to practice the whole week and now we can get together tomorrow.”

The last time Yarmouth won a state title was when it won Class B in 2002. Cheverus’ last crown came in Class A in 2006, so both schools are overdue.

“It’s time,” said St. Pierre. “This program has come a long way. Now it’s time to create some history. We’ll do our best to finish the job.”

Sun Journal staff writer Wil Kramlich and Press Herald staff writer Travis Lazarczyk contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023

Comments are not available on this story.

Related Stories