FALMOUTH—It’s hard enough to beat the Cheverus/Yarmouth co-op boys’ hockey team at even strength.

When the reigning Class B state champions go man-up, they’re unstoppable.

And they can score man-down as well.

Thursday evening at Family Ice Center, Cheverus/Yarmouth and host Greely renewed their rivalry and while the young Rangers hung tough for awhile, ultimately, Cheverus/Yarmouth took advantage of its chances and continued its fast start to the season.

Cheverus/Yarmouth went on the power play for the first time with 25 seconds remaining in the first period and with 6.1 seconds showing, junior Colby Carnes finished to put his team ahead to stay.

Just 26 seconds into the second period, senior Cooper Jacobs scored on a rebound to make it 2-0.

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Cheverus/Yarmouth then converted another power play opportunity, as with 6:53 remaining, junior Hakon Yeo finished and the lead was three heading to the final period.

There, Cheverus/Yarmouth got its third power play goal, as freshman Griffin Zinman scored his first goal 56 seconds in.

After sophomore Harper Ericson tallied his first varsity goal, Greely got on the board with 10:47 remaining, on a strike from sophomore Jack Noone, but on the Rangers’ lone power play of the night, Cheverus/Yarmouth scored instead, as Carnes struck shorthanded, and that produced the 6-1 final score.

Cheverus/Yarmouth is now 2-0 on the season while Greely fell to 0-2.

“I think we spent a half-hour on the power play in Wednesday’s practice,” said Cheverus/Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre. “We hadn’t had a lot of time to work on it so far and we were 0-for-5 in our first game. We focused on it and I thought we moved the puck well and created good looks for ourselves. I’m proud of the guys.”

Picking up where they left off

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Cheverus/Yarmouth wouldn’t be denied a year ago, breaking through to win the Class B state title by virtue of a 4-3 win over Camden Hills to finish 18-2-2. While graduation took a ton of talent (and leaders), the squad is poised to make another run and in last week’s opener, Cheverus/Yarmouth held off Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde, 3-1.

Greely, which finished 13-7 in 2023-24 after a 5-3 loss to Cheverus/Yarmouth in the Class B South semifinals, has a young nucleus this year, but a lot of promise. The Rangers opened with a 3-1 loss to Kennebunk/Wells.

Last year, the teams split in the regular season, with Greely prevailing on the road (2-1) before Cheverus/Yarmouth took the rematch in Falmouth (5-2).

Tuesday, Cheverus/Yarmouth seized territorial control from the get-go and thanks to some help from the hosts, the goals soon followed.

Cheverus/Yarmouth senior Johnathan Weinrich handles the puck early in his team’s 6-1 win at Greely Thursday. Hoffer photos.

Cheverus/Yarmouth had its chances early, but junior Will Redfield was denied on a rush by Rangers’ sophomore goalie Tucker Goddu, Goddu robbed senior Owen Walsh and a loose puck was cleared away at the last moment by a Greely defender.

Greely’s lone chance of the first period came with 35 seconds on the clock, as freshman Jarrett Bush fired a shot which was saved by Cheverus/Yarmouth senior goalie Johnny Wallace.

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Ten seconds later, Rangers junior Coben Donnelly was called for hooking and the visitors took advantage.

With just 6.1 seconds showing, Carnes scored on a rebound of a shot from senior Quinn McCoy (senior Brady Martin also got an assist) and Cheverus/Yarmouth was in front for good.

“We had no momentum,” said Carnes. “I don’t know what it was, but once we got that goal, we picked it up. We’ve worked a lot in practice on the power play. We tightened some things up, slowing the puck down. It’s a great unit.”

“We talked before the game that we had to jump on them early,” said St. Pierre. “We asserted our pressure and it built confidence.”

It took just 26 seconds of the second period for Cheverus/Yarmouth to double its lead.

This time, it was Jacobs scoring on the rebound, of a shot from junior Matthew Paradis, making the score 2-0.

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Cheverus/Yarmouth celebrates a goal from senior Cooper Jacobs.

Cheverus/Yarmouth went on the power play again with 8:42 left in the second and 32 seconds later, McCoy appeared to set up Yeo for a 3-0 lead, but the goal was waved off.

With 6:53 on the clock, the tandem connected again and this goal stood, as Carnes got the puck to McCoy, who set up Yeo for a shot which got past Tucker, extending the lead to three.

After Tucker robbed Walsh with a pad save, Greely was still within hailing distance at the second intermission.

But Cheverus/Yarmouth ended all doubt in the third period, as it began man-up again.

Fifty-six seconds in, Paradis set up Zinman for his first varsity goal.

With 13:11 to go, Ericson scored his first varsity goal, unassisted, on a shot from the side, making the score 5-0.

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The Rangers were rewarded for their hard work with 10:47 on the clock, as Noone, who was denied by Wallace moments earlier, got the puck from sophomore Noah Baril and put it in the net.

Greely had a chance to draw even closer when Martin was sent off for roughing, but while a goal would be scored on the ensuing power play, it would be Cheverus/Yarmouth producing it, as Carnes got the puck, broke away and finished to make it 6-1 with 4:03 left.

“The legs turned to cement a little bit, but I just kept it easy, skated in, made one move and shot it,” said Carnes.

The Rangers couldn’t answer from there and Cheverus/Yarmouth went on to victory.

“We’re super-focused,” Carnes said. “We’re trying to build a culture again. Last year’s guys pioneered our program in terms of work ethic. We’re trying to work that back up.”

“We moved the puck more effectively tonight,” said St. Pierre. “We had the jumblies the first game. We looked for the open man more effectively tonight and moved the puck with speed better.”

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Cheverus/Yarmouth finished with a 45-9 advantage in shots on goal, got eight saves from Wallace and converted 3-of-6 power play chances, as well as scoring short-handed.

Greely got 39 saves from Goddu and went 0-for-1 on the power play.

“Greely will be tough,” St. Pierre said. “They play their structure really well. They worked hard tonight. They created some difficulty for us to move the puck in the first period. I expect them to continue to grow.”

Long season

Greely will try again for its first victory Saturday at Gorham.

Cheverus/Yarmouth, meanwhile, plays host to Windham/Westbrook/Bonny Eagle Saturday.

“I think we can do great things this year,” said Carnes. “The offense is still there and we have some good defensemen that can help us. There’s always room for improvement, but I feel really good about where we are.”

“I think we’re still finding our identity,” St. Pierre said. “December doesn’t really matter. It’s where you find yourselves at the end of the year. Winning games while we’re trying to figure it out is a good thing, but we’re not satisfied yet.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net

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