PORTLAND—Wins have been hard to come by for Greely’s boys hockey team, but the Rangers did what it took to prevail Thursday afternoon at Troubh Ice Arena.

Facing Cape Elizabeth in a game rife with Heal Points implications, the Rangers got a stellar goaltending effort from sophomore Tucker Goddu and ultimately, one goal proved to be the difference.

With 2:40 to play in the first period, on the power play, sophomore Noah Baril scored the first varsity goal of his career and that would be all the offense that either team could produce.

Goddu did the rest, saving all 19 shots he faced and Greely prevailed, 1-0.

The Rangers, who are battling with Cape Elizabeth and Brunswick/Freeport to get in to the Class B South playoffs, improved to 2-11 on the season, while dropping the Capers to 2-12 in the process.

“We had to have a little bit of grit to prevail,” said longtime Greely coach Barry Mothes. “That was kind of a desperate hockey game. I give (Cape) credit for fighting hard. We’re both at the lower end of the league and we’re trying to find ways to win.”

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Little separation

While both Cape Elizabeth and Greely have lost more than they’ve won this season, they have been competitive and have shown improvement.

The Capers opened with a 3-1 home win over Brunswick/Freeport, then lost at home to Gorham (2-0), Kennebunk/Wells (4-1) and reigning Class B state champion Cheverus/Yarmouth (4-3). After a 4-1 setback at Poland/ Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester, Cape Elizabeth was beaten by visiting Mt. Ararat (6-4), host York (2-0) and visiting Marshwood (2-0). The Capers then beat Brunswick/Freeport for a second time, 3-2, on the road, before falling at Mt. Ararat in overtime (3-2), at the Portland/South Portland/Deering/Waynflete Beacons in a thriller (5-4), at home to PLOG in overtime (3-2) and at Gorham (5-2).

The Rangers, meanwhile, began with a 3-1 home loss to Kennebunk and 6-1 home loss to Cheverus/Yarmouth. After falling at Gorham (3-2) and at Mt. Ararat (10-2), Greely lost at home to Brunswick/Freeport (5-1), to Falmouth in the “Dudley Cup” (10-2), at Kennebunk/Wells (5-1), at Cheverus/Yarmouth (5-2) and at home to Mt. Ararat in overtime (3-2) before breaking through with a 4-2 victory at Brunswick/Freeport. After a 3-1 home loss to Edward Little Saturday, the Rangers fell at York Tuesday (3-0).

Last winter, Greely won both meetings with the Capers, 5-1 in Portland and 6-2 in Falmouth.

Thursday, Cape Elizabeth looked to turn the tables, but instead, the Rangers made it three straight in the series.

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Greely senior captain Finn Craven races up the ice as Cape Elizabeth senior senior captain Brady Hanisko gives chase during the Rangers’ 1-0 victory Thursday. Hoffer photos.

Despite a sluggish start, Greely enjoyed an 8-3 edge in shots on goal in the first period.

After junior Coben Donnelly had a backhanded bid denied by Capers senior goalie Nathan Hanisko, senior captain Rylan Haight was denied and Hanisko saved a blast from senior captain Finn Craven with his blocker, the Rangers went on the power play at 11:28.

After Hanisko saved a shot from sophomore Jack Noone, Greely broke through at 12:20, as sophomore Mitchell Lambert delivered a beautiful cross-ice pass to Baril, who fired the puck into the net before Hanisko could react for a 1-0 lead.

The goal was the first of Baril’s varsity career.

“It was an insane experience,” said Baril. “I had an amazing pass and I was just able to get the puck in the back of the net. I was just yelling to (Mitchell) and he made a pass through three guys and I just had to put it in.”

“Our power play has been a little start-and-go, but we did do a little work on it yesterday in practice and it bore a little fruit today,” Mothes said. “It was a really good look by Mitchell to the backside and a nice finish from Noah from a low angle.”

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Both teams generated more shots in the second period, but they couldn’t get the puck in the net.

Greely junior Coben Donnelly handles the puck as Cape Elizabeth senior goalie Nathan Hanisko and junior Zack Sahlin look on.

The Rangers earned an early power play, but a shot from Lambert was saved by Hanisko and Donnelly was denied as well.

After an apparent Greely goal was waved off, the Rangers went man-up again, but Hanisko robbed Haight point-blank, then he stopped a shot from freshman Coleback Werner.

Late in the period, senior Brady Hanisko missed just high, then Goddu saved a shot on a rush from junior Ethan Helis before robbing sophomore Bennett Hooper one-on-one after Hooper made two nice moves to elude the defense.

The Capers upped the intensity in the third period, but couldn’t produce the equalizer.

In the first minute, Goddu denied Hooper on a rush again.

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After Goddu saved bids from Helis and Brady Hanisko, a rush from junior Brendan Eavenson was broken up by Greely senior defenseman Alex Wharton.

With 10:17 to play, Brady Hanisko was robbed on a great look off a faceoff.

Cape Elizabeth then got a golden opportunity with 6:56 to go, going on the power play for five minutes after a major penalty.

The Rangers ultimately had better scoring chances, however, as Lambert missed by inches in a bid to double the lead, as he ripped a shot off the crossbar, then Werner was denied on a rush before Haight’s one-on-one shot sailed high.

Goddu had to make saves on shots from Eavenson and Brady Hanisko to run out the time on the penalty.

“That was obviously a critical stretch,” Mothes said. “(The Capers) have some guys who are opportunistic. I give the guys a lot of credit for their poise and effort, taking away space and time in the neutral zone, slowing some of their guys down and being good on quick, hard clears.”

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Greely didn’t surrender another shot as it went on to celebrate a 1-0 victory.

Greely players celebrate with sophomore goalie Tucker Goddu following Thursday’s victory.

“This was huge,” said Goddu. “A shutout is a team effort, not one person. We played an amazing game. That (five-minute power play) was a little scary. I had a little lump in my throat. I was nervous, but we persevered.”

“That five-minute major scared me, but we were able to kill it and pull through,” Baril said. “When we got the puck on our sticks, we just threw it out of the zone.”

“I’m glad for the team for getting the win, but we didn’t make it easy on ourselves,” said Mothes. “From a coach’s perspective, there are so many things we should be doing better.

“These games are meaningful right now. (The Capers) have a fairly small roster, but they’re trying really hard. They have great goaltending and a lot of spirit on their team.”

The Rangers had a 28-19 advantage in shots on goal and got 19 saves from Goddu.

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“I love pressure because pressure makes diamonds and I have a lot of faith in my defensemen,” Goddu said. “It’s one of the best group of guys.”

“Tucker had some very good saves or this game could have easily gone the other way,” said Mothes. “We dodged some bullets and Tucker bailed us out.”

Nathan Hanisko made 27 saves for Cape Elizabeth, but the Capers went down to a one-goal defeat for the fourth time this year.

“Our guys fought to the end,” said Cape Elizabeth coach Matt Riggle. “I’m really proud of how the guys continue to battle no matter what the score is, no matter who we’re up against. These rivalry games are always intense, down to the final whistle. You never know where that goal is going to come from. It comes down to one play here or there. That (goal) was a little earlier than we anticipated. We were up against it at the end. We had our heads in the right place. We just couldn’t put the puck in the net. ”

Win to get in

With eight teams making the Class B South tournament, it’s possible that either Cape Elizabeth or Greely could be left on the outside looking in, but the good news for the Capers and Rangers is that they both have time to do something about it.

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The teams battle again Feb. 15 in Falmouth.

The Capers (currently ranked eighth in the region) have a test against Cheverus/Yarmouth Saturday, then host York and play at Kennebunk/Wells and Greely to cap the regular season.

“We have to bring the same standard every day,” Riggle said. “We’ll work hard and support each other. This doesn’t change that. We’ll keep showing up and doing the same thing. We play (Greely) again in a couple weeks and we’re already looking forward to that. Playoffs are what we’re shooting for. It’s what we shoot for every year. We’re right on the bubble right now. We’ll keep pushing and keep working.

The Rangers (still in ninth place in Class B South, but just barely) host Gorham Saturday, then play at PLOG before finishing the regular season with home games versus Cape Elizabeth, PLOG and York.

“I feel like can build momentum off this,” said Goddu. “Playoffs are a lot of what-ifs. We can’t worry about that right now. What we do worry about is how we’re going to play over the next couple of weeks. I hope we can continue this.”

“Playoffs is a great experience for a varsity hockey player,” Mothes said. “We want to make sure we get in. We’re scrapping with Brunswick and Cape for two spots. We have (Cape) again at our place. That will be a huge game. If we could surprise somebody else, that would help our cause. We’ve played pretty well against some of those top teams. We just have to keep plugging away.”

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

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