Cheverus coach Scott Rousseau looks on during Saturday’s state game victory over Brunswick. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

Sometimes perspective smacks you in the jaw like a slapshot from the blue line.

Or a seemingly impossible bounce of a puck.

And sometimes perspective can change in a heartbeat.

Like with the birth of a daughter.

And sometimes the most agonizing scenes from your past can turn into the greatest moments of your life.

Suddenly and inexplicably.

Cheverus girls hockey coach Scott Rousseau has literally seen it all during his two-plus decades as a high school coach.

The most unthinkable of losses.

And now, the most delicious of victories.

Saturday afternoon at Troubh Ice Arena, Rousseau’s Stags managed something no other Maine girls hockey team had accomplished, winning their third straight state championship.

On a highlight reel goal from sophomore Caroline Rousseau.

That aforementioned daughter.

“It’s just surreal,” Scott Rousseau said, a mere 24 hours after his fourth and most dramatic championship. “Sometimes, you have to fail to succeed.”

Greek tragedies

Rousseau, a one-time standout player at St. Dom’s and at West Point, has been involved in hockey since he was old enough to walk and he was on the fast track to coaching from a young age.

In the winter of 1997-98, Rousseau took over a Falmouth boys program that was relatively young, but had reached the Class B state final the year before (losing to Winslow).

The Yachtsmen, as Falmouth’s athletic teams were then known, enjoyed immediate success under their new coach, winning 97 games in Rousseau’s first six seasons, but while all of those squads were championship-caliber, none of them were able to reach the state game.

The Yachtsmen won 16 games in Rousseau’s first year and had opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to advance in a Western B semifinal against Greely, but in a game that went on-and-on-and-on into the night, the Rangers scored in the fifth overtime to advance, 3-2.

Falmouth barely posted a .500 record in 1998-99, but knocked off Kennebunk and Yarmouth to reach the regional final. There, only two overtimes were required but the result was the same, a 2-1 loss to eventual champion Cape Elizabeth.

Oh by the way, that Capers team was coached by Shawn Rousseau.

Scott Rousseau’s brother.

The horror show continued as the 20th Century gave way to the 21st, as in 2000, the Yachtsmen met Cape Elizabeth again, this time in the semifinals, and again fell a goal short, 4-3, in four-OTs.

And the cruelty was just beginning.

In March, 2001, Falmouth earned the top seed in Western B after a 17-2-1 campaign and after handling Gorham and Cape Elizabeth, met up with Yarmouth in the regional final at the Cumberland County Civic Center. To the surprise of no one familiar with the program, regulation didn’t produce a result and a first overtime failed to decide matters as well. Then, in the blink of an eye, Clippers standout Ryan Delaney intercepted the puck and skated in and scored for a 4-3 victory.

Falmouth was clearly the best team in the state in 2002, going 18-1 in the regular season, beating Yarmouth twice in the process, but there would be no coronation, as after handling Kennebunk in the quarterfinals and blanking Greely in the semifinals, the Yachtsmen faced the Clippers again in the regional final.

While this time, Falmouth didn’t lose in overtime, the agony was just as bad, as with time winding down in regulation, Yarmouth was awarded a penalty shot and converted.

And advanced.

Leaving the Yachtsmen to lick their wounds.

“You couldn’t script my first five years,” said Rousseau. “Those losses were just impossible. I think I just wanted it too much.”

Falmouth got back to the Western B Final in 2003, but lost to eventual champion Cape Elizabeth, 5-2, a relatively painless result.

Falmouth moved up to Class A in 2003-04 and for Rousseau’s final seven seasons was a consistent contender, but couldn’t solve the likes of perennial powers North Yarmouth Academy, Cheverus, Scarborough, St. Dom’s and Thornton Academy.

Rousseau then stepped down and while he remained active in his family’s Rousseau Hockey Clinic, he took six years away from coaching at the high school level.

Cheverus coach Scott Rousseau talks to his team after a practice. Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald

A new outlook

During his time away, Rousseau enjoyed fatherhood, running his business, Play It Again Sports, and when he returned in the winter of 2016-17, it wasn’t with the boys, but with the Cheverus girls.

After initially declining an offer from athletic director Gary Hoyt, Scott Rousseau had a revelation courtesy his then seven-year-old daughter.

Future star Caroline Rousseau.

“I went home and Caroline had practice that night,” Scott Rousseau recalled. “She was all dressed in her equipment, standing there with her stick. She goes, ‘I’m ready for practice, Dad!’ I had the realization, ‘I’m the worst dad in the world.’ How on earth can I advocate for my daughter, who loves to play, and not coach the girls?”

By his second season, Scott Rousseau led the Stags to the state game, where once more, he would be denied a championship, 3-1, by Greely.

“That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and the failures of 2018 haunted me,” Rousseau said. “I haven’t made those mistakes since.”

One year later, Cheverus returned to the big stage and this time, at last, ascended to the pinnacle, beating a powerhouse Lewiston squad, 2-1.

After a semifinal round loss, a postseason lost to COVID and a triple-overtime semifinal round loss, the Stags returned to the top in 2023, then repeated in 2024, beating Yarmouth/Freeport both times.

This year’s title came as a surprise to many and completed the circle for one of the sport’s elite coaches.

“This has been beyond my wildest dreams,” Scott Rousseau said. “I don’t know how I became so blessed. I needed some time to reset and being a father gave me a new perspective. I’m more calm now on the bench. I have some great assistant coaches working with me.”

Caroline Rousseau, who knows Coach Rousseau as well as anyone, believes her father has earned his recent good fortune.

“He puts so much into his teams,” Caroline Rousseau said. “Watching film, late nights. He cares about all the players so personally. I think he’s the best coach in the state, boys or girls. I’m so proud of him. It’s been so great to have so much time with him. He’s one of my best friends. He’s always there for me. He tells me every day that most kids won’t even make it to the playoffs, not to mention win states.”

Perhaps.

But sometimes life leads you just where you’re supposed to be.

Even if it’s not on your timetable.

That’s because sometimes, you just have to stick around awhile.

And your luck is bound to turn.

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