Cheverus girls hockey coach Scott Rousseau is certain Hollywood would have rejected this script.

A narrative which called for his team to win a third consecutive state championship, courtesy an overtime goal scored by his daughter, sophomore Caroline Rousseau.

Followed by “Cut! Fade to black!”

Unlikely indeed.

But sometimes real life is stranger than fiction and Saturday afternoon at Troubh Ice Arena, fantasy overshadowed reality and as a result, the Stags are state champions once more.

Facing valiant Brunswick, Cheverus had to work for its date with destiny, but these Stags are never better than when they’re pushed into a corner and from the depths of despair, they found a way to enjoy a championship celebration.

Again.

For the third straight year and the fifth time since 2010.

“If you wrote this script, it would have been thrown out,” Scott Rousseau said, a little over 24 hours after the state game victory. “No one would have believed it. I’m not even sure it’s sunk in yet. I’m completely drained. I’m feeling so many emotions. I don’t how to describe them. I know we’ve won before, but this is just different. This team’s journey was completely different from the others. It’s a very different group.”

Surprise

Cheverus, which beat Yarmouth/Freeport in the 2023 (3-2) and 2024 (4-0) state finals, wasn’t expected to be in the title hunt this year after being hard-hit by graduation.

But the Stags featured a couple of assets no one else could.

Caroline Rousseau and senior standout Lucy Johnson.

As well as what proved to be a terrific supporting cast.

Cheverus, a co-op program which also features key contributors from Windham and Medomak Valley, won its first two games, then tied the Gorham co-op squad (3-3). After beating the Portland/Deering/South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete Beacons co-op (9-1), the Stags were stunned by the Beacons (3-2) and it appeared preseason predictions were accurate.

“I really didn’t start this year thinking this team would accomplish what we did,” said Scott Rousseau. “Eight of our 12 varsity players hadn’t played a full varsity season. I knew we had talent and two special players, but I thought we’d be inconsistent all year long.”

Instead, the Stags won their final 11 regular season games (including a forfeit victory over St. Dom’s, which didn’t complete its campaign due to low numbers), outscoring the opposition by a composite score of 49-11.

“We kept winning and winning and never stopped,” Scott Rousseau said. “The kids got so much better.”

Cheverus finished with the top seed in the South Region for the fourth straight season and after earning a bye into the semifinals, blanked No. 4 Biddeford (6-0) in the semifinals.

Cheverus’ Taylor Lucas knocks the puck away from Portland’s Jane Flynn during the Stags’ 7-1 win in last week’s South Region Final. Andree Kehn / Sun Journal

Last Wednesday, the Stags battled the second-ranked Beacons in the South Region Final, in Auburn, and rolled, 7-1. Johnson led the way with a hat trick, promising freshman Taylor Lucas added a pair of goals and Jaylee Radford scored as well, as did Caroline Rousseau, who produced the game’s final goal.

And not for the last time.

Saturday, in front of a rabid full house at Troubh Ice Arena, Cheverus this time had to get past preseason favorite Brunswick in the state game, after the Dragons had ended Yarmouth/Freeport’s two-year North Region title reign with a 2-1 win in the regional final.

The Stags had beaten Brunswick in both regular season meetings, 4-3 on the road Dec. 13 and 5-2 Jan. 25 at home.

While the Dragons were appearing in their first state game, Cheverus was playing in its sixth.

“We beat them twice, but we knew they played hard and had really good players,” Caroline Rousseau said. “We just had to be confident and respect our opponent.”

“I thought Brunswick was the best team at the start of the season,” said Scott Rousseau. “They had a great season. They belonged.”

The Stags were seeking to become the first five-time champion since the Maine Principals’ Association began sanctioning the sport in 2008-09 and hoped to go back-to-back-to-back, something no other team had ever accomplished.

It wouldn’t come easily, but ultimately, Cheverus wouldn’t be denied.

Cheverus’ Caroline Rousseau of Cheverus skates the puck up the ice during Saturday’s state game versus Brunswick. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

Six minutes into the game, Brunswick went on the power play, but couldn’t convert. The Stags would have two power play opportunities later in the first period, but also came up empty and the score remained 0-0 after 15 minutes.

After 11 scoreless minutes of the second period, Cheverus finally broke through, as Johnson scored unassisted, ripping a shot past Dragons goalkeeper Hensleigh Labonte (17 saves).

“I wasn’t thinking the first one was going to go in,” Johnson said. “I was a little shocked.”

“After Lucy scored, I felt one more would open it up, but that’s not what happened,” Scott Rousseau said.

But just when it appeared the Stags had the momentum, Brunswick roared back, tying the score on a power play goal from Solveig Ledwig (assisted by Natalie Perham) with 1:43 to go, then taking a 2-1 lead on Gillian Countway’s rebound goal (assisted by Lauren Labbe) 29 seconds later.

“We had a disastrous 30-second span and the game got turned upside down,” Scott Rousseau said.

Cheverus, which faced few deficits during the regular season, suddenly found itself down a goal with just 15 minutes left in its season.

“Zoey (Radford) and I spoke up as captains, trying to tell everyone to stay positive, stay calm, because we still have another period,” Johnson said. “Our mindset was to take it like a normal game. Don’t let the emotions and the crowd get ahead of us.”

“We were disappointed to be behind, but (Coach) came into the locker room and said we’d had good chances and we just had to make it happen,” Caroline Rousseau said. “We went into the third period calm and confident.”

And the Stags dug into their reservoir of championship heart and after killing a penalty early in the third period, rallied.

Cheverus junior goalie Ellie Skolnekovich dives to make a save during Saturday’s state game win over Brunswick. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

To the shock of no one, Johnson delivered the equalizer six minutes in, scoring from Briella Doherty and Caroline Rousseau.

“I was trying to move the goalie,” said Johnson. “Both goals, I was coming from the middle and went outside and (Labonte) was tracking me. I just made sure the shot didn’t get blocked and made sure it was a good shot.”

“When Lucy scored, a lot of pressure was lifted,” Caroline Rousseau said. “We knew it would be a battle to the end.”

“The coaches and I have talked all year long about what would make for a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency scenario and have us put Lucy and Caroline together on the same line,” Scott Rousseau added. “We know we’re exposed when neither of them is on the ice. Whenever we put one of them on with the other, the player on the ice remains at center and the player joining the game can be more aggressive. Lucy has been in so many big moments. I had no expectation she wouldn’t perform.”

Neither team would score the rest of regulation and the contest would be decided by an eight-minute, “sudden victory” overtime.

Brunswick had an early chance to steal it, but couldn’t finish and with 4:28 on the clock, Caroline Rousseau etched her name into legend.

Rousseau came off the bench, got the puck from junior Scotlyn Buxton, got a step on a defender up the right boards, then raced in one-on-one against Labonte.

“Jaylee Radford came off and I didn’t see her come to the bench, so she yelled, ‘Get on the ice!'” Rousseau said. “I had to sprint all the way back, then I realized I was the only fresh player on the ice. Scotlyn tipped the puck past a defender and I sprinted to it. I poked the puck forward and was one-on-one with the goalie.”

“It just opened up for Caroline,” Scott Rousseau said. “A sense of calm came over me.”

Rousseau would fake a forehand shot, pulled the puck back to her backhand, then tucked it home and at 4:47 p.m., Cheverus had the 3-2 victory, a 17-1-1 record and the three-peat.

“I just faked the goalie and shot,” Rousseau said. “It was all a blur. (Coach) has been yelling at me all season to fake out the goalie because they can’t stop it. So I just went forehand-backhand and it went in.”

“When I saw her come free and how composed she is, I said, ‘It’s over,'” Scott Rousseau said. “We’ve worked on that move in practice.”

Caroline Rousseau’s goal unleashed a celebration that was equal parts of ecstasy and relief.

Cheverus’ Caroline Rousseau jumps for joy after scoring the championship-winning goal. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

“I felt Scotlyn jump on my back,” Caroline Rousseau said. “I’ll never forget that moment. I’ve already dreamt about it. It’s unbelievable. I always thought we could do it. It just took us some time to get going and once our young players got going, we were unstoppable.”

“I was just numb,” said Scott Rousseau. “Then there was an outpouring of a lot of emotions. Pure joy, ecstasy, relief. When you coach, you feel all the pain of the players when they lose and you feel all the joy when they win. Seeing Caroline score the winning goal was beyond my wildest dreams. We’re the same person. Our personalities are identical. We spend so much time together. She’s played two seasons of field hockey and two seasons of ice hockey and has four state championships. It’s surreal.”

“I think it could’ve gone either way,” said Brunswick coach Chris Ledwick. “The girls battled and they showed they belonged here. We never felt like we couldn’t play with them. The girls, they left it all on the ice. They looked good out there.”

The Stags enjoyed a 20-11 edge in shots on goal and got nine saves from Ellie Skolnekovich.

Cheverus senior Zoey Radford shows off the big prize following Saturday’s victory. Derek Davis / Portland Press Herald

One more for four?

Cheverus will part with Johnson, whose resume stands alone.

Already recognized as Miss Maine Field Hockey in December after leading the Stags to four state finals and three Class A state titles, Johnson has also captured three ice hockey crowns.

Her skates will be impossible to fill.

“Lucy played in seven championship games and won six, so she knew what it takes,” Caroline Rousseau said. “In my opinion, she’s the greatest athlete Maine has ever seen. She’s also an amazing person and leader. She works hard and makes everyone better.”

“I’m certain that Lucy is the only team sport female athlete to win six state championships,” Scott Rousseau said. “It’s not hyperbole to say she’s the greatest female athlete in Maine history. She’s one of a kind. I’ve never seen an athlete that plays with so much intensity.”

Zoey Radford is also set to graduate.

The Stags will return an ample amount of talent next winter, as Buxton, Doherty, Lucas, Radford, Skolnekovich, Anna Bowie (who had three assists in the regional final and another in the state game), Ashley Cloutier, Joey Pompeo and Caroline Rousseau are set to return and some promising youngsters could join in the fun.

“Coach will work his magic,” Caroline Rousseau said. “We’ll still have Ellie in net. It’s will be hard, but we’ll try to pull it off again.”

“The younger kids are just going to get better, but it’s very difficult to think about next year right now,” Scott Rousseau said. “We’ll let this sink in and enjoy it.”