BIDDEFORD — Biddeford came closer than anyone all year has to handing Kennebunk its first defeat this season, but even the Tigers came up short in that bid. The undefeated Rams stayed that way, as they rallied to tie Biddeford 2-2 in a Western Maine boys hockey clash at the University of New England’s Harold Alfond Forum on Tuesday.

Kennebunk (7-0-1) had only really been tested once this season ”“ a 2-1 victory over Cape Elizabeth ”“ heading into the meeting with Biddeford (4-3-2), which was routed 7-1 by Lewiston in its last game.

But it was the Tigers who struck first, as Ricky Ruck cleared the puck out of the defensive zone to a streaking Joe Anders, who carried the puck up the left boards then fired a shot just inside the blue line past Kennebunk goalie Mike LeBlanc 13 minutes into the game.

Ruck found himself on the receiving end of a similar play midway through the second period, as Kerry Crepeau fed him out of the defensive zone and Ruck did the rest, firing a bullet of a shot under the crossbar to put Biddeford up 2-0. The Tigers’ total equaled the most Kennebunk had given up in a game through its 7-0 start.

“That’s not the first time we’ve been trailing all year, but that was the first time we were down two to a good team like that,” said Kennebunk head coach Sean Smith.

“It meant a lot, because then we could kind of hang back and dump the puck in deep and we didn’t have to really pressure them as much,” Crepeau, a junior captain, said of the early lead. “We only had two lines; we have a bunch of sick kids on our team right now. We just kept on hustling and rotated two lines the whole game.”

Smith said he wasn’t enamored with his team’s start, despite outshooting Biddeford 9-4 in the first period and 35-18 for the game. But a solid shift by a forward line anchored by Patrick Gassman and Jan Rutrle started to tilt the ice in the Rams’ favor, said Smith.

Kennebunk used that momentum to its advantage in the final minute of the middle period, as Rutrle passed back to Joe Mooney at the left point, and Mooney’s slap shot was tipped in by Gassman to cut the deficit in half.

The Rams tied the game up seven minutes into the third period, thanks to a little puck luck, as Jack Graydon’s shot from the right corner slipped past Biddeford goalie Brandon Daigle.

The game seemed destined for overtime with time winding down in the third, but a Biddeford team that Crepeau said has been struggling to get shots ”“ and did again Tuesday night ”“ got a trio of high-quality ones in the final three minutes.

LeBlanc proved his worth by making a kick save on Zack Thompson with 2:40 left, then he denied Ruck with 1:16 remaining and again just before the horn sounded.

“End of the third period, on one of the top scorers around, to make that blocker save was huge,” said Smith.

It was Daigle’s turn for some netminding magic in the eight-minute overtime period, as he made key stops on Graydon, Bo Beveridge and Rutrle to help hand Kennebunk its first non-win of the season.

“Brandon, he’s played good all year. He’s kept us in a lot of games,” said Crepeau. “He definitely kept us in that game.”

The game featured just two penalties ”“ one for each team ”“ and was a rare test for a Rams team that has dominated nearly every opponent to date. Smith said he appreciated a much-needed sweat-it-out game.

“I thought both teams were very clean, very classy. Those are the games you want to be a part of,” said Smith. “I’d take that 2-2 tie over a 13-0 win any day of the week.”

— Sports Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.