PORTLAND — A game that wouldn’t end was over in the blink of an eye. Thornton Academy and Cheverus needed two extra periods to decide their Class A West boys hockey quarterfinal, but the Stags scored just 1:09 into the second overtime to beat the Trojans 4-3 at Portland Ice Arena on Wednesday.

Fifth-seeded Thornton was hoping that the third time would be the charm after losing both regular season matchups to the No. 4 Stags. Trojan captain Alex Lambert got his team well on its way by scoring just 2:06 into the game. Alex Fallon brought the puck into the left corner, and found Lambert all alone by the right post to give the Trojans a very early 1-0 lead.

That score stood for the rest of the period, despite some serious challenges by the Stags and two power play opportunities by the Trojans.

Cheverus evened the score five minutes into the second, thanks to a little bit of luck. A shot by Quintin Farr bounced straight into the air in the crease, and Liam Fitzpatrick was able to push the puck into the net before Thornton goalie Andrew Huot could corral it.

“That’s what happens in hockey, is you’re going to get bounces, and you’re going to give some up,” Thornton head coach Jamie Gagnon said of Cheverus’ fortunate first goal.

The Stags tilted the ice in their favor for much of the middle period, but wasted two power play opportunities.

Then when Thornton got its chance to go on the man-advantage, they seized the opportunity. Steve Comar positioned himself at the bottom of the left circle as the Trojans were in a 5-on-3 situation, and Lambert fed him to give Thornton back the lead with 40 seconds left in the period.

Comar then took a late penalty that proved costly early in the third.

Fallon went to the penalty box 37 seconds into the third, and the Stags took advantage of their own chance at a 5-on-3.

Cam McLain wristed a shot past Huot from the bottom of the right circle 1:10 into the period ”“ and just 33 seconds into the two man-advantage.

Cheverus then took its first lead of the game just over two minutes later, as Fitzpatrick beat Huot between the legs from the left circle on a pass from McLain.

“Those are really big, emotional shifts, and we knew that we couldn’t let them bring us down,” Lambert said about dealing with losing the lead late. “We had so much pride, and everybody had so much heart on the team that we knew we could rebound from it.”

Thornton got a chance on the power play midway through the period, and despite having a handful of quality looks, couldn’t net the equalizer. But shortly after the power play ended with Lambert getting caught offsides, the Trojans did strike. Justin Cloutier scored on a pass from Cooper O’Brien off the offsides faceoff just outside the Cheverus zone with 6:28 remaining.

There were some tense moments with regulation winding down, but the back-and-forth battle went to a deserved overtime.

Neither team was able to end the game during the first eight minute overtime, although Tyler LaPointe’s shot from between the top of the circles at the horn gave the Trojans a tease.

The Trojans opened the second overtime with a few looks in the Cheverus zone, but Stag goalie Justin Blier turned away some routine shots on net. Like they had all game, the Stags quickly transitioned from defense to offense, with Fitzpatrick leading a 3-on-2 the other way. He kept the puck to himself crossing into the Thornton defensive zone, and ripped a shot at the top of the circles that found its way past Huot. The Stag bench and cheering section erupted, and Thornton’s hopes of a three-peat for the state title were dashed.

“We had a shot,” said Gagnon. “We had a few shots in (the second) overtime, and ultimately they come down on one rush, and it’s over pretty quickly.”

Fitzpatrick’s third goal of the game gave Cheverus its third win of the season against the Trojans, and sent the Stags into the semifinals, where they will face No. 1 Scarborough.

“We just need one more game against them I think. Unfortunately we’re not going to get that,” Gagnon said of not being able get past Cheverus this season. “At the end of the day, we scored one fewer than they did, and congrats to them. I think they worked their tails off.”

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.