Saturday’s boys hockey game between Cheverus and Cape Elizabeth may have been the season-opener for both teams, but the atmosphere at Portland Ice Arena was more indicative of a late-season match-up with playoff implications.

The rink was packed with rowdy fans from both sides who responded loudly to every bit of contact they saw – whether that was the jostling for position in the corners or the more deliberate open-ice collisions.

The excitement in the stands was warranted, sure. Cheverus (Class A) and Cape (Class B) were both state champions last season. This was a dream match-up.

To the guys on the ice, though, the ones playing in the game, delivering the hits, Saturday’s game was just one of many. The Capers lost the contest, 5-1, but they had already moved on by the time they emerged from the locker room.

“Falmouth’s Tuesday,” said senior forward Mike Kertes. “They came with it. We knew they would, and we just didn’t come as hard as they did.”

There was no sense in reading into the four-goal loss any more than that, according to Cape’s players and coach, Jason Tremblay. It wasn’t so much a lack of skill as it was an issue of execution.

“We gave up too many odd-man rushes – 1-on-0s, 2-on-1s, 3-on-2s – and you can’t do that against their offense,” said Tremblay. “Their offense is very good. We didn’t attack their defense like we wanted to. If you can attack their defense I think that’s the weak point of their team, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

And it didn’t help that the Capers often found themselves either shorthanded or taking penalties that nullified power plays.

Fourteen seconds into the game, Cheverus’s Jon Anton went off for roughing, setting up a man-advantage situation for Cape. Less than a minute later, though, Kertes was sent to the box for tripping.

With some open ice to work with, the potent Cheverus offense went to work. Garnet Hathaway picked up a Mike Antoniou rebound at the right post, circled behind the net untouched and stuffed the puck inside the left post before Cape goalie Ryan Hatch could slide into position.

The score remained 1-0 through the first period and into the next – barely. The Stags made it 2-0 with a power-play goal 30 seconds into the second period. With Cape’s Joel Balfour in the box for roughing, Anton got an open look from just inside the right face off circle and he didn’t miss.

“We definitely took some stupid penalties tonight,” said Tremblay. “We’ve got to stay out of the box, and it’s something that we’ve got to work hard on. If you retaliate it’s going to be a long night. Like I said, they’ve got a very offensive-minded team and they took advantage of their chances.”

The Capers had chances of their own, but they didn’t take advantage until Cheverus had already scored three times. Eleven minutes into the first period, Ryan Tremblay had a chance to tie the game, but he one-timed a Kyle Dancause feed right at Cheverus goalie Casey Cox from five feet.

And so the Capers didn’t get on the board until the 8:30 mark in the second period – after Cheverus’s Alex Arthur had made it 3-0 on a breakaway. Balfour pulled the Capers to within two goals when he beat Cox (22 saves) with a wrister from the high slot.

The missed chances continued for the Capers as Kertes missed the net from the slot area during a power play early in the third. His linemate, Andrew Gibson, was the victim of some good goaltending later on in the period. Cox slid into position at the right post to smother a short side slapper.

“The bounces weren’t going our way and we didn’t put it out there for 45 minutes,” said Hatch, who made 25 saves in the loss. “We took some stupid penalties. It just wasn’t our game all around.”

The Stags added a shorthanded goal 11:32 into the third after a defensive-zone turnover.

Geno DiMillo beat Hatch with a low shot into the left corner. Two minutes after that, Anton fed Sam Johnson for another power-play tally.

“We had some bad bounces,” said Tremblay. “But you’ve got to work for your bounces too, and I don’t think we were working as hard as we could’ve tonight.”

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