The playoffs might not begin for nearly a month, but don’t tell that to the Cape Elizabeth boys hockey team because coach Jason Tremblay appears to have the Capers believing otherwise.
Falmouth’s Family Ice Center was oozing with the kind of intensity normally reserved for one-and-done games Saturday night as the Capers, ranked first in the Western Class B Heal points, beat No. 2 Greely, 1-0.
Senior forward Mike Kertes scored the game-winner midway though the third period.
“We’re starting our playoff run right now,” said Tremblay. “I talked about that already this week, and we knew we’ve got to step up. We’ve played a lot of tough games, and I think it’s going to pay off in the end.”
The Capers started the season with a game against Cheverus, the defending Class A champion. Then there was a rematch of last year’s Class B championship game against Winslow as well as games against Class A powers Scarborough and St. Dom’s and a crossover game against Brewer, the No. 1 team in Eastern Class B.
The Capers – expected by many to pick up right where they left off: winning the Class B title last season despite losing all-state players Dan Rautenburg and Jeff Choteau – weren’t able to settle into a groove. Their strength of schedule helped them to the No. 1 position in the Heal points, but after a Jan. 12 overtime loss to York they were just 5-6 for the season.
It’s all turning around, though.
The Capers used Thursday’s 2-1 win over Yarmouth to gear up for the Rangers. Once the puck dropped, everything else fell into place.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for these guys tonight to come out on top. They’ve been working hard and coming up on the short end,” said Tremblay, whose team, now 7-6, doesn’t play again until Monday. “But we talked about coming out of here with a win tonight, and they really believed in it and kept working and working.”
It all started with Cape goalie Ryan Hatch, who returned to the lineup with a 22-save performance against Yarmouth.
“I was pretty confident after that win the other night,” he said. “I had been hurt, but that win the other night gave me a lot of confidence and I just rode it into this game.”
Down at the other end of the ice, Greely goalie Billy Bolduc did his best to make sure that Hatch didn’t get complacent. Five minutes into the game, it was evident that he came to play, too. Bolduc made back-to-back kick saves on point-blank shots from the slot by Kertes and his linemate Kyle Dancause.
There was also an early-period glove save on sophomore Peter Kelley and, with just 15 seconds to go in the period, a kick save on a one-timer by junior defenseman Ben Davis.
Said Hatch: “When Bolduc makes every big save you’ve got to try to match him.”
And so he did – with 26 saves.
Hatch’s best save of the first period came during a two-on-one at the 10:50 mark. Leland Copenhagen broke in with Sam Sheldon and kept the puck for a short side attempt, but Hatch got his glove on it.
Thirty seconds into the second, three Greely forwards swarmed around a loose puck in front of a down-and-out Hatch. This time luck was on the goalie’s side as the Rangers’ shots hit everything but the net.
Bolduc (29 saves in the game) stole the spotlight back a few minutes later when he made a pad save on a one-timer by Kertes. A minute later he shut down Andrew Gibson after Tom Rich sent him in on a partial breakaway. Gibson was later stoned on a shorthanded one-timer attempt from the right post.
The most sterling opportunity for the Rangers to that point came at 12:34 when Cape’s Zack Juliano was sent to the penalty box. With Ross Negele already stationed there, Greely had a 23-second two-man advantage.
But they couldn’t convert. And so the stage was set for Kertes.
“I just wheeled around and the Greely kid tried to shoot it out, but Kyle kept it in,” he said. “I wheeled around and found it with no one in front of me, just me and the goalie, and you get that many shots on the kid and he’s bound to let in one.”
Kertes collected the pass with his skate, kicked it up to his stick and beat Bolduc with a shot into the upper right corner.
The game wasn’t over, though. Less than two minutes after scoring, Kertes was sent off for elbowing. When Juliano was called for a hit from behind, the Rangers had another two-man advantage, this one for 45 seconds.
Again, the Rangers failed to muster any quality scoring chances.
“It’s a tip of the hat to the guys that work the PK,” said Tremblay. “Last year, we really worked hard and then this year we adjusted a couple of guys in there and I think it’s working for us now. It’s taken a few games, but we’re starting to play well.”
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