Thornton wins first Class A hockey championship

LEWISTON — It may be some 2,000 years later, but David has once again slayed Goliath.

In the same year as the school’s 200th anniversary, and the 25th anniversary the school instituted boys hockey, the Thornton Academy boys hockey team won its first state championship, beating Lewiston 4-3 in double overtime in front of a sold out crowd at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

The fact it was done on both anniversaries was not lost on the mind of Thornton head coach Shawn Rousseau.

“There’s a symmetry to this that is so remarkable,” Rousseau said.

All it would take was a deflection by forward C.J. Maksut on a cleared pass by Sam Canales that went past Lewiston goalie Cam Poussard that would bring uproar amongst the Golden Trojan fans in the stands and the players on the bench, who hit the ice and formed a pile after the goal was made.

“We just put it on net, and I got a stick on it,” Maksut said. “This is exciting. This is a big win for our team and our school. It’s our first ever state championship. It feels great.”

The goal ended a game that exceeded 2 1/2 hours, with more twists and turns than a roller coaster ride at Funtown.

The first period was as even as two championship hockey teams could play, with the shots on goal being an even 8-8 between both teams. The Trojans (17-5) had two power play opportunities, but failed to convert on both.

Then the scoring flood gates opened, for both teams, as each team connected on three goals in its first four shots. Thornton forward Jon Pate led off the scoring a short-handed goal, rebounding the puck off the boards and connecting on a slap shot past Poussard for the 1-0 lead. Lewiston forward Sam Cloutier responded just two minutes later, when he deked two defenders and slipped a backhand past Trojans goalie Jay Finch to tie the score at 1-1.

Sam Canales gave the lead back to Thornton two minutes later, taking a pass off a turnover from C.J. Maksut and connecting on a slap shot to make the score 2-1. Three minutes after that goal, Lewiston forward Matt Therrien slipped a shot past Finch to bring the score back to 2-2.

Andrew Carignan would give Thornton another lead three minutes later, when he took a Pate pass and flicked it past Poussard for the 3-2 lead. Not to be outdone, the Blue Devils scored second later, when Desmond Gagne took the ensuing face-off, wound up, and connected for a goal off a slap shot to send both teams into the locker tied at 3-3.

Neither team was able to gain ground in the ensuing two periods, but plenty of scoring opportunities arose in the second overtime. Finch made the save of the season, and his life, by making a diving stop on a shot by Lewiston forward Ben Wigant three minutes into the period.

“That’s just one of those ones where you have to pray, and slide over as fast as you can,” Finch said. “I saw the guy coming backdoor, so I knew they were going to try to get it to him, whether it was off my pads or a direct pass. You just have to slide over and pray on those.”

Finch outshined Poussard, a Travis Roy award finalist, by making 35 saves on the night.

Lewiston (17-2-2) was able to keep the pressure on throughout overtime, but as the puck was leaving the Lewiston zone, Canales took the puck, spun around, sent it flying toward the net before meeting Maksut’s stick knocking it past Poussard for the game-winner.

“Both teams were dead tired,” Maksut said. “The legs say no, your mind is saying yes, you’ve just got to keep going. Both teams battled through it. We just got that last goal. It feels great.”

Between the Pipes: The game is the first Class A state championship to go into overtime since Lewiston beat Cheverus 2-1 in three overtimes in 2002”¦

With the win, York County continues its dominance in boys high school hockey, winning four state titles in the last five years (three from Biddeford, one with Thornton)”¦

While Lewiston had made five state title games since last winning a championship in 2002, the Blue Devils have lost all five state title contests”¦

Maksut finished the playoffs with seven total points (five goals, two assists), the second-most points in the tournament, trailing Biddeford forward Brady Fleurent, who scored 10 points (four goals, six assists).

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