BIDDEFORD — Never really out of contention ”“ but never really in it, either.
Such was the lot of Kennebunk, which battled Cheverus to the final buzzer Monday, but still fell 5-4 in a Class A boys hockey tilt at Biddeford Ice Arena.
Trailing 3-0 heading into the third period, the Rams (9-4-0) stayed on the Stags’ heels, but couldn’t narrow the gap to one goal until Ben Bath scored with 5.4 seconds remaining.
“Cheverus came out hard,” said Kennebunk coach Don Hill. “They played hard, and they forechecked hard. They were ready to play tonight and did a good job. I’ve got to give the credit to them.”
It was a classic case of too little too late.
Kennebunk trailed from the 1:52 mark on, after Sterling Weatherbie jetted down right wing, then rattled the puck past Rams goalie Mike LeBlanc to put the Stags up 1-0.
That slim margin held until a fluky goal by Liam Fitzpatrick made it 2-0 at 7:19.
Fitzpatrick scored when his shot from close range bounced in off a Rams defender.
Then, six minutes later, Weatherbie rebounded Fitzpatrick’s shot.
“We had opportunities early on,” said Hill. “But we didn’t bury them. We couldn’t convert.” Kennebunk began making comeback noises just 21 seconds into the final period, when Charlie Merry rebounded Peter Gotlieb’s point shot.
The scoring pace picked up after that, although the best the Rams could do was trade tallies with Cheverus (9-3-1).
Kennebunk’s Harrison Hall made it 4-2 with 6:33 gone, but 40 seconds later, Mark Snyder restored the Stags’ three-goal lead. Still, the Rams weren’t dead yet. Both Ned Richard and Bath scored in the final 1:54, with Bath giving the Rams’ failing fortunes a momentary lift in the waning seconds.
The Rams did control the ensuing center ice faceoff, but ran out of time before they could set up one last scoring bid. “I’m proud of the guys for coming back in the third,” said Hill. “It was a long way back. You feel like you’ve got the momentum when you battle back. But we’ve got some hurdles to get over in order to get ourselves to the next level.”
Kennebunk will get right back at it tonight when it visits Yarmouth at Travis Roy Arena. It will be the Rams’ third game in four days.
— Contact Staff Writer Dan Hickling at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
