Scarborough senior Cam Loiselle capped a second-period surge, Thursday night, Feb. 6, putting his team atop Cheverus 5-1. Every last goal of that lead would prove crucial, too, as the Stags threatened to recoup their deficit in the third, when they posted a gritty trio of points. But it wouldn’t be enough; the Red Storm held on, and emerged victorious 5-4.

The road win, played at Portland Ice Arena, strengthens Scarborough’s hold on first place in A West. The Red Storm, now 10-2-1 on the season, sit a few Heal Points ahead of Falmouth (10-5), ranked second, and Biddeford (6-6-2), ranked third.

The teams tallied one a piece in the first, leaving Gagne unsatisfied. “The first period, we were getting beat to every loose puck,” he said. “We didn’t deserve to be in the game…We’ve got to go out and play our game, and control what we can control.

“In the second period, I got them to understand that, and it was completely different…We didn’t get into the box, and we took advantage of every mistake they made.”

In the second, the Red Storm wasted little time turning Gagne’s locker-room pep-talk into results. Less than three minutes in, Junior Matt Henderson picked up a slippery rebound and poked it past Stags goalie Jason Blier for 2-1.

Soon, Scarborough went on the penalty kill – Sean McGovern earned himself two minutes in purgatory for boarding – but they hardly went on the defensive. The Red Storm maintained their aggression, logging precious seconds in Cheverus’ end and generating numerous quality chances.

They didn’t score again, though, until near the five minute mark, when sophomore Matt Caron picked up another loose rebound to shunt past Blier and set the tally at 3-1. Two minutes later, McGovern, inching past the Stags defense, picked up a shoveled-forward pass from Loiselle to go one-on-one with Blier and win. 4-1.

With 2:20 to play, Cheverus’s Connor Ryle, perhaps venting frustration, threw a hard charge and shuffled off to the sin bin. Scarborough needed just 38 seconds to convert on the power play. On the attack, Caron and Cam Brochu combined to move the puck from near the left faceoff spot to the left point then over to Loiselle near the right point. Loiselle one-timed the pass and beat Blier glove-side for 5-1.

Gagne’s second-intermission pep talk hinged on maintaining his squad’s poise. “I told them in the locker room, ‘Now you’ve got to finish this game. The only way they’re going to get back into this game is to goad you into penalties.’ And what did they do? They goaded us into penalties,” he said.

But, as the second belonged to Scarborough, the third belonged to Cheverus. Stag James Kane ripped a wrister past Red Storm keeper Ben Bragg at 12:28 and teammate Keegan Thomas yanked one around a splayed Bragg’s right side at 6:54. When Scarborough got themselves down five men to three on boarding, unsportsmanlike and bench minor penalties, Kane notched another from the left point. 5-4.

“[Cheverus] got back into the game doing what they needed to do,” Gagne said. “And we fell for it. I told them, ‘There’s nothing to celebrate here; we won the game, we’ll take the points, but I’m disappointed in the way we finished.’”

With time expiring, Cheverus emptied Blier from their net, and pressed their attack – but to no avail. The Red Storm defended, even moved the puck into the Stags’ zone, though they couldn’t manage to post another. The game ended 5-4.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Gagne had high praise for a number of players, including Loiselle, Henderson, Caron, McGovern, Erik Grantz and Jake Gross. “Those guys stepped up,” Gagne said.

The remainder of Scarborough’s season is tough. The Red Storm travel to Bangor (second in A East at 9-2) on Saturday the 8th for a 4 p.m. faceoff, then rematch with Cheverus, this time at home, on Tuesday the 11th at 7:20 p.m., at UNE. Their final three games are against Biddeford, who tied the Red Storm back on January 4th, Thornton (6-6-1, fifth in A West), and Falmouth.

“Every team that we play [for the rest of the season] is a playoff team,” Gagne said. “We’re going to be challenged; we’ve got the target on our back. I told them, ‘You’ve gotta be able to handle that.’”

Scarborough senior Jake Gross carries the puck outside the reach of a Stags defender Thursday night. The Red Storm exploded in the second, then fended off a Cheverus comeback in the third to emerge victorious, 5-4.Scarborough’s Matt Henderson (19) shovels the puck forward to score against Cheverus goalie Jason Blier on an assist by Sam Dedian.Red Stormer Cam Loiselle cuts up-ice with the puck, pursued by Stag Jesse Cyr-Brophy.

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