Gorham’s Shawn Sullivan broke open a locked-horns game Friday night, dumping the contest’s lone goal in the Kennebunk net mere moments after a late-third faceoff. With just under a minute and a half remaining, Gorham needed only hold on – and they did, winning 1-0 and advancing to the B West finals.
The win, captured at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, moves No. 1 Gorham to 16-3 on the year; they will face three-seed Greely on Wednesday at 7 p.m., again at the Colisee.
“We didn’t give up,” Gorham head coach Jon Portwine said. “Teams in the past, when our butts have been on the line, we haven’t made good decisions. Tonight we made good decisions.
“We played as a team, played hard. It paid off in the end. I’m happy for these guys, because they deserve it.”
Play in the first rolled back-and-forth up the ice; each team took its turn largely controlling the action in the opposition’s end. Gorham generated opportunities on an early powerplay, but couldn’t capitalize, and had a goal waved off around five minutes in.
In the second, Kennebunk took a minor for cross-checking with roughly 10:30 to play, then another for tripping four minutes later; Gorham, however, still could not convert, Kennebunk goaltender Mike LeBlanc turning away multiple shots.
The pace throughout felt somewhat slow. “It did, it did,” Portwine acknowledged. “I don’t know if it was the warm rink, soft ice maybe. I think the first period we were kind of feeling each other out. It didn’t feel like we really ‘settled in’ at any point in the game – and that’s a credit to Kennebunk.
“They kept us off our game; they forechecked really well. I can’t say enough about their goalie; he was incredible.”
The third ticked away. Both defenses successfully devoured the slot area, attackers to take off-angle shots from outside, and both keepers still stood solid. “When we got a good shooting angle,” Portwine said, “we shot it over the net. If we got more of those pucks on net, we might’ve been able to get a rebound.”
The game looked destined for overtime. With under two to play, Gorham’s Carl Bear ringed a close call off the Kennebunk post, but close calls don’t light the scoreboard.
They may rattle the opposition, though. Just 25 seconds later, the puck dropped on a faceoff in Kennebunk’s end; in the ensuing scuffle, first Jared Wood then Sullivan took shots at the biscuit – and Sullivan’s went in. 1-0.
“I told the boys going into the third it wasn’t going to be pretty,” Portwine said. “It was going to be an ugly goal, and maybe that wasn’t the ugliest goal – but it was going to be something like that either way that got the job done.”
Portwine had high praise for his netminder, Justin Broy. “Unbelievable. He really is. I’ve never had a goalie like him; and it’s rare to see one like that. For an undersized kid, he just works his tail off. That’s all he’s ever wanted to do, is play goalie and play at this level, and he’s doing it. He’s carrying us.”
Kennebunk soon yanked LeBlanc, but the man advantage availed them nothing, and their season came to a disheartening close.
Gorham’s goes on.
Gorham’s Tucker Buteau, right, carries the puck just ahead of a Kennebunk defender.
Travis Mansir charges through the outside neutral zone on the attack, beating a Kennebunk defender.
Gorham’s Jordan Ward dishes the puck under heavy pressure.
Gorham’s Shawn Sullivan dumps the puck from the point on the attack. Sullivan scored the game’s lone goal late in the third, giving his Rams the win.
The Gorham Rams explode in celebration after Shawn Sullivan scores late in the third, giving the team a 1-0 advantage they would hold on to.
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