Greely girls crush Cape Elizabeth/SP/Waynflete to stay perfect

Greely senior Erin Molloy (15) is congratulated by a teammate after giving the Rangers an 8-0 lead en route to a 12-0 victory over the Cape Elizabeth/South Portland/Waynflete co-op team Tuesday afternoon. Greely improved to 9-0.

Chris Lambert photos

More photos below.

PORTLAND—Greely’s powerhouse girls’ hockey team wasted no time delivering a knockout punch Tuesday afternoon in its contest against the Cape Elizabeth/South Portland/Waynflete co-op team at Troubh Arena.

The Rangers’ first goal came 3 minutes, 49 seconds in and by the time the first period was over, the competitive phase of the game was too, as Greely had eight goals on the board, as six different players tickled the twine.

The Rangers added three more tallies in the second period and senior standout Danita Storey put a fitting punctuation mark on the win when she scored as time wound down to give Greely a 12-0 victory.

The Rangers got two goals apiece from Storey, junior Ellie Schad and senior Maura Verrill and nine different girls lit the lamp as Greely improved to 9-0 and dropped Capeflete to 3-7 in the process.

“The girls were excited to play and got started quick, which is something we want them to do every night,” said Rangers coach Nate Guerin.

Gold standard

After being ousted in the East Region semifinals last winter, Greely came into the 2015-16 season bound and determined to return to the pinnacle where it resided in 2012 and 2013 and in the first half of the season, the Rangers have had no equal.

Greely opened by downing host Biddeford (9-0), then beat visiting Brunswick (8-1), Winslow (11-0), Mt. Ararat (8-0) and Edward Little/Leavitt (5-2). The Rangers then won at defending state champion Lewiston (3-1), Edward Little/Leavitt (3-1) and Winslow (7-1)

Capeflete beat visiting York, 5-2, to start the season, then lost at home to Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray-New Gloucester (9-5), at Lewiston (8-1), at Scarborough (2-0) and at home to Scarborough (5-3). After beating host York (4-2), a 3-1 loss at Cheverus ensued. After beating visiting Portland/Deering (5-1), the Riots fell at home to Falmouth (8-1).

Last year, Greely won the lone meeting, 6-2, in Portland.

Tuesday, the Rangers started fast and never looked back.

While Capeflete sophomore goalie Abby Joy, a South Portland student, did her best to keep the Riots in the game, making several nice saves, she could only hold off the Greely onslaught for so long.

With 11:11 to play in the first period, sophomore Lauren Gervais scored on a rebound of a Storey shot to give the Rangers the only goal they’d need.

At 5:37, after hitting the outside of the post, sophomore Courtney Sullivan stayed with the play and finished for a 2-0 lead.

Fifty-two seconds later, it was Schad’s turn, as she scored for a 3-0 advantage (junior Emilee McGillicuddy had the assist).

With 3:58 to play in the period, Verrill scored her first goal, unassisted.

After Capeflete had a three-shot flurry, which Greely junior goalie Nica Todd turned aside, and Riots junior standout Hannah Bosworth had a shot denied by Todd, the Rangers continued their fun.

McGillicuddy got in the scoring column at 13:18, with Verrill getting an assist.

Thirty-three seconds later, Verrill scored unassisted for a 6-0 lead.

In the final minute, Schad (unassisted) and senior Erin Molloy (on a rebound of a Sullivan shot) scored to make it 8-0 after 15 minutes.

Greely managed three more goals in the second period, as junior Bella Goodwin banged home a rebound of a Sullivan shot with 9:08 left, freshman Jayme Morrison (from Verrill) struck with 6:16 to go and Storey scored unassisted with 11.6 seconds remaining to make it 11-0.

The third period featured a “mercy rule” running clock and with just six seconds showing, Storey scored a short-handed goal (from Verrill) to account for the 12-0 final score.

“The girls are working really hard,” Guerin said. “I’ve been impressed with the dedication of the girls to continue to improve and get in shape.”

Nine different Rangers scored goals and seven of the 12 goals were assisted.

“We’re trying to get to the net and make positive team plays,” Guerin said. “We’re pretty dedicated to that idea. It’s nice to see the girls working together.”

Big things ahead

Capeflete is back in action Wednesday of next week at Biddeford.

Greely next takes the ice for a countable game New Year’s Day when it does battle with Falmouth in what could be a battle of unbeatens.

“We have some really big games coming up that we’re excited for,” Guerin said. “We’re looking forward to Falmouth on New Year’s Day, then playing St. Dom’s. We’re also scrimmaging a travel team New Year’s Eve. We’ll look to accelerate into January. We’ll try to keep it fresh and keep going.”