Emily Demers and Caroline Lerch each had three goals and one assist to lead Portland/Deering to an 8-3 win over Scarborough in a girls’ hockey game at Troubh Arena on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs scored three goals in each of the final two periods and ran their record to 4-3.
“I think we’re still in the process of learning how to win,” said Portland Coach Tom Clifford, who previously coached the boys’ team at South Portland. “We’ve now beaten Cape and Scarborough, which are two perennially very strong teams, so they’re getting the idea to come for 45 minutes to play.”
The Red Storm, who won the state title in 2014, have advanced beyond the first round of the tournament in each of the past seven seasons. The Capers have qualified for postseason play in three of the past four seasons.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for Scarborough, which dropped to 2-5.
“We’ve struggled the last few games, and I was very proud with how we came out and played today,” said first-year Scarborough coach Caitlin Jordan. “We dominated play at some points. We’ve just got to learn how to put the puck behind the goalie.”
Portland came from behind twice in the first period for an early 2-2 tie.
The Red Storm, who held a 23-16 edge in shots for the game, opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game when Taylor Veilleux put in a backhander from the slot.
It took the Bulldogs more than 13 minutes to record their first shot on net. That came during a scrum in front, and it led to Demers’ first goal of the game. She put a rebound inside the right post after goalie Grace Carriero stopped shots by Lucy Howe and Lerch.
A little more than a minute later, the Red Storm regained the lead when Kathleen Murphy put in a low shot from the left circle for a power-play goal.
Moments later, Lerch finished off a rush down the right side with her first goal.
The rest of the game belonged to the Bulldogs.
“Once we got going and we learned we were actually pretty good and we could skate with them I think we started to pick it up and get it into our heads that we could win that game,” Demers said.
Lerch snapped the tie nearly six minutes into the second period for her second goal, which came on Portland’s first shot of the period. Less than two minutes later, Emma Merrill scored a power-play goal to make it 4-2.
Inez Braceras added another power-play goal for the Bulldogs with less than minute left in the period,.
Demers and Lerch completed their hat tricks during the third period to help Portland build an 8-2 lead.
Ivy DiBiase slid in a low shot from the slot with 13 seconds left to complete the scoring.
After a shaky start, Portland goalie Adrianna Bodge turned in a strong performance, stopping 14 of 15 shots during the final two periods.
“She struggled for a little bit of the game, but she didn’t give up and she stayed positive and she worked hard,” Clifford said.
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