FALMOUTH — The playoffs are a time for stars to shine, and shine they did Thursday night for No. 3 Greely/Gray-New Gloucester, which advanced to the North girls’ hockey semifinals with a 9-1 victory over sixth-seeded Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland at Family Ice Center.
It’s the fourth year in a row that the Rangers (16-3) have eliminated the Red Eddies (4-14-1).
Greely’s top line accounted for all nine goals and got going early. Courtney Sullivan and Bridget Roberts fed fellow senior linemate Molly Horton 38 seconds into the game on a play that started when freshman Camilla Lattanzi’s shot from the point turned into a juicy rebound.
“It’s fun to watch them,” Rangers Coach Nate Guerin said. “We talked about them playing their last game in this building and hopefully trying to make it something to celebrate, and they didn’t waste much time getting started.”
Sullivan scored the next two goals, four minutes in from Lattanzi and 12 minutes in from Roberts, to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead after one period.
Roberts took her turn less than three minutes into the second period, then Sullivan completed her hat trick with an unassisted power-play goal.
EL got on the board midway through the second period. Bri Doucette’s breakaway attempt was stopped by Rangers goalie Jordyn Owens, but Taylor Caillier trailed the play and put home the rebound.
EL goalie Manny Guimond saw plenty of action in the second period, stopping 16 of 18 shots. She finished with 36 saves.
“It’s big for her because she’s still only a sophomore,” EL Coach Dana Berube said. “(Assistant coach Kris Bennett) and I were actually joking on the bench of how much that motivated us when we were players.”
Sullivan got the better of Guimond just 15 seconds into the third period, sliding a left-to-right shot under the netminder. The other two linemates followed 63 seconds later, with Roberts feeding Horton for her second goal. Then Horton completed her own hat trick with 11:23 left.
Roberts fed Sullivan with less than two minutes left to complete the scoring.
“We struggled to compete on a night-to-night basis,” Berube said. “Playoffs, yeah, (experience) is huge.
“We’re looking forward to next year. Turn the page quick and look to next year.”
Owens, who didn’t face a shot in the third period, finished with six saves.
The Rangers now face St. Dominic Academy in the semifinals. The Saints ousted Greely in the regional final each of the last two years on their way to winning the state championship.
“They’re pretty excited,” Guerin said of his players. “It’s a good rivalry. It’s always a fun game, I think, for both teams. There’s a lot of emotion.”
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