LEWISTON — Entering the third period of the girls’ hockey state championship game tied with Cheverus/Kennebunk, seniors on the Greely/Gray-New Gloucester team had redemption on their minds.
“We know how it feels to get knocked out,” senior captain Courtney Sullivan said, “and we never wanted to feel that again.”
After ending their past two seasons with losses in the North championship game, the Rangers finally had their shot at a state title.
Sullivan made sure they didn’t miss it, scoring three unassisted goals to lift the Rangers to a 3-1 victory over Cheverus on Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
“I think we did a good job of getting it in deep and just being able to keep it in their zone,” Sullivan said. “We had a couple opportunities that we managed to put away, and our defense played great.”
“She’s super effective at finishing in all kinds of ways,” Greely Coach Nate Guerin said of Sullivan. “And she’s got a killer shot.”
After putting the Rangers (19-3) on the board in the second period, Sullivan scored twice in the third by forcing turnovers during Cheverus rushes and then capitalizing on the open space with goals at 7:30 and 9:35.
“I just had one girl to beat and, again, for the second one, they were rushing forward,” Sullivan said. “I just got them when their momentum was going the other way.”
The title is Greely’s first since winning back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013. St. Dominic beat Greely in the regional final in 2016 and 2017 before going on to win the state title.
“I’m so proud of my team. We put in so much work this season and we really deserved this,” Greely senior captain Bridget Roberts said. “It was a long time coming.”
Scoring chances were relatively limited for Greely and Cheverus (19-2) – both of which have a wide range of dangerous offensive threats. Greely ended the game with a 13-12 edge in shots on goal. Jordyn Owens finished with 11 saves for the Rangers and Anna Smith had 10 for Cheverus.
“It’s a testament to both team’s defense,” Guerin said. “I thought both teams really clamped down on D and really protected the middle of the ice.”
The Rangers controlled most of the first period, outshooting the Stags 5-1 in the opening seven minutes. Smith made six saves to keep the game scoreless heading into the second.
“The girls came out flying – I thought the first period was really intense,” Guerin said, noting that Greely was running a short bench. “You kind of saw them slow down in the second but the energy was there.”
Sullivan put Greely on the board 3:23 into the second with a shot from roughly 25 feet that sailed past Smith under the crossbar.
“We just wanted to get a lot of shots on net,” Sullivan said. “What has worked a lot this year is to go one way, then shoot it the other, and it went in.”
Sophia Pompeo snagged back momentum for Cheverus 33 seconds later when she scored from Emma McCauley and Abby Lamontagne.
It was the spark the Stags needed. They matched Greely’s four shots on goal that period, not including a Lamontagne shot with less than a minute left that flew just high of Greely’s crossbar.
Owens came up big for Greely in the third period, turning away five shots.
“She works so hard and has come a long way, and it shows in a game like this,” Guerin said of Owens. “The emotion and the intensity was great. Obviously once you get that second goal, the exhaustion goes out the window.
“It was great to see them finish like that.”
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