Gavin Simopolous of Cape Elizabeth moves the puck between Sam Masse, left, and Michael Eno of Brunswick during the first period in Lewiston on Friday in a Class B South boys hockey semifinal. ( Daryn Slover / Sun Journal)
LEWISTON — The Dragons kept coming.
Down 3-1 after the first period, the Brunswick High School boys’ hockey team tied the game in the second.
Trailing 4-3 in the third frame, the Dragons, who rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the quarterfinals at third-seeded York for a 6-4 win, again tied No. 2 Cape Elizabeth when game-long standout Jacob Doring sent a shot past Caper netminder Garrett Mello with 4:59 remaining in regulation.
But, there was no coming back later as Cape Elizabeth leading scorer Gavin Simopolous sent a rising wrist shot over the right shoulder of Brunswick goaltender Spencer Marquis for a power-play goal with 1:48 left as the Capers skated away with a 6-4 Class B South victory at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Friday.
Cape Elizabeth (15-5) will face top-seeded Greely (a 10-1 winner over Gorham) in Wednesday’s regional final back at the Colisee, while the sixth-seeded Dragons finished their season with a 10-10 mark.
“Hats off to them and their coaching staff, they had them geared up and ready for a great game,” said Cape Elizabeth coach Jacob Rutt of the Dragons, whose Capers downed Brunswick, 4-2, on Feb. 14. “We never could get into a flow, but we are real proud of the boys in the effort. It wasn’t pretty, but we got the ‘W’ and we’re onto the next round.”
For Brunswick coach Mike Misner, it was the come-from-behind quarterfinal victory over York that made the Dragons believe they were never out of a game.
“The York game was huge for us, to the point that it makes you feel like you’re in the game no matter the score,” Misner said. “Tonight, we were down, but we still felt we were in this game. We look back, that with 20 seconds left in this game and down two, we felt that we were still in this game after scoring two goals against York in 15 seconds. We just didn’t have the legs, not having the numbers, and we just ran out of gas there. We faced adversity all year, one goalie, no backup, two lines. They just worked really hard.”
Early on, it appeared Cape Elizabeth was going to skate away easily. The Capers scored on their first shot just 1:54 into the game on a Philip Tarling goal, and after
Sam Masse, left, of Brunswick takes down Stephen Murray of Cape Elizabeth during the second period of Friday’s Class B South boys hockey semifinal at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston. The second-seeded Capers downed No. 6 Brunswick, 6-4. (Daryn Slover / Sun Journal)
Brunswick tied it on a Jack St. Pierre goal, Cape Elizabeth put in the next two — one goal each from Brady Eavenson and Jonas Moon — for a 3-1 advantage after a period.
Comeback 1
The Capers were whistled for a pair of penalties early in the second period and Brunswick made them pay. Doring received a pass from Michael Eno and beat Mello in close to get the Dragons to 3-2 while on the extended 5-on-3 power play.
Minutes later, Brunswick tied the game when Isaac Burtis tallied shorthanded.
“Cape is fast and likes to chip and go, and we knew if we could slow them down and close the gaps a bit better, we would be there,” said Misner, who felt his team defended much better in the second frame. “The first period, our gap control going into the ‘D’ zone was not good. They blew by us. It got better in the second period.”
Cape Elizabeth opened the third period strong, going ahead 4-3 as Andrew Carroll potted a goal just 2:56 in.
But back again came Brunswick, with Doring tallying his second goal with 4:59 remaining off an assist from Liam Hemberger.
“Jacob had been in a drought for quite a while, and he didn’t even score at York, and we were relying on everybody else,” Misner said. “But we knew if number 11 could put the puck in the net, now we could skate with Cape even better. We did that tonight, he scored a couple, and we were right there.”
“We worked really hard, every one of us,” said an emotional Doring. “To be a six seed, to upset a three seed then battle a two seed, it was a great effort. I am so proud of these guys.”
A late power play gave the Capers a chance to go ahead for good, and Cape Elizabeth took advantage. Tarling found Simopolous unmarked in the left circle, and the sophomore made no mistake on the power play for a 5-4 lead.
“It felt nice coming off the stick there,” said Simopolous of his winning goal. “Brunswick competed really hard, and at times I didn’t think we were ready for it. We were confident coming in, and we will be ready for that next game.”
Andrew Carroll, left, of Cape Elizabeth positions himself to shoot on Scout Masse (5) and goalie Spencer Marquis during the first period in Lewiston on Friday. (Daryn Slover / Sun Journal)
“I thought we did a pretty good job on special teams, said Rutt, whose Capers killed off five of six Brunswick power plays and went 1-for-5 with the man advantage. “In these close games, we have been harping on the special teams. It was a gritty effort, all the little things that good teams do. It was great for Gavin. He was a threat every time he had the puck.”
Brunswick pulled Marquis twice in the final minute of regulation, but Cape Elizabeth iced the game when Tarling pushed the puck into the vacated cage with 26 seconds remaining to complete the 6-4 win.
Marquis turned away 19 shots in the loss, while Mello had 16 saves for the Capers.
Matthew Laughlin had two assists for Cape Elizabeth, with Simopolous picking up three points (goal, two assists).
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