FALMOUTH — Oskar Frankwicz and Cape Elizabeth had lost seven consecutive boys’ hockey games to Greely over the past three years.
But the Capers ended that skid Wednesday afternoon at Family Ice Center. They started fast and never let up in a 5-2 win.
Alex Thayer’s early goal put the Capers (5-2-2) on top, Frankwicz scored another in front of strong play from goalie Charlie Garvin.
“This was a big one for us,” said Frankwicz, who, along with Jack Pellechia, had lost to Greely in the past three Class B South finals. “The (postgame) locker room was very fired up. I was sick and tired of losing to Greely, so it feels amazing to (win) finally. We did it as a team. It was a total team effort.”
Cape Elizabeth dominated possession and shots early and struck first at 6:20 when Ben Connolly fed the puck to Thayer, who got just enough of it to direct it past Greely goalie Spencer Osgood.
Osgood then made a dozen early saves to keep the Rangers (7-3) close. With 1:24 to go in the first half, the Capers broke through again. Frankwicz was parked to Osgood’s right and Quinn Gordon got the puck to him, setting up a shot past the goalie and off the underside of the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.
But Greely regained momentum 21 seconds later when Matt Kennedy ripped a shot through a screen after taking a pass from Jack McIntyre.
But momentum didn’t stay with the Rangers as again the Capers brought the energy out of the locker room. At 2:27, Connor Goss got a shot to sneak past Keji Wiessner, who replaced Osgood in goal for Greely.
“Our balance was good to see and we scored in different ways today,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Jake Rutt. “We played well defensively and that’s why we played as well as we did offensively.”
Again the Rangers answered, taking advantage of the game’s first power play to pull within 3-2 on a goal from Evan Dutil with 10:16 remaining. After Brennan Rawnsley’s bid to tie the game hit the crossbar, the Capers got some breathing room with 8:25 to go as Nick Laughlin found a wide-open Sebastian Moon in front for a 4-2 advantage.
Laughlin then clinched it with an empty-net goal with 1:40 remaining.
“This is a group that’s dedicated to winning and willing to sacrifice to win,” Rutt said. “It doesn’t matter if there’s a trophy on the line or not.”
Greely was never able to dig out of its early hole.
“Credit to Cape. They played well,” said Rangers Coach Barry Mothes. “They were quick and took care of the puck better than we did. They created their own breaks and that’s what happens when you work hard.”
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