FALMOUTH—Falmouth’s girls’ hockey team continues to be a pleasant surprise.
A surprise team that made a powerful statement in its playoff opener Wednesday evening at Family Ice Center.
The Navigators, ranked fourth in the South Region, hosted surging No. 5 seed York in a South Region quarterfinal and controlled a game that many expected to go right down to the wire.
Falmouth went on top to stay on a goal from freshman Amelia Brann, then senior Kate Kinley, who earlier Wednesday was named a semifinalist for the Becky Schaffer Award, given to the state’s outstanding senior player, added a short-handed tally for a 2-0 lead after one period.
The Navigators didn’t rest on their laurels in the second period, extending the lead on a rebound goal from sophomore Trinity Grenier and a second goal from Kinley, this one on the power play.
The Wildcats broke through on a goal from junior Molly Grace, but Grenier’s second goal slammed the door and Falmouth went on to a 5-1 victory.
The Navigators won a playoff game for the first time in three years as they improved to 9-5-1, ended York’s season at 5-9-2 and advanced to take on No. 1 Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland (12-2-2) in the semifinals Saturday at 4:10 p.m., at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland.
“We’ve come so far,” said Kinley. “At the start of the year, I didn’t even think we’d do very well. We weren’t great at the start, but we’ve grown and come together. Our practice has paid off. I’m impressed with our progress.”
Showtime
Falmouth, a perennial contender, struggled with the top three seeds in the South Region during the regular season, losing twice apiece to Cheverus and Scarborough and once to Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland (it also tied Mt. Ararat). The Navigators won every other game, however, including both regular season meetings against York, 4-2 on the road Dec. 15 and 3-0 at home Jan. 3.
York, a co-op program which also includes players from Marshwood, Noble and Traip Academy, suffered through a seven-game winless skid at one stretch this year, but won three of four late, including a huge victory over Scarborough.
Falmouth entered the game 3-1 all-time versus the Wildcats in the postseason, with a 9-0 victory in the 2017 South Region semifinals the most recent.
This time around, despite the absence of much playoff experience, the Navigators carried play and earned the win.
Falmouth senior Kate Kinley prepares to shoot during Wednesday’s 5-1 win over York. Kinley scored twice. Hoffer photos.
York had the first good scoring chance, but Falmouth freshman goalie Ella Wiley robbed junior Ella Moon in the second minute.
At 5:19 of the first period, Kinley set up Brann for a shot which got past Wildcats junior goalie Katie Brower for a 1-0 advantage.
York then went on the power play and it resulted in a goal. Not for the visitors, but for the Navigators, as Kinley stole the puck, raced in and finished at 8:03 for a 2-0 lead.
Falmouth had a chance to open it up even further when it had a 5-on-3 opportunity, but the Navigators couldn’t capitalize and the lead remained two heading to the second period.
There, the Navigators got further separation as after Brower saved a Kinley shot, Grenier buried the rebound at 3:13.
Falmouth then struck on the power play, as Kinley did the honors, taking a pass from sophomore Eva Chace before roofing a shot past Brower and just under the crossbar 37 seconds later to make it 4-0.
“I think we were just very confident,” Kinley said. “It finally all came together to have what we had tonight. Our spirits were way high because it was a home game. We’ve worked a lot on shooting and having someone there for rebounds and that paid off tonight. That and screening the goalie worked well.”
York broke through at 8:50 of the second period, when Grace scored unassisted through a screen on the power play, but at 11:51, Falmouth answered, also on the power play, as Grenier took a pass from freshman Audrey Farnham and scored for a 5-1 advantage.
“We netted five (goals) and that’s about the most we’ve scored this year,” said Navigators coach Rob Carrier. “We had a lot of puck possession. We made sure we got quality scoring chances and got shots to the net and tried to find some rebounds and that paid off.”
The Wildcats hoped to get back in the game in the third period, but Falmouth’s defense and Wiley came up big, as Wiley made late saves on Moon and Grace to bring the curtain down on the 5-1 victory.
At the final horn, Falmouth celebrates its first playoff win since 2019.
The Navigators had a 29-10 shots advantage and got nine saves from Wiley.
“It was a really good defensive effort,” Kinley said. “We hardly let them get shots and when they did, Ella was there.”
“I’m very happy,” said Carrier. “The girls executed the game plan beautifully and things aligned for us for tonight. We tried to make sure that if they were going to come into our end, make them skate the whole ice, don’t give them any gimmes. We tried to keep them to the outside the best we could and make sure Ella saw the shots. If she sees a shot, she’ll stop it.”
Brower made 24 saves for York.
Off to Portland
Falmouth will have its hands full with Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland in the semifinals Saturday. The Navigators lost the regular season meeting, 3-0, Jan. 27 in Portland. The teams have split two prior playoff meetings, with Falmouth’s 4-3 victory in the 2018 South Region quarterfinals the most recent.
“I think we just need to keeping doing what we did tonight,” said Kinley. “At this point, anything else we do is above expectations.”
“I’m pleasantly surprised,” Carrier said. “We had a lot of new players coming in and didn’t have much of a season last year. I didn’t think this was possible until three or four weeks ago. We’ll go in as the underdog Saturday and we’ll look to get a lucky bounce.”
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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