For a seasoned team loaded with seniors, Cape Elizabeth took some dumb penalties Wednesday night, including five in the closing or opening minute of a period.
Even so, goaltender Charlie Garvin made sure none of the mistakes proved costly.
Garvin stopped all 18 shots he faced Wednesday night to lead second-seeded Cape Elizabeth to a 2-0 victory over No. 4 York in the Class B South boys’ hockey championship game at Cross Insurance Arena.
“I can save a breakaway or two, but I can’t take 10 minutes of (being) down a man,” Garvin said. “There’s only so much I can take. But I’m sure we’ll stay disciplined for the next game.”
For the first time since 2006, the Capers (18-2) advanced to the state final, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, also at Cross Arena. Their opponent will be the winner of Thursday night’s Class B North final between No. 2 Messalonskee (16-2-1) and No. 4 Hampden Academy (9-7-1).
Cape Elizabeth won both regular-season games against York, 6-2 at home and 2-0 away. The Wildcats were coming off an upset of defending state champion Brunswick, the region’s top seed, after having lost twice to the Dragons in the regular season.
That victory came at a cost. York lost two senior captains to injuries.
“I don’t like to make excuses, but we just don’t have a ton of depth,” said York Coach Peter Douris. “We have a lot of young guys. I’m real proud of the way they responded. We were short-handed, and the guys stepped up and played their absolute hearts out.”
The Wildcats outshot Cape Elizabeth 6-4 in the opening period but couldn’t get anything past Garvin and, thanks to Cape’s senior defensive quartet of Nick Laughlin, Phil Coupe, Luke Mello and Nate Patterson, rarely saw a second opportunity.
“I give them a lot of credit,” Douris said. “That’s a good team. They’ve been tough to score on all year.”
The Capers opened the scoring when sophomore Brady Hanisko pounced on a loose puck in the high slot and zipped it past York goalie Aidan McQuaide midway through the first.
That lead remained intact through a York power play brought about by the first of two Cape Elizabeth roughing penalties. The second, in retaliation to a York slash, resulted in matching penalties.
The Capers made it 2-0 a little more than six minutes into the second period, shortly after York killed off Cape Elizabeth’s first power play. Coupe set up Colin Blackburn near the top of the right circle, and Blackburn found the top right corner of the net with his shot.
“Charlie came up big,” Blackburn said. “York came out hard and could have easily had two or three goals scored on us, but he made the saves that we needed. He kept us in it, and that’s what mattered.”
York’s best scoring opportunity came on a second-period breakaway by Shea Buckley with two defenders in hot pursuit, but Garvin made the save. A few minutes later, Cape’s Connor Goss similarly got ahead of the pack, but his flip shot sailed high.
Garvin made six saves in each period and held up under four York power plays, the last a 6-on-4 advantage in the game’s final minute when the Wildcats pulled their goalie (McQuaide finished with 21 saves) in favor of an extra skater. The Capers were 0-for-2 on power-play opportunities, although Blackburn’s goal came shortly after York had killed off a penalty.
Cape Elizabeth Coach Jake Rutt said he wasn’t sure if nerves bothered his team or something else, but “we just didn’t execute. We had some Grade A (chances) that kind of went over our stick.”
Even so, he said, “it’s very comforting to play a team like that where we weren’t at our best and yet we were still able to control play for the majority of the game and get the W.”
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