Scarborough’s boys’ hockey team celebrates after Zach Chaisson’s goal in the third overtime of Tuesday’s 3-2 victory over Edward Little in a Class A state semifinal. Russ Dillingham / Sun Journal
The state hockey championships take place Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston with varying subplots.
In Class A, the underdog is skating in with confidence.
In Class B, the favorite is wary.
The Class A game features unbeaten and top-seeded Lewiston (20-0) against No. 3 Scarborough (15-4-1) at 6 p.m. It’s a rematch of the 2016 final, won by Lewiston, 2-1, on a goal with 29 seconds left. That was Scarborough’s last trip to the final, and the first of three straight state titles for the Blue Devils.
This year, Lewiston has defeated the Red Storm twice, 5-1 and 3-1.
“When we played them, we did not manage the puck well and did not make good decisions in our own end,” Scarborough Coach Jake Brown said. “I think we have been better with that lately.”
Scarborough is coming off an emotional 3-2 triple-overtime semifinal win over a hot Edward Little team. The Red Storm trailed twice.
“Winning a game like we did Tuesday gives everyone confidence,” Brown said. “I am really proud of the way our guys competed and battled adversity.”
After the game, Brown exited the locker room to find Lewiston Coach Jamie Belleau waiting to give him a big hug. Belleau’s first season coaching the Blue Devils, in 2008-09, was Brown’s senior year at Lewiston.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Belleau,” Brown said. “Lewiston is a very talented and hard-working team. They have good goaltending, strong defensemen and skilled forwards. It will take a total team effort.”
The Blue Devils come at teams with continued pressure. Scarborough is backed by prime-time goalie Peter O’Brien, but the onus is on the defensemen to bring the puck out. Senior Ethan Jasa is one of the best at doing that. Other key defensemen include James Lilley, Owen Denbow and Kevin Woods.
If the Red Storm can control the puck, their forwards – led by seniors Dawson Gendreau, Nolan Matthews and Cam Budway and junior Zach Chaisson – can do damage.
“I like the way we are managing the puck,” Brown said, “and I think we are playing good team structure.”
Lewiston’s structure is sound, starting with its defense and junior goalie Keegan McLaughlin. In his first year as a regular, McLaughlin has allowed 17 goals in 20 games, with eight shutouts. The Blue Devils’ scoring is spread throughout their roster, led by Kurtis Pelletier (17 goals), Ryan Pomerleau (16 goals) and Ben St. Laurent (17 assists).
Greely celebrates its 6-1 victory over Cape Elizabeth in the Class B South championship game at Lewiston. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
THE CLASS B title game, at 1 p.m., features defending state champion Greely (16-3-1) and Old Town/Orono (15-5-1) for the third straight year. Old Town won in 2018, 3-2 in overtime; Greely won in a rout last year, 8-0.
Greely played a strong schedule, with two losses and one tie against top Class A teams. The Rangers’ other loss was at Old Town/Orono, 4-2 (including an empty-net goal) on Jan. 20.
“We get another chance to play these guys,” Greely Coach Barry Mothes said. “It’s not like trying to beat a league rival for the third time.”
Mothes referred to the South semifinal (a 7-1 win over Gorham) and final (a 6-1 win against Cape Elizabeth). Greely is 10-1 in its last 11 games.
“After that Old Town game, we tried to reset ourselves and reexamine what we can do better,” Mothes said. “We’ve been moving well for a few weeks now.”
That means all the Rangers’ lines are clicking, led by the top trio of Andy Moore, Ryan Moore and Tyler Grasky. No. 2 line is Alex Wallace, Evan Dutil and Chris Williams, and No. 3 line features Gage Cooney, Mitchell Parent and Luke Stetson.
Caleb Duff is Greely’s top defenseman, and Jared Swisher had a 2.26 goals-against average in the regular season.
Old Town features a potent offense with two strong lines.
“They have a lot of dangerous elements,” Mothes said. “Good, natural size; strong on pucks; good speed; creative playmaking capabilities; and a couple of really good finishers.
“They work very hard as a team. They back-check hard, the sign of any good team. They make it tough to get to their net.
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