Hockey coaches don’t often get Gatorade showers from their team after a big win, but Scarborough High girls’ hockey coach Taylor Fowler came as close as possible to one Wednesday night. As Fowler opened the locker room door to speak to her team following its 3-1 win over Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland in the South regional final at Troubh Ice Arena, she was greeted by a spray of water bottle celebration.
The win gives third-seeded Scarborough (12-5-1) its first trip to the state championship game since 2016, when it was runner-up to St. Dom’s. Scarborough will take on Lewiston (16-2) in the state championship game on Saturday, back at Troubh Arena at 3 p.m. Lewiston, the reigning champion and the top seed in the North, advanced with a 3-0 win over Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland in the North final.
Cape Elizabeth, the top seed in the South, ends the season at 13-3-2.
Each team needed a lot of overtime to advance to the regional final. The Capers played four overtimes to beat Falmouth 5-4 on Saturday, and Scarborough scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over the Cheverus co-op team with eight seconds left in the third overtime.
Cape Coach Bob Mills did not think fatigue was a factor for either team Wednesday.
“We’ve got such a young team. Being this deep in the playoffs is a new experience for them, and I think nerves played a big part of the first couple periods of the game,” Mills said.
After a slow start, the Red Storm scored twice in the first period to take control.
At 6:35, Scarborough’s Ashley Farrington tipped the puck past Cape goalie Abbey Steinhagen from a scrum in front of the net.
Then, with 38 seconds left in the period, Meagan Donovan’s goal with an assist from Evelyn Boardman made it 2-0.
“We started off trying to do individual (plays). I said hey, you’ve got to play as a team,” Fowler said.
Scarborough made it 3-0 early in the second on Morgan Scoville’s power-play goal – a shot from the point just 1:02 into the period.
“I think it all started with defense. They were really solid tonight, being able to get it up the ice,” said Boardman, who had two assists.
Scarborough goalie Ariella “AJ” Swett made 12 saves in the second period to help the Red Storm maintain their three-goal lead, including a stop of a breakaway chance by Libby Hooper. Swett finished with 24 saves, while Steinhagen had nine stops.
“(Swett) made a few huge saves early in the game that sort of set the tone for them. She’s a very established goalie, and it’s tough to beat her. She stood on her head,” Mills said.
Cape got on the board at 3:43 of the third when Hartson Mosunic’s shot zipped over Swett’s glove. The Capers pulled Steinhagen for an extra attacker with 1:16 to play but couldn’t score.
“They’re a very good team, and they come back in a lot of games. The kids knew they had to play it until the last whistle,” Fowler said.
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