LEWISTON — Finally.
After two tough losses to Greely in the regular season, St. Dominic Academy figured out the Rangers when it mattered the most.
With the season on the line in the teams’ Northern Maine final, St. Dom’s showed more, did more, and scored more. The third meeting was a charm for the Saints, who needed every second of the game to come away with a 5-4 win at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
Avery Lutrzykowski scored the game-winner with 3.7 seconds left, just after Greely tied the game up with their goalie pulled in the final minute.
“All I thought about was getting it into the net, honestly,” Lutrzykowski said. “When it’s coming down to the last few seconds and it’s tied … you know what you have to do. You have to put it in the back of the net.”
Lutrzykowski’s heroics came 40 seconds after Emilee McGillicuddy tied the game with the top-ranked Rangers (19-1) employing an extra skater.
“There’s no sense of giving up, ever,” Greely coach Nate Guerin said.
St. Dom’s coach Paul Gosselin said there was never a thought for his young team to play for overtime. He said the puck was dropped after McGillicuddy’s goal and his players “were going for it.”
The game looked headed for overtime after Ellie Schad scored 20 seconds into the third period to tie the game up at 3-3. But the second-seeded Saints (18-2) benefited from the game’s first and only penalty with fewer than three minutes to play. Guerin called the hooking penalty against his team “interesting,” and “bizarre,” but insisted that it didn’t determine the outcome of the game.
It did give the Saints an advantage, and they seized the opportunity with a go-ahead goal by Bugsy Hammerton 17 seconds into the power play.
Greely had the advantage after the first period. Like they did during both regular-season meetings, the Rangers scored first. Senior captain Danita Storey had a pair of unassisted goals to put Greely up 2-0.
“That’s her job and she’s really good at it, as her career stats show,” Guerin said. “She doesn’t just score in the blowout games, she scores in the important games.”
The Saints’ deficit was cut in half less than two minutes into the second. Freshman defender Izzy Frenette fired a turnaround shot from the high slot that got past Greely goalie Nica Todd.
“When other teams cloud up the net, we need to go back to our defensmen to score,” Gosselin said, “and we were able to do that.”
Frenette tied the game up four minutes into the period, burying a third chance against Todd that Lutrzykowski started.
Lutrzykowski then put St. Dom’s on top for the first time with 16 seconds remaining in the second period. She took control of the puck along the boards at her own blue line, then left a wave of Greely players in her wake before deking and beating Todd with 16 seconds before the break.
“When the goalie’s out of the net you’re supposed to deke,” Lutrzykowski said. “Since she was out of the net, I just kind of scooted around her and slipped it in.”
Lutrzykowski didn’t play the last time the two teams met due to a concussion. With her back in the lineup (as well as Hammerton, who missed the regional semifinal game), the Saints top forward line was able to jell. Guerin also said it added more skill to the St. Dom’s attack.
“I knew that I could step it up and show them what I was made of, and yeah, I did that,” Lutrzykowski said.
Greely won the two regular-season meetings, 2-1 and 8-4. The third time around, the Saints were fully healthy, and according to Guerin, played to their full potential.
“They’ve got a ton of talent, and they played their best game of the season,” Guerin said of the Saints. “You put those two things together and you know you’re in for a good game. And it was a great game. One of the best that I’ve been involved in.”
Frenette finished with two goals and two assists, including hitting Lutrzykowski for the game-winner. Lutrzykowski, in turn, assisted on one of Frenette’s goals.
“We came in more prepared than the other games,” Lutrzykowski said. “We really wanted to win.”
“The girls came in with a very determined effort,” Gosselin said.
The Saints advance to Saturday’s state championship game against Scarborough, the No. 1 seed from the South, at the Colisee. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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