Chevrus’ Sean Walsh fires a shot at Falmouth goalie Spencer Pierce during the first period of Tuesday’s playoff game in Lewiston.
LEWISTON — Tuesday night wasn’t the first time that Falmouth had trailed in a game, but none of the previous games had as much on the line.
A Class A South boys’ hockey regional title and a trip to the state championship game hung in the balance, and the Yachtsmen faced a two-goal deficit with one minute remaining in the second period.
Garrett Tracey gave the Yachtsmen hope, going end to end to score a goal that started a comeback, and Falmouth rallied for a 3-2 victory over Cheverus at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
“We’ve been in this situation several times earlier this season and we’ve been succesful coming back,” Falmouth coach Deron Barton said. “We certainly didn’t plan it this way, you never do.”
The second-seeded Stags (15-6), who ended the regular season with losses to Falmouth in two of their final three games, got off to the better start. One Cheverus goal was waved off due to a high stick, but Kieran Conley later put the Stags on the board with a power-play goal.
The Stags struck again with the man-advantage to go up 2-0 midway through the second period. Sean Walsh scored a goal that was called good on the ice, then eventually upheld on replay after some confusing minutes for everyone in the Colisee. Video reviews were called upon throughout the game.
Tracey called upon himself with time winding down in the second period. The sophomore took control of the puck in his own end, winded through the neutral zone, then fired a shot past Cheverus goalie Jason Halverson from the slot with 55.5 seconds left to cut the deficit in half for the top-seeded Yachtsmen (16-3-1).
“You never know where it’s going to come from. He’s a sophomore, he’s playing forward all year, we moved him back (to defense), we need him back there,” Barton said. “He’s just an unlikely hero at this point. Without him, the fire doesn’t get started.”
“We had them frustrated, and I think that goal gave them a spark,” Cheverus coach Dan Lucas said.
That deficit was eliminated just 41 seconds into the third. Theo Hembre’s shot from inside the blue line found its way past Halverson. Senior captain Robbie Armitage assisted on the goal.
“I think we started, looked like we got a little out of gas there at the start of the third period,” Lucas said.
Armitage’s twin brother, Reece, then put the Yachtsmen on top with nine minutes left, flipping a shot from the left circle off Halverson and in. Brendan Hickey fed Armitage on the goal.
“This season, it’s either him, Robbie, and Hembre and Hickey have emerged themselves as go-to players when the chips are down,” Barton said.
The Stags couldn’t get a shot on goal in the third until there were 14 seconds left in the game, and Spencer Pierce made the last of his 15 saves.
Halverson stopped 33 of 36 shots for Cheverus.
LEWISTON — Tuesday night wasn’t the first time that Falmouth had trailed in a game, but none of the previous games had as much on the line.
A Class A South boys’ hockey regional title and a trip to the state championship game hung in the balance, and the Yachtsmen faced a 2-0 deficit with one minute remaining in the second period.
Garrett Tracey gave the Yachtsmen hope, going end to end to score a goal that started a comeback, and Falmouth rallied for a 3-2 victory over Cheverus at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
“We’ve been in this situation several times earlier this season and we’ve been succesful coming back,” Falmouth coach Deron Barton said. “We certainly didn’t plan it this way, you never do.”
The second-seeded Stags (15-6), who ended the regular season with losses to Falmouth in two of their final three games, got off to the better start. One Cheverus goal was waved off due to a high stick, but Kieran Conley later put the Stags on the board with a power-play goal.
The Stags struck again with the man-advantage to go up 2-0 midway through the second period. Sean Walsh scored a goal that was called good on the ice, then eventually upheld on replay after some confusing minutes for everyone in the Colisee. Video reviews were called upon throughout the game.
Tracey called upon himself with time winding down in the second period. The sophomore took control of the puck in his own end, winded through the neutral zone, then fired a shot past Cheverus goalie Jason Halverson from the slot with 55.5 seconds left to cut the deficit in half for the top-seeded Yachtsmen (16-3-1).
“You never know where it’s going to come from. He’s a sophomore, he’s playing forward all year, we moved him back (to defense), we need him back there,” Barton said. “He’s just an unlikely hero at this point. Without him, the fire doesn’t get started.”
“We had them frustrated, and I think that goal gave them a spark,” Cheverus coach Dan Lucas said.
That deficit was eliminated just 41 seconds into the third. Theo Hembre’s shot from inside the blue line found its way past Halverson. Senior captain Robbie Armitage assisted on the goal.
“I think we started, looked like we got a little out of gas there at the start of the third period,” Lucas said.
Armitage’s twin brother, Reece, then put the Yachtsmen on top with nine minutes left, flipping a shot from the left circle off Halverson and in. Brendan Hickey fed Armitage on the goal.
“This season, it’s either him, Robbie, and Hembre and Hickey have emerged themselves as go-to players when the chips are down,” Barton said.
The Stags couldn’t get a shot on goal in the third until there were 14 seconds left in the game, and Spencer Pierce made the last of his 15 saves.
Halverson stopped 33 of 36 shots for Cheverus.
Falmouth’s Reece Armitage, right, and Chevrus’ Sean Walsh battle battle for a loose puck during the first peirod of Tuesday’s championship game in Lewiston.Chevrus’ Kieran Conley, right, celebrates after scoring the first goal of the game on Falmouth goalie Spencer Pierce during the first period of Tuesday’s playoff game at the Colisee in Lewiston
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