Biddeford goalie Justin Larnerd dives for the puck during the Class A South final against Portland/Deering on Tuesday in Lewiston. Portland Press Herald photo by Ben McCanna
LEWISTON — One power play looked so disheveled that Biddeford coach Jason Tremblay called a timeout in the second period.
The power play worked just fine in the third period.
Nick McSorley broke a 2-2 tie, roofing a shot to the back of the net on the power play at 6:36 to give the Tigers a 3-2 win over Portland/Deering in the Class A South boys’ hockey championship Tuesday night at the Colisee.
It was McSorley’s second goal of the game. Trevor Ouellette also scored for Biddeford.
Jake Luce scored both goals for Portland.
Second-seeded Biddeford (15-6) will play in the state championship at the Colisee at 6 p.m. Saturday against St. Dominic Academy (15-4-1).
Last year, Biddeford lost in the state final.
“These guys don’t quit,” Tremblay said. “But that team across the way, they don’t quit, either. That was an unbelievable game.”
After holding a 1-0 first-period lead, the Tigers fell behind 2-1 in the second on Luce’s two goals.
The Tigers got a power play at 7:21, but created few chances. Luce stole the puck but, this time, Biddeford goalie Justin Larnerd stoned him. Tremblay called a timeout.
“They were on the brink of getting that third goal. The way they can lock down defensively, it was not the spot we wanted to be in,” Tremblay said.
“I told (the players), ‘you’re panicking, you’re throwing the puck around.’”
The Tigers settled down, but No. 5 Portland (10-11) was not making it easy, constantly stacking in Biddeford’s zone.
“It was tough,” McSorley said. “They forechecked really hard. It was tough for us to get the puck out.”
But when the Tigers did get the puck out, they brought a dangerous group of scorers.
At 11:04, McSorley got the puck to defenseman Colin Petit, a converted forward. He shot, gathered his rebound and passed in the slot to Ouellette, who scored to tie the game at 2.
Neither team got much of a chance in the third period until a cross-checking penalty gave the Tigers their third power play at 6:15. They scored 21 seconds later.
“Nick Reissfelder gave me a pass in front, and I buried it top back,” McSorley said.
Portland went on its first power play a minute later and was shut out.
The Bulldogs pulled their goalie with 1:19 left and then got another power play with 47 seconds to go, going six-on-four.
The Bulldogs’ standout defenseman Donato Tocci brought in the puck. There was a crowd in front of the net, but Biddeford defenseman Trenton Ouellette cleared it. The Bulldogs ran out of time.
“We had our chances,” Portland coach Jeff Beaney said. “They’re obviously an experienced team and they’re well-coached and I had no magic button.
“I thought it was a pretty evenly-played game, a well-refereed game. The penalty at the end kind of hurt. They have a pretty good power play and, at the time, we didn’t have time to recover from it.”
Portland outshot the Tigers 26-19, but Biddeford’s explosiveness was evident at the start. The Tigers quickly capitalized on a two-on-one rush with Petit sliding the puck to McSorley, who one-timed a shot from the right circle to put the Tigers up 1-0 at 1:35.
In the second period, it was the Bulldogs with the jump.
After some nifty passing from Max Cheever and Carlos Braceras, Luce got the puck alone in the low slot. He scored short-side at 2:32.
Two minutes later, Biddeford was on the attack.
It appeared as if Braceras was simply going to clear the puck out of the zone. But Luce shifted gears and outraced the Tigers to the puck and scored far-post at 4:35 for a 2-1 lead.
“I saw the puck was bouncing around and I just tried to win the footrace, and it worked out,” Luce said.
But Biddeford regrouped and rallied for a second straight trip to the title game.
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