The run came to end Friday night at The Colisee in Lewiston, but when Mark Schmidt emerged from the Gorham locker room he wasn’t wearing the face of a disappointed senior captain who had just played his last high school hockey game.

Schmidt wasn’t bubbling over with joy after the Rams’ 6-4 Western Class A semifinal loss to No. 2-seeded Scarborough, but he was able to see the bigger picture – and that helped his spirits.

“We had this game in our hands, and it was neck and neck, just like the Kennebunk game. We had that feeling again, but they just beat us,” said Schmidt. “I think they were just a better team. But we finally got our name out there, and I think that’s what we came here to prove: that we weren’t a fluke, that (the win over) Kennebunk (in the quarterfinals) wasn’t a fluke and our record wasn’t a fluke. We had something to prove, and I believe we did that in these playoffs.”

The sixth-seeded Rams beat Bonny Eagle, 11-2, in the preliminary round for their first-ever playoff win. They beat the Scots twice during the regular season, though, so everyone expected them to win that one.

The quarterfinal game against Kennebunk was the real test. On Feb. 4, Kennebunk didn’t just hand Gorham its only loss of the regular season, it issued a warning: there’s a big difference between Tier 1 and Tier 3. Kennebunk won 10-3.

In the quarters, Gorham adjusted and responded with a 4-2 win.

Three days later, the Rams faced off against Scarborough, a team they share a practice rink with but hadn’t faced during the regular season.

“Really, our game plan for the whole thing was to try and get two forecheckers in, get the puck in deep, get two forecheckers down, try and disrupt their defense and create some opportunities in their end,” said Gorham coach Eric Wales.

Scarborough took a 1-0 lead on a Brent Mayo goal 5:44 into the game, but it didn’t take long for the Rams to bounce back. Less than a minute and a half later, freshman David Gushee stripped Mayo of the puck deep in the Scarborough zone and fed Schmidt for a one-timer from the slot.

Gorham went up 2-1 with a power-play goal 9:49 into the first when senior forward Colby Keene re-directed a Schmidt wrister from the point.

“When the opportunity was given to them,” said Scarborough coach Jay Mazur, “they took it and they made the best of it.”

The same went for the Red Storm, though. Scarborough’s offense, which had scored six goals in each of its previous two games, continued its torrid streak by keeping pace with the Rams. At the 10:18 mark, freshman Derek Army turned a turnover into the game-tying goal.

Scarborough was unable to convert on a 38-second two-man advantage at the end of the period, but Stephen Cook broke the deadlock 2:13 into the second period. He skated the puck over the blue line, used a Gorham defenseman as a screen and placed a low shot inside the left post.

The Rams wouldn’t go away. Schmidt intercepted a pass, raced in alone and beat goalie Jason Barden to make it 3-3 just 3:35 into the period.

Unfortunately for Gorham, Scarborough went up for good on another Mayo goal with 5:09 to go in the second. Even more unfortunate, though, was the opportunity the Rams let slip away. Like Scarborough at the end of the first, Gorham couldn’t convert on a two-man advantage that carried over into the third period.

“We wanted to keep it close and have a shootout,” said Wales. “The one thing we had against us is they’re skating probably 10, 11 forwards and we’re skating eight. We kind of ran out of steam.”

Schmidt disagreed.

“Everyone comes here and they know they’re going to be tired in the third period, but it’s just who has the most heart pretty much,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fatigue. I think it’s who wants it more, who can win the battles and put the puck in the net.”

In the third, the Red Storm put the puck in the net twice, while the Rams did so just once. Justin Grandmaison pulled the Rams to within 5-4 at the 11:28 mark – after Blake Lucier made it 5-3 – but Scarborough’s Michael Dakers provided an insurance goal with 15 seconds left in the game.

“Of course I lose my leader, Mark Schmidt, a senior. That’s going to be a huge loss, but we’ve got plenty of talent,” said Wales. “We’ve got plenty of guys coming up and we’re going to be able to field a JV team, and I think the program’s pretty strong for the next five years.”