If the on-ice pig pile on Scott Heath following his game-winning goal in the first minute of overtime seemed a bit excessive, you’ll have to excuse the Westbrook hockey players.

If the Blue Blazes violated the old sports adage that says “act like you’ve been there,” it was for good reason. They hadn’t.

“Our seniors, in their four years, had never won an overtime game,” said Westbrook coach Travis Jalbert. “They’d always either lost or tied. That’s part of the excitement.”

Heath completed a hat trick – which included the tying goal with under three minutes to play in regulation – just 34 seconds into the extra period while the Blazes had a two-man advantage to lift Westbrook to a 4-3 comeback win over Bonny Eagle on Monday afternoon at USM Ice Arena in Gorham. Tyler Rand assisted on the score.

“That’s exactly the play we talked about during the intermission (after the third period),” Jalbert said. “That’s a play we run having Scott come off the half board. Especially with the two-man advantage, he’s going to have the whole middle lane to get a good shot. We talked about setting it up, working it around and finding Scott, and hoping that he would finish. And he did.”

Westbrook moved to 11-3 with the win. The Blazes were 11th in the latest Western A Heal Point standings, which did not include Monday’s game. The No. 10 Scots dropped to 4-9-1.

Ten Bonny Eagle penalties meant the Blazes were playing a man up for much of the game. After a scoreless first period in which Westbrook failed to convert any of its five power plays, the Scots jumped out to a 2-0 lead just over six minutes into the second. Travis Dunn scored at 3:31 of the second, assisted by Zach Liff, to break the scoreless deadlock. The goal was Dunn’s 200th career point. A senior forward who netted his 100th career goal earlier in the year, Dunn is Bonny Eagle’s all-time leading scorer.

“It’s a big thing,” said Bonny Eagle coach Mark Whitman. “A lot of people will say we don’t play a hard schedule, but 200 points in anything is just an amazing feat for a young man.

“Right from day one when he stepped on as a freshman he’s been a force. His sophomore year he had close to 80 points. He’s really helped turn this program around.”

With 8:48 to go in the second, CJ Blanchard (from JT Figenser), put the Scots up 2-0 with a power play goal. After Kyle Gaudreau put the Blazes on the board with 6:30 left (assisted by Josh Caron), Dunn made it 3-1 when he waltzed through the Westbrook defense to score a short-handed goal with 4:37 remaining in the second.

Heath got the Blazes back within one a minute and a half later, assisted by Justin Dube. It stayed 3-2 entering the third.

The Scots were penalty-free for much of the third, but missed a golden opportunity to put the Blazes away. With a two-man advantage that lasted over a minute early on, Bonny Eagle couldn’t get much towards – let alone past -Westbrook goalie Preston Peabbles (16 saves).

“We just didn’t finish,” Whitman said. “The five-on-three to open the third period was key. I told my assistant that if we don’t score on this, it will get interesting.”

Westbrook had eight shots to Bonny Eagle’s four in the third. With 2:40 to go, Heath scored the equalizer. Playing 4-on-4, Rand delivered the puck from behind the net to Heath, who was waiting in front of the goal. Heath controlled the pass, waited until he saw the right opening, and sent it into the back of the net past Bonny Eagle goalie Chris Smith (18 saves).

With less than three minutes left in the game, Blanchard received a double-minor penalty for tripping and interference, putting him in the box for four minutes. With 1:16 left, he was joined by Evan Jewell, giving the Blazes a 5-on-3 edge.

For nearly a minute, Westbrook kept the puck in its zone, putting a couple shots on net and passing well, but Smith came up big and the Scots finally cleared it with 15 seconds remaining to force overtime.

It didn’t take long for Heath to deliver the OT winner, coming on a blast from a few feet out on the left side of the net.

“We were waiting for the right shots and we got them,” Heath said. “We had some close ones in the end of the third as the seconds were ticking down. Their goalie made some good saves. Finally, we were able to put one in.

“It’s really nice. It’s a big game. It’s a rivalry game. We played hard the whole game and finally got the bounces and put them in the net.”

Heath, Westbrook’s leading scorer with 23 goals and 12 assists, actually moved to defense for the game, along with frontline mate Tommy Lemay. Lemay is second on the team in scoring with 27 points.

“The crazy thing about today is we’re missing two defensemen – one ineligible as of today and another is home sick,” Jalbert said. “For those two to move out back and play defense – they don’t usually play back there – is pretty impressive.”