PORTLAND — With time winding down, the Greely girls’ hockey team put the pressure on the opposing defense Wednesday night.
The Rangers created traffic in front of the net. They shot, they shot some more, and continued to shoot, and crashed the net several times in an attempt to stir something up around St. Dominic goalie Nicole Keaney.
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But in the final moments, Keaney and the top-ranked Saints proved impenetrable in a 3-2 victory against the third-seeded Rangers in the Eastern Maine final at Portland Ice Arena.
The Rangers (12-7-1) scored two goals in the final four minutes, with Meg Finlay’s goal cutting St. Dominic’s lead to 3-2 with 1:24 left, giving the Rangers hope in furthering a comeback attempt.
“We kind of had them on the ropes and they were obviously feeling the pressure,” Greely Coach Nate Guerin said. “The girls were fired up. They came back from deficits all year and right down to the last buzzer, we were expecting them to score.”
But on Greely’s final rush, Paige Tuller was unable to move the puck past St. Dominic defenseman Sophie Goulet.
The Saints (19-1) will face York (15-3-2) for the state title at 7 p.m. Saturday in Lewiston.
“It was motivation,” said Goulet, who scored twice for the Saints. “I knew we had to play defensively and I knew we had to hold them. We couldn’t force another goal. We just had to hold what we had.”
When she had to keep Tuller from gaining an opportunity to tie the game, Goulet narrowed her focus on defense.
“You take the body,” Goulet said. “You don’t worry about the puck as much. You worry about the person that puts the puck in.”
After a scoreless first period in which the Rangers outshot the Saints 4-1 in the first five minutes, St. Dominic took four shots on goal in the first five minutes of the second and moved into a 1-0 lead at 5:54.
After Lauren Ratsep’s shot from the right circle hit the post, Marisa Zamrock corralled a bouncing puck and beat Greely goalie Emma Seymour (10 saves).
Goulet made it 2-0 at 11:49 of the second on a wrist shot from the slot, through a screen in front of Seymour. She scored her second goal 31 seconds into the third.
“They used their skill, they used their speed, and they caught us flat-footed a couple of times and that was the difference,” Guerin said.
But with four minutes left, Etta Copenhagen broke up Keaney’s shutout bid, and with less than 1:30 remaining, Finlay capitalized on a turnover deep in the Saints’ zone to beat Keaney (16 saves).
“Down 3-0, to poke one in and get another, it took a lot of heart by (our players),” Guerin said. “All year we were never out of a game, so I don’t think they felt like it was insurmountable.”
Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com
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