BIDDEFORD – At 9-10 the Scarborough hockey team is a good, young, up-and-coming team in the West.

In a few years, the experience they’ve gained could pay off in a deep playoff run. They just aren’t quite there yet, as was shown on Tuesday night as the Thornton Academy Trojans ran them out of the playoffs with a 6-0 win in a Class A quarterfinal matchup at the Biddeford Arena.

The game was a lopsided one that featured just about as much action in the stands – thanks to a melee that broke out amongst rival students – as on the ice, Scarborough was pummeled by an experienced Thornton Academy team that hasn’t given up a goal in 14 periods.

The Trojans (14-5) have been on a six-game tear since their last loss against Biddeford back on Feb. 5, and they wasted no time in dropping a trio of first period goals on the Storm. Thornton padded their lead in the second with a fourth, and then tacked on two more for good measure near the close of play. All told, No. 2 Thornton dominated the pace and flow of the game, outshooting No. 7 Scarborough 41-9, scoring three goals on five power play opportunities, and generally just squeezing the life out of a Red Storm team that couldn’t find a defensive answer all night.

“We knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” said Scarborough Head Coach Norm Gagne. “They have got a great team; they have a lot of seniors and a lot of juniors on that team, and I have got a young group of kids. Inexperience shows when you are putting out nine kids who have never played varsity before. Like I told my kids, I am proud that we made the playoffs. It was looking pretty bad there for a while, and we had to put a string together (just to get in).”

The Trojans struggled slightly to open the game. Just 3:05 in, Thornton was hit with an interference penalty, and was immediately put to the test. But rather than giving in, the Trojans easily controlled the power play, in the process preventing even a single Scarborough shot on goal. Two minutes ticked away, Thornton Academy went back to full strength, and momentum remained on their side.

“(That power play) came off of an unnecessary penalty, and that can be destructive to a lot of teams,” said Thornton Academy Head Coach Shawn Rousseau. “But I think that’s a statement about how a team is playing; when a group can really stick together and say: ‘it’s a bad penalty, but we’re going to kill it.’ Not only did we kill it, but we killed it solidly. So that was a very significant momentum swing after that kill.”

With 7:44 remaining, Scarborough freshman defenseman Ian Morris was called for crosschecking, and 1:10 later, the Trojans cashed in on the opportunity, as Nick Chen buried a rebound to make it 1-0. Two minutes later, Thornton Academy struck again, this time as Sam Canales, positioned directly behind the Red Storm net, fed a perfect pass out to the slot, where a waiting CJ Maksut slapped it in. Maksut finished with two goals on the night.

“It was from Canales, and it was a great look,” Maksut said. “He was seeing the puck well, and then it just found its way into the slot, and I was able put it in. It was just a great overall play.”

The Trojans added a third goal – again on the power play – with 2:04 left, when Chen passed from the bench-side boards across the circle to Brett Levasseur, who pushed it into the right corner of the net. Thornton picked up its fourth midway through the middle period on Maksut’s second, this time off a rebound at 5:19.

“We felt pretty good (up 3-0 after one), but we didn’t lay back at all,” Maksut said. “We knew that they had a lot of fight in them. We wanted to keep it going, keep the pressure on. So we kept going.”

The Trojans put in two more in the third, the first at 3:33 left when Robert Downing slapped in a loose puck just in front of the crease during a power play. 57 seconds later, Alex Fallon made it 6-0 on a breakaway goal. The Trojans will face Marshwood in the semifinals at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston on March 5 at noon.

“I want to emphasize that this one feels good, because Scarborough is a very good team,” Rousseau said. “They are disciplined, they are well coached, they work hard, and I think what that team accomplished this year was very impressive. I think for us to get them as a draw first was very fortunate, just so we could see what kind of playoff mettle we have. And to come up with that kind of answer feels very good.”