BIDDEFORD— Make it 14 periods and counting in the continued scoreless streak of Thornton Academy goaltender Jay Finch.

The three periods Finch worked between the pipes on Tuesday night, however, was a cakewalk compared to his previous three shutouts. Finch saved all 15 shots he faced and recorded his fourth straight shutout as the Golden Trojans defeated Scarborough 6-0 in the Western Maine Class A hockey quarterfinals at the Biddeford Ice Arena.

It’s a performance, along with a six-game winning streak, that’s given the Trojans confidence, and it’s a streak that has allowed TA to play its best hockey all season. 

“We’re peaking at the right time,” Thornton forward C.J. Maksut said. “Our goalie is playing unreal right now, four shutouts in a row. We’re playing solid defensively as well, and that always helps. We’re finding the net offensively, so all around, we’ve come together, and that’s good.”

With the win, the No. 2 seed Trojans will face No. 3 seed Marshwood/Traip Academy in the semifinals on Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston. The opening faceoff will be scheduled for noon. Thornton has not played a game against the Hawks this season.

“We know a little bit about them,” Thornton head coach Shawn Rousseau said. “An associate coach saw them play today, so we’re going to get back to work. We’re going to take tomorrow off. It’s late. We’re going to try get some rest, have a good long session on Thursday and Friday, and head up to Lewiston on Saturday for that big day. If we can play as well as this, I like our chances.”

Against the Red Storm, defense was the name of the game, as Thornton kept the puck away from Finch, while providing plenty of pressure on Scarborough, firing 41 shots on goal.

“That’s probably been our greatest area of improvement,” Rousseau said. “Our last 14 periods, we’ve been scoreless. It’s no secret our defensemen are playing very well; our goaltender is playing very well. I think our greatest asset is we have six defensemen playing, and a seventh dressed, so the guys that are defending are very fresh, and I think that’s a bit of what you saw. Scarborough played very well. Their forwards were buzzing, right to the very end, and our defensemen were able to outskate them, get a stick on something and really protect our net nicely.”

Thornton forward Rob Downing led the Trojans with three points (one goal, two assists) on the night, while teammates Nick Chen (one goal, one assist) and C.J. Maksut (two goals) followed by each notching two points a piece.

Special teams also played a role in the Trojans’ win. Thornton was 2 for 5 on the power play, and was a perfect 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. Rousseau felt the first penalty kill of the contest was the swing of the game, as the Trojans scored their first goal five minutes later.

“It came off an unnecessary penalty, which can be destructive to a lot of teams,” Rousseau said. “But I think that’s a statement for how our team is playing, when a group can really stick together ”¦ Not only did we kill it, but we killed it soundly. I’m not sure we gave up a shot on that penalty kill, and then a very significant swing after that kill.”

Chen kicked off the scoring for Thornton midway through the first period, taking a deflection off Andrew Carignan and knocking the puck in the net for the 1-0 score. Thornton added two more goals before the period ended, one by Maksut in front of the net off a precision pass from behind the net from Sam Canales, as well as a goal from Brett Levasseur, who received an equally precise pass from Che. From the boards he slipped a shot past Scarborough goalie Doug Pitts to head into the locker room with a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Maksut scored the lone goal of the second period, sliding the puck just beneath a diving Pitts for a 4-0 lead. Downing faked out Pitts with a changeup of a shot to give the Trojans the 5-0 lead with three minutes to play in the third, before freshman forward Alex Fallon sealed the game with the second goal of his career with two minutes left in the contest.

The Trojans finished the season series with a 3-0 record over Scarborough.