BIDDEFORD — There was plenty of emotion surrounding Thornton Academy’s regular-season home finale against Marshwood/Traip, Wednesday at Biddeford Ice Arena.
And perhaps even a bit of history to go with it.
All of it was part and parcel of the Golden Trojans’ lopsided 8-1 Senior Night triumph in Class A boys hockey action.
Fueling the emotion were the good-byes being said to Thornton’s 14 seniors, although the Trojans (12-1-1) are all but certain to host at least one playoff game.
“Most definitely,” said senior defenseman Brett Levasseur. “We were like a franchise middle school team. We’ve played together since the fifth or sixth grade. So playing with these boys at home for the last time was unbelievable.”
And the history?
That was the seven points ”“ three goals, four assists ”“ put up by Thornton winger C.J. Maksut.
Maksut, who is already the school’s all-time scoring leader, set what is believed to be a single-game record for points against the Hawks (11-3), who play primarily against Tier II/III teams.
“We didn’t want to take them lightly,” said Maksut. “We came into the game with the mindset we had against Bangor (whom they beat 7-0 Saturday). We looked at it as another big game for us.
“We didn’t want to leave here thinking we could have done more.”
Not to be forgotten was senior center Andrew Carignan’s first career four-goal performance.
All told, Thornton netted five power-play goals and added a short-handed tally.
“It was definitely an emotional night,” said Carignan. “It was good to get the win.”
Carignan started it all at 7:14 of the first period when he stood in the slot and polished off a feed from Maksut.
Five minutes later, Maksut netted his first goal of the night when he beat Marshwood goalie Tyler Gagnon from near the right circle.
Just when it seemed that Thornton had everything rolling in its favor, however, the Hawks’ Corey Wright scored on a breakaway goal with 44 seconds remaining in the period.
That tally may have done Marshwood more harm than good.
“It lit a fire under our butt,” said Levasseur. “It was definitely needed, so we kept our foot on the gas the whole time.”
Carignan agreed.
“It woke us up,” he said. “When they scored that, it kind of deflated us a little bit. But we picked it back up in the second period.”
Thornton responded in the middle stanza with three goals ”“ two by Carignan sandwiched around one by Maksut ”“ and ripped open a 5-1 lead.
The Trojans fired home three more goals in the third ”“ via Bryan Dallaire, Maksut and Carignan ”“ to finish up a contest that grew chippier as the score got further out of hand.
“We lost some focus, lost some discipline.” said Thornton coach Jamie Gagnon. “I’m a little disappointed in that. But I’m basically happy to get a win. Anytime you get a win in this league, it’s a good thing.”
Thornton will play its final four games on the road ”“ beginning with a Feb. 15 encounter at Lewiston ”“ before beginning the playoff defense of its Class A state championship.
— Contact Staff Writer Dan Hickling at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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