BIDDEFORD — Didn’t it seem inevitable?

That the top two hockey teams in Western Maine Class A ”“ Thornton Academy and Falmouth ”“ would collide a third time.

Didn’t it seem inevitable that this time it would be with a shot at the state championship game on the line?

Of course it did.

That’s what will be at stake tonight at 6 p.m. at the Colisee in Lewiston when the No. 1 seed Trojans tangle with the No. 2 Yachtsmen.

The winner will earn a berth in Saturday’s state title game against the winner of the Eastern final between Lewiston and St. Dom’s, which will follow the Western final.

Thornton, of course, is bent on repeating as state champions.

“We need to put it all out there on the ice,” said senior center Robbie Downing, following Thornton’s brisk 90-minute practice at Biddeford Ice Arena Monday. “We all know how it felt to win it all. We want that feeling again.”

On the other hand, Falmouth, which handed the Trojans their only loss and tie this year, will do all it can to stop them.

“We’re really looking forward to that,” said Deron Barton, who took the helm of the Yachtsmen this year. “They’re a fun team to play. They’re a very skilled team and they’re well coached. We match up well against them (and) I think the style of hockey that they play is similar to what we play. I just think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Fun isn’t the word the Trojans use to describe the two regular season encounters.

Try befuddling instead.

The first meeting, on Dec. 22 in Falmouth, saw Thornton surrender a 2-0 third period lead and lose 5-3.

The Trojans fared a little better in the rematch at BIA on Jan. 21, which ended in a 3-3 overtime tie.

Falmouth’s Kris Samaras scored the deadlocker with just 1:03 left in regulation.

The Trojans players said they believe they should have won both games.

“We failed to execute in both games at critical times,” said Thornton coach Jamie Gagnon. “The first game, we played well until the last seven minutes of the game. The second game, we battled back to get back into the game, then we give one up.”

After the second game, Gagnon reworked his lines and put dangerous forward Bryan Dallaire back to defense to utilize his considerable puck moving skills.

Since then, the Trojans have reeled off 10 consecutive victories while outscoring their foes 73-10.

“A lot of things have changed,” said Gagnon. “Personnel has changed. Our lines have changed. I don’t think we have to do much different than execute what we do. I think if we execute, we’ll be competitive. That’s all we can ask for.”

Yachtsmen coach Barton, whose squad features talented scorers Brandon Tuttle and Ben Freeman, and a strong goaltender in Dane Pauls, said he plans to stick with what has made his club successful as well.

“I don’t think we need to change much, to be honest,” he said. “We’re going to go with the same game plan we had against them both (previous) times, and make adjustments as we need to.”

For his part, Thornton’s Downing said that he and his mates need to put recent history with Falmouth out of their minds and concentrate on the business at hand.

“It’s just another game,” he said. “Once playoffs start, it’s a completely new season. The other part of the season is behind us. One loss and you’re out. If you win, you’re moving on. We need to take this as just another game.”

Another, very big game, at that.

NOTES: One interested but impartial observer will be Scarborough coach Norm Gagne, whose No. 3 seed Red Storm dropped a hard-fought Western Region semifinal to Falmouth, 5-3, last Saturday.Having coached against both teams, he said he feels that Thornton and the Yachtsmen are near mirror images of each other.

“I think it’s going to be a heck of a game,” Gagne said. “I’m going to be here to watch it, I know that. I think that they both have three good lines, and both have some good defensemen. It’s going to be a battle.”

— Contact Dan Hickling at 282-1535 or follow on Twitter @DanHickling.