BIDDEFORD — The “A” word?

What’s that?

You’ve rarely heard it uttered when the subject of Thornton Academy hockey has been brought up.

Having flattened all comers for most of the season, and certainly down the stretch, the Golden Trojans have rarely had to deal with adversity, much less mention the word.

However, “adversity,” and their response to it, was on nearly everyone’s lips in the wake of Thornton’s 8-4 win over its nemesis, Falmouth, in the Western Maine championship game at the Colisee in Lewiston on Tuesday.

“As soon as we faced some adversity, we came back and put a couple pucks in the net,” said senior defenseman Tyler Danley. “We knew that we could skate with them. We knew we had a lot of depth on our team.”

That depth ”“ the ability to roll three scoring lines and six solid defensemen ”“ carried the defending state champion Golden Trojans past that early tribulation and into Saturday’s state title game with St. Dominic.

Still, for a group that had gotten used to winning games by half a dozen goals or more, falling behind not once but twice in the opening 29 seconds, was unfathomable.

“We’re having a pretty good season, and not facing much adversity,” said Danley. “This was pretty much a different thing for us. But everyone responded very well for us, and we came out with a ”˜W.’”

Senior goaltender Joe Ferrante, who surrendered goals on the first two shots he saw, said he had difficulty wrapping his head around the situation, at first.

“I pictured that game in my head a million times,” Ferrante said on Wednesday following the team’s brisk skate at Biddeford Ice Arena. “I never saw it starting out like that. It’s one of those things I had to battle (in) my mind right from the beginning. Two shots, two goals. That’s not the start I’m looking for.”

With virtually an entire game remaining ahead of them, however, the battle-hardened Trojans dug deep into the character reservoir.

“After their first goal, I had a feeling we were going to come back and get another one really quick,” said senior center Andrew Carignan, who set up linemate C.J. Maksut for Thornton’s first goal at 21 seconds before scoring twice himself. “It (was) my confidence in my teammates. We never really looked back on it. We just kept playing our game.”

Did they ever.

Thornton rebounded to build a 4-2 lead by the end of the period.

As the old hockey saying goes, however, that two-goal lead can be mighty dangerous.

Indeed, the Yachtsmen swarmed all around Ferrante early in the second period, only to be denied by the senior netminder each time.

“I knew I had a great team in front of me and that we were going to score our average of seven goals,” Ferrante said. “I just had to sit back and block some shots for my team. Play for the little kid that I used to be. Just remember that it’s a game of fun. Play for your team and play for the win.”

And if need be, play through adversity.

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