LEWISTON — Gorham proved Wednesday night that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The sixth-seeded Rams fell behind top-seeded Kennebunk 2-0 after one period, but battled back, and did it again and again as they rallied for a 5-4 victory in the Western Maine Class B boys hockey regional final at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

It’s the second straight regional title for Gorham ”“ which will get a rematch with Eastern Maine champ Messalonskee in the state final ”“ and the second straight game that the Rams needed a rally to win.

Gorham needed a late Travis Mansir goal to force overtime with No. 2 Yarmouth in the regional semifinals, and Mansir provided the winner to advance the Rams to a date with the Kennebunk Rams.

Mansir provided the winner again Wednesday as his shot from just inside the blue line deflected off a Kennebunk defender’s stick and in with 1:20 left.

“He’s been clutch through the playoffs. He’s had such a good playoff run. I’m just proud of him,” Gorham head coach John Portwine said of Mansir.

The winning goal came on Gorham’s 27th shot of the game, and it broke a tie in that category with Kennebunk, which finished with 26.

It was a stat the higher-seeded Rams led in both the first and second periods, and Kennebunk also held the lead heading into both the first and second intermissions.

Jan Rutrle and Bo Beveridge scored goals in the first period to put Kennebunk up 2-0 after the first 15 minutes, but Gorham rallied to tie on goals by Carl Bear and Michael Chapin.

Miles Eaton put Kennebunk ahead again 32 seconds after Chapin’s tying goal. Bear and Rutrle traded goals over the final three minutes of the second period as Kennebunk led 4-3 heading into the third.

Kennebunk did itself a disservice by putting men in the box twice in the final period. The second of the two proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Matt Hooker scored from the point just four seconds into the power play to tie the game 4-4.

“A couple penalty calls there really hurt us. I certainly was frustrated at times with some of those,” said Kennebunk head coach Sean Smith, whose team was called for five penalties to Gorham’s two.

Mansir’s winning goal came just over five minutes after Hooker’s tying tally, and it came 38 seconds after Rutrle went down after a hard hit behind the Gorham goal. There was no penalty called on the hit, and there was no Rutrle at Smith’s disposal when he pulled his goalie for an extra attacker in the final minute of the game.

“Jan’s huge. You can’t replace a goal scorer like him. He makes things happen on the ice all over the place,” said Smith. “That was a huge hit ”¦ especially not being able to use him.”

Despite holding the lead for much of the game, and the advantage in shots until the end, Smith said his team was far from the well-oiled machine the stats may have made it seem like.

“Tonight, it just was a step off. We just didn’t have it tonight. I don’t know if the kids were tense, or the kids were nervous, or what it was, but we just couldn’t get any flow going,” said Smith, who noted that his group had never felt the pressure of being the No. 1 team until this postseason run.

Gorham was that No. 1 team last year, and the experience of dealing with postseason pressure served the Rams well.

“It was some tough calls, some tough things that went against us early on. That’s the character of this group, and it’s been the character of this group the past three years. They just keep coming, they keep working hard,” said Portwine.

Smith noted that even though Gorham entered the playoffs as a low seed, the parity in Western Class B this season meant that the Rams couldn’t be taken lightly. Kennebunk didn’t, but Gorham still proved its worth.

“I give Gorham credit. They never gave up,” said Smith. “They deserve to be (in the state championship).”

Sports Staff Writer

LEWISTON — Gorham proved Wednesday night that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The sixth-seeded Rams fell behind top-seeded Kennebunk 2-0 after one period, but battled back, and did it again and again as they rallied for a 5-4 victory in the Western Maine Class B boys hockey regional final at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

It’s the second straight regional title for Gorham ”“ which will get a rematch with Eastern Maine champ Messalonskee in the state final ”“ and the second straight game that the Rams needed a rally to win.

Gorham needed a late Travis Mansir goal to force overtime with No. 2 Yarmouth in the regional semifinals, and Mansir provided the winner to advance the Rams to a date with the Kennebunk Rams.

Mansir provided the winner again Wednesday as his shot from just inside the blue line deflected off a Kennebunk defender’s stick and in with 1:20 left.

“He’s been clutch through the playoffs. He’s had such a good playoff run. I’m just proud of him,” Gorham head coach John Portwine said of Mansir.

The winning goal came on Gorham’s 27th shot of the game, and it broke a tie in that category with Kennebunk, which finished with 26.

It was a stat the higher-seeded Rams led in both the first and second periods, and Kennebunk also held the lead heading into both the first and second intermissions.

Jan Rutrle and Bo Beveridge scored goals in the first period to put Kennebunk up 2-0 after the first 15 minutes, but Gorham rallied to tie on goals by Carl Bear and Michael Chapin.

Miles Eaton put Kennebunk ahead again 32 seconds after Chapin’s tying goal. Bear and Rutrle traded goals over the final three minutes of the second period as Kennebunk led 4-3 heading into the third.

Kennebunk did itself a disservice by putting men in the box twice in the final period. The second of the two proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Matt Hooker scored from the point just four seconds into the power play to tie the game 4-4.

“A couple penalty calls there really hurt us. I certainly was frustrated at times with some of those,” said Kennebunk head coach Sean Smith, whose team was called for five penalties to Gorham’s two.

Mansir’s winning goal came just over five minutes after Hooker’s tying tally, and it came 38 seconds after Rutrle went down after a hard hit behind the Gorham goal. There was no penalty called on the hit, and there was no Rutrle at Smith’s disposal when he pulled his goalie for an extra attacker in the final minute of the game.

“Jan’s huge. You can’t replace a goal scorer like him. He makes things happen on the ice all over the place,” said Smith. “That was a huge hit ”¦ especially not being able to use him.”

Despite holding the lead for much of the game, and the advantage in shots until the end, Smith said his team was far from the well-oiled machine the stats may have made it seem like.

“Tonight, it just was a step off. We just didn’t have it tonight. I don’t know if the kids were tense, or the kids were nervous, or what it was, but we just couldn’t get any flow going,” said Smith, who noted that his group had never felt the pressure of being the No. 1 team until this postseason run.

Gorham was that No. 1 team last year, and the experience of dealing with postseason pressure served the Rams well.

“It was some tough calls, some tough things that went against us early on. That’s the character of this group, and it’s been the character of this group the past three years. They just keep coming, they keep working hard,” said Portwine.

Smith noted that even though Gorham entered the playoffs as a low seed, the parity in Western Class B this season meant that the Rams couldn’t be taken lightly. Kennebunk didn’t, but Gorham still proved its worth.

“I give Gorham credit. They never gave up,” said Smith. “They deserve to be (in the state championship).”