PORTLAND—Colby Anton piled up a hat trick for the Stags on Saturday night, Jan. 20, leading Chevrus past visiting Windham/Westbrook 6-1.

For the first five minutes, W/W – eighth-ranked in A North – looked almost the Stags’ match. Derek Corbett struck for W/W at 11:38: Unassisted, he crashed the length of the ice, ducking around a Stags defender and pounding the puck past Cheverus keeper Jason Halvorsen for 1-0. But Cheverus soon settled in and began applying increased pressure. The Stags forced the action back into W/W’s zone and largely held it there.

Cheverus balanced the scoreboard midway through the first on a Luke Church feed to Anton, who tallied on a breakaway. Less than a minute later, the Stags generated another breakaway, but W/W keeper Sean White refused to be fooled a second time, tracking Alex Brewer’s every move and making the save.

Early in the second, W/W gave up a man to the penalty box, and the Stags capitalized – Marco Giancotti shoveled to Cam Dube, whose shot ricocheted off a W/W stick; the deflected puck found a higher angle and eluded White for 2-1.

That score would’ve sufficed to secure Cheverus the game, in the end. But they maintained their momentum in the third, notching four more: Barely 1:30 in, Giancotti assisted Anton on 3-1; 45 seconds later, Brewer and Jackson Wilson assisted Dube on 4-1; with 3:13 remaining, Brewer assisted Mike Hatch on 5-1; and with 2:35 to go, Brewer assisted Dube on his hat trick, the 6-1 cherry-on-top.

The win bumped Cheverus to 6-2-1. The Stags traveled to Lewiston (first in A North at 10-0) on Wednesday the 24th; they visit Cape Elizabeth (second in B South at 9-1-1) on Saturday the 27th.

W/W, meanwhile, slid to 2-6. The team hosted Gorham (sixth in B South at 2-7) on Wednesday, and travels to Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse (seventh in A North, 3-7) on Monday the 29th.

Adam Birt can be reached at abirt@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @CurrentSportsME

Justin Ray drives up ice for the Stags.

Colby Anton of Cheverus fakes out Windham/Westbrook keeper Sean White for a goal.

W/W’s Robert Maynard and Cheverus’s Jackson Header clash.

W/W’s Holden Anderson follows Cheverus’s Mike Hatch behind the Stags’ goal.

John Welch cuts along the boards for Cheverus.