BIDDEFORD — It wasn’t a state championship hockey matchup ”“ just a possible preview.

And if it was indeed a sneak peek, then Thornton Academy and its supporters loved what they saw.

The Golden Trojans, sitting atop the Western Region standings, met up with the best in the East ”“ Bangor ”“ on Saturday at Biddeford Ice Arena, which in the end turned out to be no contest.

Thornton, behind a three-goal outburst by Greg Lodge and shutout goaltending by Joe Ferrante, beat the Rams 7-0.

The Trojans (11-1-1) have feasted on schools from the East Region, going 6-0 against them. They’ve shoved aside the three schools considered to be that region’s best, Lewiston, St. Dom’s ”“ twice ”“ and now the Rams (10-3), by a combined score of 25-4.

“They’re skilled,” said Bangor coach Denis Collins. “They’re talented, they’re disciplined. They’re the team to beat. They’re everything you want out of a hockey team. I don’t see any flaws in them. By no means did we belong on the same rink as them tonight.”

Perhaps, but the Trojans said they knew better than to take Bangor lightly.

After all, the Rams did beat Falmouth earlier in the season, something Thornton has failed to do in two tries ”“ losing one, tying the other.

“We came out knowing they were ranked No. 1 in the East,” said center Robbie Downing, who potted two goals. “We said, ”˜boys, this will show us what we’re really made of. It’ll (show) what we have to offer.’”

They did just that by erupting for four goals in the final 5:21 of the first period.

However, it was a pair of saves by Thornton goalie Joe Ferrante at 5:59 on Bangor’s Connor Griffin that kept the door slammed in the Rams faces, and set the stage for Thornton’s outburst.

“We needed a spark at that point,” said Thornton coach Jamie Gagnon. “They’re a quality hockey team, and we were looking for a break to turn the tide a little bit. We’ve been looking to Joe to make those saves and create some momentum-builders for us.”

Lodge scored twice in that span, sandwiching goals around tallies by Downing and Tyler Danley.

Lodge’s first came when he barreled down the slot and rammed home C.J. Maksut’s rebound. That was followed at 10:56 by Downing’s first goal, which came after a nifty feed from left-wing Alex Fallon as the two cleaned up an odd man rush.

“Nick Chen chipped it off the boards,” said Fallon, a sophomore. “That created the two on one. I saw Rob streaking, and I led him, tape to tape.”

Said Downing, “He (Fallon) had such great patience. Most guys would just throw the puck at the other guy. He knew to wait and let it go easily to me. I had the easy job of putting it in the net.”

Fallon made a similar pass to Lodge, whose goal at 13:13 came just 25 seconds after Danley’s.

“Alex has played hard all year long, and he’s made some plays that translate into points, which is nice,” Gagnon said.

Thornton didn’t let up in the second period, as Downing scored a power-play goal from Andrew Carignan with 4:40 gone to make it 5-0.

Bryan Dallaire and Lodge finished off the scoring late in the period with goals 19 seconds apart.

For Lodge, it was his second three-goal hat trick in three games.

Thornton will take to the ice again Wednesday at 7:55 p.m., when it will host Marshwood/Traip.

— Contact Staff Writer Dan Hickling at 282-1535.