LEWISTON — One team rode a 17-game win streak to the Eastern Class B boys hockey championship, while its opponent knocked off each of the top three seeds in Western B on its way to a state championship berth.
Messalonskee and Gorham took different roads to the Class B championship, yet each path brought them to a rematch of last season’s final Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
Additional Images
Class B Title Game
LEADING SCORERS
Messalonskee Goals Asssist Points
#19 Jared Cunningham, JR 29 47 76
#10 Brandon Nale, SO 35 39 74
#7 Jake Dexter, SR 38 33 71
#8 Dylan Burton, JR 11 35 42
Gorham*
#8 Carl Bear, JR 17 10 27
#17 Travis Mansir, SR 14 9 23
#24 Carter Landry, SO 11 9 20
#12 Jordan Ward, SR 7 12 19
GOALTENDING
Messalonskee GP GAA SV% SO
#33 Elija Tuell, SR 19 1.88 0.917 3
Gorham*
#1 Noah Bird, SO 11 1.55 0.930 2
#31 Brogan McDonald, FR 7 1.71 0.897 2
*Statistics represent regular season only
“They definitely worked really hard to get to where they’re at,” Messalonskee coach Joe Hague said of the Rams. “That’s a testament to their desire to get there. They knew what it took to get there last year. That’s a tough way to get in there and they’ve earned their right to be there.”
The Eagles (19-1-0) knocked off the Rams 6-1 in last year’s championship to complete a perfect 21-0-0 campaign and that is just about the only thing that ties the two teams together when it comes to Saturday’s matchup. They did not play each other during the regular season nor did they have a common opponent.
Gorham (14-5-2) needed a goal from Trevor Mansir — his fifth of the postseason — with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining to pull off a 5-4 comeback win over No. 1 Kennebunk on Wednesday in the Western B finals. In the victory the Rams — who also knocked off No. 3 York and No. 2 Yarmouth — had five different goal scorers in Carl Bear, Michael Chapin, Jordan Ward, Matt Hooker and Mansir.
Messalonskee, meanwhile, has not been in a close game — outside of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship against Lewiston — since a 4-2 win over Class A Bangor on Feb. 2. The bulk of the Eagles scoring has come from senior Jake Dexter, junior Jared Cunningham and sophomore Brandon Nale, as the group has scored 102 of the team’s 127 goals. Bear was Gorham’s top goal scorer with 17.
After getting off to a rough start this season, senior goaltender Elija Tuell has been a steadying force in his first season as a starter for the Eagles. In 19 starts he has allowed 1.88 goals per game and boasts a .917 save percentage with three shutouts.
“Our goalie has played tremendous all year,” Cunningham said. “He filled Benny Weeks’ role pretty good.”
Tuell’s counterpart, Noah Bird, has been equally impressive as of late. The Rams have allowed 1.81 goals per game with four shutouts on the season with Bird and Brogan McDonald splitting time in net, while in the playoffs Bird has a .909 save percentage in three games.
Hague and assistant coach John DelGiudice were each in attendance for the Western B finals Wednesday at the Colisee to scout Gorham and Kennebunk, along with former coach Mike Latendresse for some added perspective on how the Rams stacked up to last season’s team.
“I had some information on Gorham and Kennebunk and I’m going to compare from what I’ve had in years past,” Latendresse said prior to Wednesday’s Western B final
Hague said Friday the two shared some notes on Gorham, but that they both saw similar things from the Rams. Gorham’s structure, as well as its determination, jumped out in particular.
“They didn’t give up,” Hague said. “They’re a ‘fight-to-the-finish’ kind of team.”
While Messalonskee has had a chance to see Gorham play this season, the same cannot be said for the Rams.
“I’ve been searching for any kind of video I can find from this year knowing that they have a new coach, so I haven’t been able to come up with anything but highlights,” Gorham coach John Portwine said. “I remember what they did to us last year.”
“…We have to play better than we have all year. This team has had a knack for stepping up in the big spotlight and when the odds are stacked against them. It’s kind of the character of the boys.”
At this point all the preparation and scouting can only go so far. Ultimately the Eagles will have to rely on playing the style of hockey that got them to the finals if they hope to clinch their second consecutive Class B championship.
“We just have to go into that game and play as hard as we possibly can,” Dexter said. “If we do that, hopefully the outcome will be in our favor because that’s all we can do as a team.”
Added Tuell: “We just need to play the way we’ve been playing all year. We can’t really change anything at this point. We just have to keep doing the same thing that we’ve been doing.”
Evan Crawley — 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday,com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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