GREELY VARSITY BOYS' 
2007-08 GAME NOTES  
Updated  3/20/08

Deering @ Greely (Greely Icebreaker) - W 4-2
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Exeter, N.H. @ Greely (Greely Icebreaker) - L 2-4
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Brunswick @ Greely (Greely Icebreaker) - L 3-6
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Exeter, N.H. @ Greely (Exhibition) - L 2-5
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Greely @ Falmouth (Falmouth Invitational) - L 0-3
Friday, November 30, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Orono @ Greely (Falmouth Invitational) - W 4-3
Saturday, December 1, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Win-Dale @ Greely - W 12-1
Saturday, December 8, 2007 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

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Greely @ Cape Elizabeth - L 2-3
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at Cumberland County Civic Center

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Greely @ Alexander Galt - L 0-2
Saturday, December 15, 2007 at Stanstead Arena

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Greely @ Gardiner - L 2-6
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at Kennebec Ice Arena

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

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Yarmouth @ Greely - W 3-0
Thursday, December 20, 2007 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

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Greely @ Camden Hills - W 7-1
Saturday, December 22, 2007 at Camden Arena

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Carter Cyr, Peter Hoffman and Ben Walsh each scored two goals as Greely (3-2) defeated Camden Hills (0-4) at Rockport. Jake Filderman made 51 saves for Camden Hills.

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Moses Brown, R.I. @ Greely (Maine High School Hockey Invitational Tournament) - L 5-6
Thursday, December 27, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Avon View, N.S. @ Greely (Maine High School Hockey Invitational Tournament) - W 4-3 (Game Photos)
Friday, December 28, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Miramichi, N.B. @ Greely (Maine High School Hockey Invitational Tournament) - W 3-2 (Game Photos)
Saturday, December 29, 2007 at Family Ice Center

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Greely @ Falmouth (Dudley Cup) - L 1-3 (Game Photos)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at Family Ice Center

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Biddeford @ Greely L 1-4 (Game Photos)
Saturday, January 5, 2008 at Family Ice Center

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Greely @ Thornton Academy L 3-6 (Game Photos)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at Biddeford Ice Arena

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Cameron Green had two goals and two assists as the Golden Trojans handled the Rangers (3-3) at Biddeford Ice Arena. Alex Howard, Jonathan Pate, Samuel Dussault and Travis Dion also scored for the Trojans, who scored three straight goals in the third period to take a 6-2 advantage. Jesse Shavel had a goal and an assist, while Brian Allyn and Kevin Hart also scored for Greely.

First Period -- 1, TA, Green (Stasio), :36.
Second Period -- 2, TA, Howard (Stasio, Green), 9:32. 3, G, Allyn (Shavel), 6:51. 4, TA, Pate (Ouellette, Howard), 9:49. 5, G, Shavel (Copenhagen), 11:20.
Third Period -- 6, TA Dussault (Green, Dupee), 7:05. 7, TA, Dion (P. Remmes, Canales), 13:22. 8, TA, Green, 14:35. 9, G, Hart, 14:43.

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Maranacook @ Greely W 9-3 (Game Photos)
Saturday, January 12, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Leland Copenhagen and Brian Allyn each had a pair of goals as the Rangers (5-5) handled the Black Bears at Falmouth. Jesse Shavel had a goal and two assists, and Scott Fournier added two assists for Greely. Jeremy Bryant had a goal and an assist for Maranacook.

First Period -- 1, G, Copenhagen, (Allyn), :41. 2, G, Copenhagen (Fournier), 3:03. 3, Selig (Hart, Geoffroy), 4:49. 4, M, Palmer (Brennan, Bryant), 6:20 (pp). 5, G Allyn, 14:40.
Second Period -- 6, G, Hart (Shavel, Copenhagen), 6:29 (pp). 7, M, Bryant (Palmer), 6:52. 8, G, Geoffroy (Harwood, Howland), 9:43.
Third Period -- 9, G, Shavel (Copenhagen), 4:47. 10, M, Giguere (Martin), 5:12. 11, G, Allyn (Shavel, Bates), 6:48 (pp), 12, G, Lewis (Fournier), 10:58.

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Greely @ Presque Isle - W 4-2 (Game Photos)
Friday, January 18, 2008 at The Forum, Presque Isle

Summary from the Bangor Daily News

At Presque Isle, Brian Allyn scored two goals, including one in a three goal second period as Greely rallied past Presque Isle. Tucker Geoffroy and Jesse Shavel each added goals in the second period for Greely. Andy Beckmann, Scott Fournier, Kyle Selig, Shavel, and Allyn each grabbed an assist. Matt Labbe made 17 saves on 19 shots for the Rangers. Brennen Shaw and Zac Campbell each scored a goal in the first period for Presque Isle. Jason Martin, Steve Ford and Shaw had an assist apiece. Ethan Hill stopped 26 of 30 shots for the 5-6-1 Wildcats.

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Bryan Allyn, Tucker Geoffroy and Jesse Shavel scored in the second period as the Rangers (5-4) overcame and early 2-0 deficit to beat the Wildcats (5-6-1) at Presque Isle. Allyn finished with two goals and an assist, and Matt Labbe made 17 saves.

First Period -- 1, PI, Shaw (Martin, Ford), 1:40. 2, PI, Campbell (Shaw), 6:13. 3, G, Allyn (Beckmann, Fournier), 12:45.
Second Period -- 4. G, Geoffroy (Selig), 3:12. 5, G, Allyn (Shavel), 3:18. 6, G, Shavel (Allyn, Copenhagen), 6:23.
Third Period -- No Scoring.

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Greely @ Houlton-Hodgdon - W 6-1 (Game Photos)
Saturday, January 19, 2008 at Houlton Civic Center, Houlton

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Leland Copenhagen had two goals and two assists as the Rangers (6-4) downed Houlton-Hodgdon (6-4) at Houlton.

First Period -- 1, G, Fournier (Copenhagen, Shavel), 5:54 (pp). 2, G, Copenhagen (Hart, Shavel), 7:55 (pp).
Second Period -- 3. G, Copenhagen (Allyn, Fournier), 9:08. 4, G, Downey (Allyn, Copenhagen), 11:38 (pp).
Third Period -- 5, G Geoffroy, 5:34. 6, G, Harwood (Selig, Geoffroy), 8:27. H, Holmes, 11:53.

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Cape Elizabeth @ Greely W 5-0
Monday, January 21, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Leland Copenhagen had a goal and two assists, and freshman Matt Labbe needed 16 saves to earn his first shutout as the Rangers (7-4) defeated the Capers (5-7) at Falmouth. Kyle Selig, Tucker Geoffroy and Jesse Shavel each had a goal and an assist.

First Period -- 1, G, Copenhagen (Shavel, Hart), 1:57.
Second Period -- 2, G, Selig (Geoffroy), 7:45. 3, G, Geoffroy (Selig), 14:26.
Third Period -- 4, G, Allyn (Copenhagen), 7:55. 5, G, Shavel (Hart, Copenhagen), 14:12.

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Kennebunk @ Greely - L 1-6
Saturday, January 26, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Patrick Graydon scored the first of his two goals midway through the second period Saturday night, and Kennebunk went on to a 6-1 hockey victory against Greely at Family Ice.
Noel Graydon and Corey Cole each had a goal and an assist for the Rams (11-3), while Leland Copenhagen scored for the Rangers (7-4).

First Period -- 1, K, P. Graydon (Tucceri, N Graydon), 7:12.
Second Period -- 2, K, York (Smith), 11:01. 3, K, P. Graydon (Tucceri, Cole), 10:08. 4, K, N. Graydon (Errico), 7:56. 5, G, Copenhagen (unassisted), 13:53.
Third Period -- 6, K, Cole (Errico), 4:45. 7, K, Smith (Farrell), 13:30.

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Greely @ York - W 2-1 (Game Photos)
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at Biddeford Ice Arena

Game story from the Portland Press Herald, by Rachel Lenzi, Staff Writer

BIDDEFORD — Somehow the Greely hockey team continues to maintain the upper hand against one of its top regional rivals.

In what's become one of Class B's top rivalries, the Rangers defeated York 2-1 on Tuesday at the Biddeford Ice Arena with the help of two goals by Jesse Shavel, including a controversial goal in the first period. And, as Shavel said, it's a rivalry with games that always come down to a small difference. Their past four meetings have ended 2-1, including Greely's victory in last year's Western Class B final.

"We have similar styles and we're both not the biggest teams, but there's something about it, how it always comes down to one goal," said Shavel, who scored his third winning goal in four games against York.

It's indicative not just of the rivalry but of the power struggle among the top three teams in the class. "Along with Cape Elizabeth, we've been the teams that have sort of been scrapping for the top two spots and we've just kind of met each other in big games and in the playoffs," Greely Coach Barry Mothes said. "You play somebody three times a year and it creates good rivalries."

The Rangers (8-4) played consistent and smart hockey against the injury-depleted Wildcats (9-4-1), who were missing five players, and without forward Andy Ohlson in the third period after he was issued a 10-minute misconduct. "We lost Andy to the misconduct penalty and our numbers are down so much right now," York Coach Michael Vessey said. "It's tough trying to generate offense right now."

The Rangers put six shots on York goalie Andrew Loane (32 saves) in the first four minutes and outshot York 13-5 in the first period, taking a 1-0 advantage with 1:34 left. Shavel picked up a rebound and his shot bounced behind Loane and trickled toward the goal. The goal was forced off its moorings during the play but the referees ruled the puck crossed the line before the net was dislodged. "I came in and poked at it, and it flopped into Loane and it somehow popped out and just trickled in," Shavel said. "That was a close one."

Vessey contested the goal with the officials. "That's not my call," Vessey said. "If you ask me, it wasn't in."

But Shavel left no doubt as to his second goal. Camped to Loane's left, Shavel punched in a crossing pass from Kevin Hart. The Wildcats put just nine shots on Greely goalie Matt Labbe until 9:05 of the second, when Kal Decato's one-timer from the top of the right circle cut Greely's lead to 2-1. But after Decato's goal, York put only six shots on Labbe and pulled Loane for a sixth attacker with 1:07 left. "We talked between the second and third periods about how important it would be to take care of the puck a little bit better, keep it to the outside and clear the zone," Mothes said. "I thought we did a better job of that in the third period and that limited their puck possession, and we didn't have a lot of scary turnovers."

First Period -- 1, G, Shavel (Allyn), 13:26.
Second Period -- 2, G, Shavel (Hart) 0:55 (pp). 3. Y, Decato (Ohlson, Maran) 9:05 (pp).
Third Period -- No scoring

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Greely @ Leavitt - T 2-2 (Game Photos)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at Ingersoll Arena, Auburn

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Brian Allyn scored the tying goal 20 seconds into the third period for the Rangers (8-5-1) against the Hornets (7-6-1) at Ingersoll Arena in Auburn. Charlie Harwood also scored for Greely. Steve Rouillard had both goals for Leavitt. Matt Labbe stopped 21 shots for the Rangers. Cody Violette made 39 saves for Leavitt.

First Period -- 1, G, Harwood (Geoffroy), 10:57.
Second Period -- 2, L, Rouillard. 0:25. 3. L, Rouillard, 14:51.
Third Period -- 4, Allyn, (Hart, Copenhagen), 0:20.
Overtime -- No scoring

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Scarborough @ Greely W 5-4 (OT) (Game Photos)
Monday, February 4, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

The Rangers erased a 2-0 deficit in the third period, and Ian Gray's goal 6:45 into overtime gave Greely (9-5-1) a win over the Red Storm (6-9) at Family Ice Arena. Trevor Hoxie led the Red Storm with a hat trick.

First Period -- 1, S, Wood (Tolman, Nigro), 2:49 (pp).
Second Period -- 2, S, Hoxie (Nigro), 1:29 (pp).
Third Period -- 3, G, Shavel (Copenhagen, Hart), 2:18. 4, S, Hoxie (Gadbois, Tolman), 3:48 (pp). 5, G. Selig (Harwood), 7:51. 6, G, Copenhagen (Allyn, Shavel), 8:33. 7, G. Hart (Selig), 8:43.
8, S. Hoxie (Gadbois) 12:47 (pp)
Overtime -- 9, G, Gray (Harwood), 6:45.

Game story from the Forecaster

Monday night, Greely hosted Western A contender Scarborough and gave their fans their money’s worth. The Rangers found themselves down 2-0 (thanks to two power play goals) entering the third period, but soon came to life. Greely got a goal from Shavel to make it 2-1, but the Red Storm answered on another power play goal for a 3-1 advantage.

The Rangers then got three straight to take the lead. Junior Kyle Selig, senior Leland Copenhagen and junior Kevin Hart scored in a 52-second span and Greely had a 4-3 lead. Scarborough would tie the game with 2:13 to play in regulation on yet another power play strike, but the Rangers would have the last laugh in overtime.

With just 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining in the eight-minute extra session, sophomore Ian Gray played the role of hero, sending a difficult wrist shot past Scarborough senior goalie Ben Waller for the 5-4 victory, setting off a joyous celebration and waking up the echoes of similar past triumphs.

“I’m very, very proud of the way these guys hung in there and played hard tonight,” said Ranger Coach Barry Mothes. “We were down 2-0, but we talked about hanging in there and getting a goal early in the third. We played a fantastic third period. I couldn’t have asked for more effort and perseverance. It was exciting to be up a goal, then we gave up a tying goal, but we held in there and didn’t give them momentum. That was a great wrist shot by Ian. He can shoot the puck pretty well.

“I thought we showed a lot of character tonight against a very good team. This was a fast, up-and-down, exciting game. Both teams had chances. Five-on-five I thought we were really strong. They had four power play goals. We have to make some adjustments on the power play.

“Tonight, we played three solid periods of hockey. We played three solid periods that weekend up north and against Cape, but we went off the tracks a little bit last week. It was a frustrating tie at Leavitt. I don’t think we played as well as we could against York or Leavitt. We only got two goals in each game.”

Greely is now 9-5-1 (against a very challenging schedule) and is sneaking up on York in the Western B standings.

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York @ Greely L 1-4 (Game Photos)
Thursday, February 7, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Paddy Murphy scored with one second left in the first period and added a short-handed goal on a breakaway with 1:31 left in the game to lift the Wildcats (10-5-1) over the Rangers (9-6-1) at Falmouth.

First Period -- 1, Y, Figlioli (Maran), 8:29. 2, Y, Murphy (Figlioli), 14:59.
Second Period -- 3, G, Copenhagen (Hart), 6:55.
Third Period -- 4, Y, Murphy (unassisted), 13:29 (sh). 5, Y, Decato (Maran), 14:28 (en).

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Winslow @ Greely L 2-4 (Game Photos)
Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Jeff Lafrance scored two goals, and the Black Raiders (11-4) topped the Rangers (9-7-1) at Falmouth. Leland Copenhagen had a goal and an assist for Greely.

First Period -- 1, W, Lafrance (Lizotte, Bourgoine),1:56. 2, W, Grant (Martin), 5:36 (sh).
Second Period -- 3, G, Allyn (Copenhagen, Downey), 6:56.
Third Period -- 4, W, Lafrance (Guptil), 10:49. 5, G, Copenhagen (Gray), 14:09. 6, W, Thorne (Guptil), 14:26.

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Greely @ Yarmouth - W 8-0
Friday, February 15, 2008 at North Yarmouth Academy

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Kevin Hart scored two goals and assisted on two others, and Leland Copenhagen collected three assists as the Rangers (10-7-1) cruised past the Clippers (3-14) at Yarmouth.

First Period -- 1, G, Hart (Copenhagen), 3:28. 2, G, Beckmann (Gray), 9:05. 3, G, Allyn (Hart, Copenhagen) 9:21 (pp).
Second Period -- 4, G, Shavel (Copenhagen), 3:03. 5, G, Howland (Allyn), 8:23 (pp). 6, G, Selig (Hart, Howland), 13:04.
Third Period -- 7, G, Hart (unassisted) 8:52. 8, G, Grondin (Hoffman), 14:54 (sh)

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Leavitt @ Greely W 5-2 (Game Photos)
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Summary from the Portland Press Herald

Brian Allyn scored twice, collecting his first goal after 35 seconds, to boost the Rangers (11-7-1) over the Hornets (7-9-1) at Falmouth. Jake Downey and Leland Copenhagen each had a pair of assists for Greely. Steven Rouillard had a goal and an assist for Leavitt.

First Period -- 1, G, Allyn, (Howland, Shavel), 0:35. 2, G, Geoffroy (Selig), 2:22. 3, L, Chouinard (S. Rouillard, Cloutier) 7:07 (pp).
Second Period -- 4, G, Gray (Downey), 11:42. 5, L, S. Rouillard (Robitaille), 5:22.
Third Period -- 6. G, Shavel (Copenhagen, Hart) 2:22. 7, G, Allyn (Copenhagen, Downey), 6:24.

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Falmouth @ Greely L 5-6 (OT) (Game Photos)
Monday, February 18, 2008 at Family Ice Center

Game story from the Portland Press Herald

Falmouth needs OT to beat Rangers

Dixon Pike finished off a flurry in overtime as Falmouth defeated Greely 6-5 Monday night in a high school hockey game at the Family Ice Center. Following a three-on-three rush, Falmouth (13-4-3) got a deflection towards the net and after a couple of swipes, Pike was able to poke the puck past Greely goalie Matt Labbe (21 saves) for his second goal of the game.

The Rangers (11-8-1) tied it at 5 late in regulation after pulling their goalie. Brian Allyn collected the puck behind the net and deflected it off Falmouth goalie Derek Kump (18 saves). Allyn's goal came after Falmouth scored two quick goals. Emmett Brennan got his second of the game at 11:01, and Dan Hanley gave the Yachtsmen a 5-4 lead 13 seconds later.

Mike Chase and Hanley each had a goal and an assist for Falmouth. Kevin Hart scored twice and Charlie Harwood added a goal and an assist for the Rangers.

First Period -- 1, F, Chase (Hanley), 2:45. 2, F, Pike (Mazerolle), 4:57. 3, G, Harwood (Geoffroy), 8:28.
Second Period -- 4, G, Hart (Beckmann), 2:29. 5, F, Brennan (Hart), 4:58. 6, G, Allyn (Copenhagen, Hart), 10:52 (pp). 7, G, Fournier (Harwood), 11:12.
Third Period -- 8, F, Brennan (Hoffman-Johnson, Hart), 11:01. 9, F. Hanley (Pike), 11:14. 10, G, Allyn (Hart) 14:25.
Overtime  -- 11, F, Pike (Chase,), 4:27.

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Cape Elizabeth @ Greely W 6-1 (West B Semifinal)
Monday, March 3, 2008 at Portland Ice Arena

Game story from the Portland Press Herald

Rangers secure spot in the final by beating Cape
Greely gets four goals from Leland Copenhagen and cruises to a 6-1 victory over Cape Elizabeth.

Greely scored two power-play goals in less than a minute near the end of the first period and it carried them to a 6-1 win over Cape Elizabeth in a Western Maine Class B hockey semifinal on Monday night at a packed Portland Ice Arena.

The No. 2 Rangers (12-8-1) will play No. 1 York in the regional final Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Colisee in Lewiston. It's a rematch of last year's final, won by Greely, 2-1.

Senior Leland Copenhagen scored the first power-play goal at 13:35 of the period. He would score three more, including the one that made it 4-1, and sealed it at 6:02 of the third period. That was Copenhagen's third goal of the game and the Greely fans littered the ice with hats.

"I thought some of the kids had the jitters at the start of the game," said Greely Coach Barry Mothes. "A lot of them hadn't played in front of a crowd this size. Cape had great energy at the start and our goalie Matt Labbe kept it 0-0. "We fought through our start. It was an up and down period. The two power-play goals energized the team. I think we had a two-week stretch where we went 0 for 25 on the power play." The Rangers scored three times on the power play and Copenhagen's fourth was short-handed into the empty net. "We executed very well on our power play," said Mothes.

The teams split during the season with Cape (10-11) winning the first, 3-2, and the Rangers prevailing in the other, 5-0.

"It wasn't a 6-1 game," said Mothes. "I have a lot of respect for Cape. I didn't feel safe until late because teams in this league can score two or three goals quickly."

Brian Allyn, who assisted on the first goal with Jake Downey, made it 2-0 on the second power-play goal. Copenhagen scored unassisted to make it 3-0 at 10:17 of the second period. Cape got back into it with a power-play goal by Peter Kelley on an assist by Sean Eubanks. Cape couldn't take advantage of a man advantage early in the final period. Copenhagen's unassisted goal regained control for Greely.

"I thought we came out harder and finally jumped on our chances with the power play late in the first period," said Copenhagen, who couldn't remember scoring four goals before.

Defenseman Kevin Hart made it 5-1 on the power play for the Rangers. Late in the game, Greely was called for back-to-back penalties. Cape then pulled its goalie to create a 6 on 3 advantage, but Copenhagen got control of the puck along the boards in Cape's end and took a few strides before firing into the open net at the other end. "I thought Leland got better as the game went along," said Mothes. "He's a senior and has played in several big games."

First Period -- 1, G, Copenhagen (Downey, Allyn), 13:25 (pp). 2, G, Allyn (Downey), 14:33 (pp).
Second Period -- 3, G, Copenhagen, 10:17. 4, CE, Kelley, (Eubanks), 13:30 (pp)
Third Period -- 5, G, Copenhagen (Shavel), 6:02. 6, G, Hart (Geoffroy), 8:22 (pp). 7, G, Copenhagen, 12:15 (sh).

Game story from the Forecaster

Greely hockey reaches regional final again
Rangers roll over Cape Elizabeth 6-1, earn date with No. 1 York

PORTLAND—If it’s early March, the Greely Rangers hockey team must be playing for the Western Class B title.

Monday night at the Portland Ice Arena, the Rangers broke open a tight game with three goals in just over six minutes, senior Leland Copenhagen scored four times and Greely eliminated rival Cape Elizabeth 6-1 in the semifinal round. That victory set up another delicious duel with recent playoff punching bag York, Wednesday night at the Colisee in Lewiston (too late for this edition). The defending regional champion Rangers hoped to beat York for the fourth time in the past five postseasons and return to the state game where they would seek a first-ever championship.

“I want to finish it off like nothing else,” Copenhagen said. “It’s our goal.”

Wait til’ this year
After falling in overtime to Brewer in last year’s state game, many expected Greely, which was decimated by graduation, to come back to the pack this winter. It took the Rangers a while to hit their stride, but thanks to the usual superb coaching of Barry Mothes and his staff, the emergence of freshman goalie Matt Labbe and a balanced scoring attack featuring a smattering of veterans and some promising newcomers, Greely came of age at just the right time.

The Rangers were 3-4 after successive losses to defending Class A champion Biddeford and Thornton Academy in early January. Greely then went 6-1-1 over an eight-game stretch (including a victory at York) and gained a ton of confidence in the process. After home losses to York and Eastern B power Winslow, the Rangers downed Yarmouth and Leavitt and took Western A power Falmouth to overtime before falling 6-5 in the regular season finale. T

hat loss left Greely with an 11-8-1 record, good for second behind York in the Western Class B standings. Since only five teams qualify from the region, the Rangers and Cape Elizabeth drew a bye into the semifinal round. The rivals split during the regular year, with the Capers winning 3-2 at home Dec. 12 and Greely returning the favor 5-0 at home Jan. 21.

Monday’s game marked the fourth straight season that the teams have done battle in the playoffs. In 2005 and 2006, Cape Elizabeth won in the regional final. Last year, the Rangers triumphed 4-0 in the semifinals. The teams were supposed to square off Saturday, but bad weather postponed the contest 48 hours.

In the early going, the Capers had some golden opportunities to take the lead, but Labbe stood tall. With 1:35 to play in the first period, Greely took a 1-0 lead as Copenhagen scored on the power play (juniors Jake Downey and Brian Allyn had assists). Sixty-eight seconds later, Allyn converted a pass from Downey and the Rangers enjoyed a 2-0 advantage after one.

“After the first period, we talked about being honest about things,” Mothes said. “Cape had great energy in the first half of that period. Thanks to our goalkeeping, we kept it a 0-0 game. They could have and probably should have had one early on in that period, but Matt made some great saves. A lot of our guys were in their first big playoff game and I thought it showed early. We took better care of the puck as the game went on. We fought our way through it. Our two power play goals definitely energized the team. Our power play’s been up and down this year. We had an 0-for-25 stretch a couple weeks ago. We worked on it and made some adjustments. In games like this, special teams count a lot.”

When Copenhagen scored unassisted with 4:49 to play in the second, giving Greely a 3-0 lead, it appeared as if a date in the regional final was set, but Cape Elizabeth would fight back. With 1:30 to go in the period, senior captain Peter Kelley (from junior Sean Eubanks) found the net and the Capers had momentum, trailing 3-1.

Early in the third, Cape Elizabeth had a great chance to draw even closer after a penalty on the Rangers. Greely junior captain Kevin Hart saved the day, however. The only line of defense in front of an open net, Hart twice swatted away potential goals and the Rangers held their 3-1 lead.

With 8:58 to go, Copenhagen took a pass from junior Jesse Shavel and rifled a shot past Cape Elizabeth senior goalie Lincoln Jordan (17 saves), making it 4-1 and setting off an avalanche of flying hats. “Leland had a big game tonight,” Mothes said. “He’s been in a lot of big playoff games. He didn’t have the jitters. He got better as the game went on.”

With 6:38 left, playing two men up, Hart scored a power play goal (from freshman Tucker Geoffroy) and it was 5-1. Playing two men down and with Jordan out of the cage, Copenhagen picked up a loose puck and put the finishing touches on the 6-1 win with an empty netter with 2:45 to play.

“We came out tonight and got it done,” Copenhagen said.

“It felt like a one-goal game until late in the third,” Mothes added. “At 3-1, they were on the power play and Kevin Hart made two saves on his knees at the goal line. This was obviously not a 6-1 game. It was tight until we opened it up late. It’s a great rivalry. They’re a great hockey team and they won’t give up. We stayed focused. We have a lot of respect for that team. The difference tonight was that we executed well on the power play. All the credit to my guys for doing that. They couldn’t have picked a better time. Hopefully we can do that again Wednesday.”

Greely was outshot 32-22, but Labbe made 31 saves. “Matt’s become one of the best in the state,” Copenhagen said. “We lost a lot of talent from last year, but everyone has stepped up.”

The Rangers had three power play goals in six opportunities. The Capers wound up 1-for-7.

Another showdown
In both 2001 and 2003, Greely tied York with a fraction of a second left before losing in double overtime in the Western B quarterfinals. Ever since, the Rangers have simply owned the Wildcats in March.

In 2004, Andrew Bisbing’s goal as time expired gave Greely a 5-4 quarterfinal round victory. The next winter, the Rangers rallied from a late two-goal deficit, tied the game with virtually no time on the clock, then won 5-4 in overtime. Last winter, Greely got a late goal from Harrison Sheldon and won its first regional crown, 2-1 over York. This season, the Rangers won 2-1 at York Jan. 29. The Wildcats returned the favor 4-1 in Falmouth Feb. 7.

“York’s the team to beat,” Copenhagen said. “We split with them. We’re pretty even. It’ll come down to who wants it more.”

“To have a chance to get back to the state game is a great accomplishment,” Mothes added. “We’ve had a good season. You measure yourself by how you do in the playoffs. We’ve had tooth-and-nail battles. It should be good. The first game, they were without a couple guys. The second game was a little more representative of who they are. Another chapter in the Greely-York rivalry. It’ll be a big challenge, but we’re really looking forward to it.”

The Class B state game is Saturday at 1 p.m., in Lewiston. The Greely-York winner draws either Winslow (14-5-1) or Gardiner (14-5-2). The Rangers lost 6-2 at Gardiner Dec. 18 and fell 4-2 at home to Winslow Feb. 9. Greely has no previous playoff history with either team.

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Greely @ York - L 3-4 (West B Final) (Game Photos)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at Colisee, Lewiston, Maine

Game story from the Portland Press Herald

York heads to the state final for the first time
The Wildcats capture their first Western Class B hockey title with a 4-3 win over Greely.

LEWISTON — After more than 20 years of trying, the York hockey team finally has earned a trip to the Class B state championship game. The top-seeded Wildcats shut down the Greely offense in the third period Wednesday night to skate to a 4-3 victory in the Western Maine final at the Colisee. York will face Winslow for the state title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lewiston.

"This is very special," said Andy Ohlson, the last of four brothers to play for the Wildcats. "I'm the last one so it`s very nice." The Wildcats, who split two games with the second-seeded Rangers in the regular season, took command by holding Greely without a shot for the first 13 minutes of the final period while building a 4-2 lead.

"It was disappointing," Greely Coach Barry Mothes said. "We played a really strong first two periods. We were doing everything we talked about doing. We were moving the puck well. We were getting good chances. Unfortunately the third period was not the kind we wanted to play."

Matt Murphy put the Wildcats ahead to stay 6:30 into the third when he finished off a rush down the right side with a shot from the top of the circle that went in off freshman goalie Matt Labbe's pads. Less than three minutes later, Ohlson finished off another rush down the right side with a shot from inside the circle that hit off Labbe's right arm before going in.

"Both of those goals, Matt had something on them but it just wasn't enough to keep the puck out of the net," Mothes said.

With 1:50 left, Charlie Harwood of Greely completed the scoring when he stuck the puck inside the left post after collecting the rebound of Kevin Hart's shot off the end boards.

The Wildcats (17-4-1) opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game on a power play. When the Rangers (12-9-1) were unable to clear the puck out of the zone following a three-shot flurry, defenseman Kallen Decato got his stick on a rebound in the right circle. He lifted in a 15-foot shot.

The score was 2-2 after the second period. Three minutes into the period, Leland Copenhagen of Greely scored his fifth playoff goal on a power play to make it 1-1. Less than a minute later, York regained the lead when Jake Posternak tucked the puck into the right side of the goal after Kevin Maran sent a pass across the slot.

With less than three minutes left in the period, the Rangers, cashing in on their sixth power play, pulled into a tie on Tucker Geoffroy's one-timer from the slot off Hart's centering pass from the right circle.

"Basically, Greely's goals came off power plays," York Coach Mike Vessey said. "When it was five on five we were playing very good hockey, so I said if we`re going to win this game you're going to have to move your legs and reach deep down, stop reaching and stay out of the (penalty) box. If you stay out of the box, you're going to come out ahead." The Wildcats didn`t commit any penalties in the third period.

First Period -- 1, Y, Decato (Powers, Zucker), 10:07 (pp).
Second Period -- 2, G, Copenhagen (Shavel, Allyn), 3:06 (pp). 3, Y, Posternak (Maran, Zucker), 3:50. 4, G, Geoffroy, (Hart), 17:57 (pp).
Third Period -- 5, Y, Murphy (Oleson), 6:30. 6. Y, Oleson (Richard), 9:07. 7, G, Harwood (Hart, Geoffroy), 13:10.

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