By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

FALMOUTH – Leavitt’s hockey season of almosts ended with a familiar chorus sung by the trio of woulda, coulda and shoulda Monday evening.

Undaunted by three fruitless power plays in the second period, the sixth-seeded Hornets kept pushing the issue in a Western Class B quarterfinal clash at Family Ice Center.

But they never solved the riddle of the No. 3 Greely Rangers, who triumphed 3-0 and moved on to Saturday’s semifinals against No. 2 York.

Tyler King and Pat Fogg each scored a goal for Greely (10-7-1). That speckled an otherwise brilliant performance by Leavitt senior goalie Kenny Gauthier, who made 33 saves.

“He kept us in it all season,” said Leavitt coach Fern Racine. “Our game against Yarmouth, he faced 40-something shots. We needed the Heal Points then, and he went out and got it for us.”

Brad Allen added an empty-netter with 27 seconds left.

Leavitt concludes its campaign with a 6-11 record that tells a fraction of the story.

Middle-of-the-pack wins were harder to come by after Fryeburg and Lisbon-Monmouth folded their teams early in the season. Leavitt lost by a goal to tournament top-seeds Cape Elizabeth (West) and Winslow (East).

Two previous confrontations with Greely produced equally frustrating losses. Leavitt fell 5-3 when the Rangers scored four third-period goals in Auburn, then dropped a 6-3 decision here in which Greely fashioned five power-play tallies.

“We just had too many situations where guys wanted to play their game and not as a team,” Racine said.

Monday’s missed opportunity was the second period, when the Hornets failed to cash in one of 16 shots on Greely goaltender Billy Bolduc or their three excursions with the man-advantage.

The second power play was cut short by a tripping penalty. During the 4-on-4, Fogg won a faceoff and surged to the goalmouth for an unassisted tally and a 2-0 lead at 9:36 of the second.

Bolduc came up big four times on Leavitt’s first special teams situation. The sophomore conceded a few rebound chances, here and there, but the Hornets weren’t quick enough to the puck to capitalize.

Bolduc stopped 33 shots.

“Tonight was a great time for a shutout,” said Greely coach Barry Mothes, who was missing two top scorers due to injury and disciplinary reasons.

It was a follow-up at Leavitt’s expense that put the Rangers on top late in the first period.

King rattled home a rebound with just over a minute to play to give Greely the edge at the end of a hard-hitting, wide-open session.

Gauthier made 14 saves in that stanza. He delivered many in acrobatic fashion, including a sequence in which he slid onto his belly to deny Greely co-captain Fogg at the doorstep.

That freed up just enough room at the far post for King, however. Fogg and Allen picked up the assists at 13:57.

Greely unloaded a dozen shots on Gauthier before the Hornets enjoyed their first legitimate scoring opportunity. The senior kicked away one serious try and stoned another with his glove. He also got some help from Bryan Metayer, who deflected a scorching slap shot from the point.

Bolduc answered at the other end, first denying Jonathan Pelletier, then stifling a nifty, back-handed bid by Brian Leighton.

The officials asserted themselves early, also, whistling matching minors only eight seconds after the opening faceoff and issuing three interference calls in the first four minutes. Neither team benefited from the brief power play chances or the extended 4-on-4 time.

koakes