LEWISTON – After years of almosts, not quites and near-misses, the Greely Rangers are finally Class B state champions.

Freshman Brian Hart recorded a hat trick and Matt Labbe stopped 14 of 15 shots to lift Greely to a 5-1 win over Presque Isle in front of a raucous crowd at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Saturday.

“In the end, (Greely) was the better team,” Presque isle coach Dr. Carl Flynn said. “I don’t think our boys played poorly by any stretch, but I think they were the better team.”

Presque Isle goalie Josh MacFarline made a case for player of the game in his own right, despite the final outcome. He weathered a barrage of shots all game, finishing with 47 saves on the afternoon.

“He played a phenomenal game,” Greely coach Barry Mothes said. “He made a number of great saves. As the game went on, he got tougher and tougher to beat.”

“He had a slow start to the season, but he’s come around,” Flynn said. “He’s sick, he had a fever and he wasn’t feeling his best, but he played his best.”

The Rangers had played just once before in the state title game, a 4-3 overtime loss to Brewer in 2007. The team had so many times – even as the No. 1 seed – advanced to the Western final, only to be derailed by Cape Elizabeth. Or York. Or Fryeburg.

Not this time.

“I’m very happy for our entire team, and very, very happy for this great group of seniors,” Mothes said. “They’ve been a big part of sustaining some really good hockey that really started six or seven years ago.”

The Rangers controlled the play early, and broke out for 16 shots in the opening frame alone, 11 of which came in the period’s final five minutes.

The Rangers also struck for a pair of goals in the opening frame, getting one from Brian Allyn on a rush up the right side, and another late in the frame off the stick of Brian Hart, who parlayed an in-zone turnover by Presque Isle into a quick goal.

Greely also was helped by the return of injured captain Kevin Hart, who played through four broken bones in his lower back, an injury he suffered in the Western B semifinals against York.

“We felt we’d keep him out of the first or six minutes, because we knew (Presque Isle) would come out hard and physical,” Mothes said. “I think he got bumped pretty hard on his very first shift, but I think he was fine, and that helped him get into the game.”

Kevin Hart had his say in the second, helping to set up brother Brian for two more to give him the hat trick. Presque Isle got one back with 54 seconds to play in the middle frame on a rebound goal by Zac Campbell, breaking up Labbe’s shutout bid.

The Rangers snuck one more past MacFarline on the power play late in the third.