LEWISTON — For more than 43 minutes, Gorham either trailed or played even with Kennebunk on the scoreboard. It hadn’t led at any point. 

But Gorham grabbed the lead when it mattered the most. Travis Mansir beat Kennebunk goaltender Michael LeBlanc with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle with 1:20 left to lift sixth-seeded Gorham to a 5-4 victory over top-seeded Kennebunk in the Western B final on Wednesday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. 

“I got the puck on my stick and I looked for the open shot,” Mansir said. “I got it and I went glove side and it went in and I just went crazy.” 

Mansir’s shot tipped off a defenseman’s stick.

As a result, this year’s state championship game will be a rematch a year in the making. Gorham will face Messalonskee, the top seed from the East, in the state title game. The Eagles defeated Gorham, 6-1, last year.

Wednesday’s game was drastically different from the team’s first encounter to close out the regular season — a 6-0 victory for Kennebunk. 

“We had a different strategy,” Gorham coach John Portwine said. “We broke the puck out different and our defensive zone coverage, we played it a little differently as well. I think they caught us by surprise the first time we played and we certainly weren’t playing our best hockey that game.”

Earlier in the third period, Gorham rallied for a third time to tie the game when Matt Hooker rocketed a shot from the blue line while on the power play with 6:29 remaining. The goal came four seconds after Kennebunk’s Joe Mooney was whistled for holding, Kennebunk’s fifth penalty of the contest. 

Gorham’s win denied Kennebunk of its first trip to the Class B title game. It was Kennebunk’s first appearance in the regional final since moving down from Class A following the 2012 season. And for the second straight postseason, Gorham delivered a heart-breaking loss to Kennebunk. Last year, Gorham scored with 1:27 left in regulation to skate away with a 1-0 victory in the regional semifinals.

“It stings bad,” Kennebunk coach Sean Smith said. “This one hurts way more than last year. We battled hard, came out pretty good in the first period, just couldn’t hold on to it.”

Kennebunk (15-3-3) looked in control early, coming out of the gate with two unanswered goals in the first period. Jan Rutrle scored his first of two on the night at 4:56 when he lit the lamp on a rebound attempt.  

Kennebunk capitalized on its first power play opportunity to push its lead to 2-0 at 10:51. Following a bench minor on Gorham for too many men on the ice, Boden Beveridge went top shelf near post in front, beating Gorham goaltender Noah Bird. Patrick Gassman had the primary assists, feeding a pass to Beveridge from behind the net. 

Gorham (14-5-2) responded with the first two goals of the second period to tie the game. It had another taken off the board when Gorham scored with a player in the crease. But Carl Bear and Michael Chapin had the ones that counted. Bear collected a rebound in the slot off a shot from Mansir and wristed a shot past LeBlanc. Chapin tied the game, deflecting a shot that slipped through LeBlanc’s pads. 

“That’s the character of this group and it’s been the character of this group for the past three years,” Portwine said. “They just keep coming, they keep working hard and it seems like when people beat us down or pile things on top of us, that just makes us work harder and want it even more.” 

The stalemate was short-lived as Miles Eaton put Kennebunk back in front 32 seconds after Gorham tied it. Amid a scrum in front, Eaton managed to slide the puck across the goal line.

The teams would trade goals once again before the second period concluded. A power-play goal by Gorham’s Jordan Ward on a one-timer tied the game for a second time before Rutrle netted his second with seven seconds left. 

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