HALLOWELL — It’s now from two wins to 14 for the Cony boys hockey team — and this one seven years in the making. 

Cony earned its first playoff win since 2017 with an 8-2 victory over Brewer in the Class B North quarterfinals Tuesday at the Maine Ice Vault. The win earned the Rams a semifinal date with either No. 3 Hampden Academy or No. 6 John Bapst this weekend in Presque Isle.

“It feels great, especially because we came here and played a complete game,” said Cony head coach Doug Dieuveuil. “We wanted a play a complete game and be able to roll all three lines the entire game, and that’s what we did.”

Second-ranked Cony (14-5-0) took the lead early in the first period on a goal by Caiden Kelley. Alex Leet then scored for the Rams at 7:27 to double the advantage before Cooper Clark made it 3-0 with the final tally of the period.

No. 7 Brewer (6-11-2) would score twice in the second period, but on both occasions, Cony would answer. Two minutes after Grady Vanidestine scored at 4:19, Zach Waddell answered to restore the Rams’ three-goal lead. Vanidestine scored again for the Witches at 10:09, but Leet fired back just 17 seconds later to make it 5-2.

“We were focused, and we stuck with it and stayed even-keeled,” Dieuveuil said of his team’s two responses in the second period. “Our message is always to not get too high or too low and just keep moving forward. That’s what’s we’re going to try and do all playoffs long.”

After Leet’s second of the night, Cony would stretch the lead even further as goals from Ray Dineen (11:15) and Brandon Smith (13:32) later in the period gave the Rams a 7-2 lead. Waddell then capped off the scoring for Cony with the game’s final goal at 1:06 of the third.

Cony, which went just 2-15-1 last season, is now the highest remaining seed in the B North field after top-ranked Messalonskee (14-5-0) suffered a 3-1 upset loss to No. 8 Old Town/Orono (6-12-1) on Tuesday. The Rams are chasing their first regional title since 1994.

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