The Kents Hill boys hockey team suffered its first loss of the season in December, a four-goal setback to Falmouth.
That defeat was long forgotten Tuesday night.
Captain Nathan Roy scored the go-ahead goal on a power play in the final minute of the second period, lifting No. 4 Kents Hill to a 4-2 victory over No. 1 Falmouth in the Class A semifinals at the Cross Insurance Arena. The Huskies advance to the state final against Thornton Academy.
The win was the fourth in a row for the Huskies (12-7-1), who also got goals from Antoine Morin, Alex Gadbois (two assists) and Liam Ross. Included in that run was a 5-0 victory over Falmouth in the regular-season finale.
“You look at our last four or five games, we’re beating quality teams,” Kents Hill coach Bill Desmarais said. “It’s not like we’re beating teams at the bottom of the barrel. We’re beating Bangor … Falmouth, Lewiston. We’re right there with everyone.”
It’s the first year competing in the Maine Principals’ Association tournament for Kents Hill, which also has a separate team playing in the New England prep school league. The Huskies transitioned their junior varsity program to a varsity team that plays against MPA competition.
“Now these kids have something to play for. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about,” Desmarais said. “These kids had nothing before that. They played 15, 20 games, maybe, and the games really meant nothing. Now they’re buying in, they’re excited, they’re anxious. They want to be here.”
Falmouth (14-4-2) got two goals from Cale Hanson but failed to reach its first state final since winning the Class A title in 2014.
“It’s been a phenomenal first year,” said Falmouth coach Hogan Tracy, who was an assistant coach the previous three seasons. “We battled a bunch of injuries and sicknesses and other things throughout the year. I couldn’t be more proud of the kids and the way they fought. I’m torn for all the seniors.”
The Navigators feasted on open looks in grade-A spots in their first matchup with Kents Hill. But the Huskies limited those chances in the regular-season finale, and they used an excellent backcheck and effective breakout on Tuesday to prevent Falmouth from getting good chances either on the rush or off turnovers.
“You look at a lot of their scoring opportunities (Tuesday), they’re outside shots,” Desmarais said. “We were trying to keep them to the outside, let Milan (Angyalfi, 24 saves) see the puck. If he sees the puck, he’s going to stop it.”
After Morin scored in the first period and Hanson answered in the second, Kents Hill went on the power play with 1:34 to go in the period. The Huskies struck on the advantage moments later when Roy followed up on the carom of his shot for the go-ahead tally with 39.6 seconds left.
Right before the goal, the Huskies were cycling the puck around and Roy failed to keep the puck in the zone. But he circled back, re-entered, and maneuvered around two Falmouth defenders before scoring.
“I was mad at myself,” he said. “I felt like if we didn’t score, it would have been my fault. … I felt like it was my responsibility to do something about it.”
The momentum carried over into the third period, as Kents Hill upped the pressure in the opening minutes and eventually scored on Gadbois’ shot from the left side with 8:50 to go.
Ross’ empty-netter sealed the win with 2:37 to play. Hanson rounded out the scoring with 1:07 remaining.
“(Roy’s goal) kind of killed us going into the third, and we didn’t have our legs coming out,” said Tracy, who got 20 saves from Brandon White. “We never got over it. But that’s the game of hockey. Sometimes it happens like that, sometimes it works in our favor.”
Kents Hill took its first lead with 7:01 to go in the first when Gadbois set up behind the net and found Morin coming in on the right doorstep.
“I like that spot, I’m always behind the net. I saw Antoine in front, passed it to him, one-timer, really good goal,” Gadbois said. “We’ve played together for a little bit. I knew he was going to be there.”
Hanson tied the game in the opening minute of the second period, scoring after Isaac Laliberte fired a shot that kicked out right to the junior, who was alone in the left slot. It was a rare occasion when the Navigators had an answer for Angyalfi.
“We have the easiest job in the world,” Gadbois said. “If we just score some goals, we’re going to win some big games.”
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