YARMOUTH — There’s a new top team in Maine girls hockey.
The Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland/Oxford Hills co-op jumped into first place Monday ahead of Yarmouth/Freeport, the previous top seed in the Heal point standings, by posting a 2-1 win at Travis Roy Arena.
The Red Hornets (13-1), winners of nine straight, have beaten the Clippers (12-2-1) twice this month.
“We bring out the best in each other,” Red Hornets coach Dana Berube said. “It’s good for the game of hockey … It’s not always going to be perfect but we battled right to the end. These are the games, as you start getting to the last week of the season, you’ve got to be able to play in that kind of environment and those tight games, and be able to make mistakes and let them go, and be ready for your next shift. So I was really proud of our leadership group today.”
The Red Hornets and the Clippers, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Varsity Maine Top 10, were tied at 1-1 going into the final period.
“We realized that we needed to pick it up in between (the second and third) periods, and that’s just what we did,” junior forward Kylie Dulac said. “Talked about better passing, keeping our heads, staying out of the box and making smart plays, and it just worked out in the end for us.”
With 5:15 left, Dulac scored the winning goal by picking up the puck deep in the defensive zone and racing along the left wall before making a move toward the center and passing to freshman forward Sophia Drouin, who casually dropped it off behind her back for Dulac to score with a shot to the top right corner.
Dulac called the play a “great give-and-go” and said the pair worked on it during practice.
Yarmouth/Freeport tied it with 1:47 left in the second period when senior forward Erin O’Connor tipped a pass near the blue line, chased after the puck down the right side, collected it and deposited a shot in a narrow window between Red Hornets sophomore goalie Paige Fecteau (18 saves) and the right pipe.
There was one second left of a 4-on-4 overlapping penalty. The Red Hornets were assessed five penalties and the Clippers had three.
Fecteau said she was able to brush off her seventh allowed goal of the season in time for two more penalty kills and a six-on-five situation after Yarmouth/Freeport pulled its goalie in the final minute of the game.
“It’s definitely harder,” she said. “You’ just gotta’ve just got to grind through it. You’ve got to work hard (as a team).”
Avery Cologna, a senior defender, scored the visitors’ first goal during the second period with a hard shot off an offensive-zone faceoff won by Avianna D’Auteuil. Adeline Langan also got an assist.
“Hey, what are you gonna do? You’re not gonna win every single game. You’re gonna go into the playoffs where they really count,” Clippers coach Dave Intraversato said. “These games, they count for now, I guess, for seedings, but, you know, being in two state finals and a regional (final) the last three years, the senior group knows that the important games are two weeks away. So we’re going to be prepared for that. I can guarantee you that.”
Yarmouth/Freeport sophomore goalie Lydia Costa stopped 13 shots.
