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PORTLAND — Trent LeSieur had missed multiple scoring opportunities early for the Thornton Academy boys hockey team in its Class A semifinal against Falmouth on Wednesday night.

But it only took one goal to change LeSieur’s night and the Golden Trojans’ fortunes.

LeSieur, a senior forward and a semifinalist for the Travis Roy Award, notched Thornton Academy’s first goal, off a pass from Brayden Duane, and the top-ranked Trojans added three third-period goals to secure a 4-1 victory over fifth-seeded Falmouth at Cross Insurance Arena. LeSieur also had an assist.

“I was a little bit annoyed because I couldn’t score (early), I had a lot of opportunities,” Lesieur said. “But I got back to the bench, everyone was picking me up and they were like, ‘You’re going to go out there and get one.’ I went out there, got one, and got the boys rolling.”

Thornton (19-1) will meet Cheverus/Yarmouth in the Class A final Saturday in Portland. The defending state champion got two goals from senior forward Jake Skillings, one from junior forward Corbin Poussard, and 23 saves from senior goaltender Cole Fernald.

“It’s the best feeling ever,” said Skillings, Thornton’s other Travis Roy Award semifinalist. “Especially with this group of kids. We all know what we need to get it done. We all come together, we don’t bicker and we don’t fight back.”

“We knew that game was going to be tough,” said Thornton coach Jamie Gagnon. “We knew it would be a lot tougher than the (playoff) seedings implied. Great game, (Falmouth is) a great team, well coached and fun to compete against.”

Falmouth finished 13-7. The Navigators tied the game in the third on a goal from sophomore forward Michael Geoghan, with assists from Joe Graceffa and Anthony Graceffa. Sophomore goalie Harrison Rana made 27 saves, keeping the Navigators close for more than two periods.

Neither team scored in the first period, despite the Trojans having a 13-5 edge on shots. Thornton’s best opportunity in the first came on a breakaway by LeSieur, who knocked a shot past Rana, but the puck hit the post at the top right corner.

“We had some good chances (early), but we just couldn’t put it away,” Gagnon said. “(Rana) stood on his head, he played really well.”

Thornton continued its dominance of possession in the second period, outshooting the Navigators by an 11-5 margin. The Trojans broke through with 4:50 remaining in the period, when LeSieur took a pass off the boards from Duane to create a breakaway. He slipped the puck between Rana’s pads and into the net before crashing into the goal.

“The pass was perfect,” LeSieur said. “Off the faceoff, I just bolted and the pass went right to my stick. I just went.”

“That’s just our connection,” Duane added. “That’s our play. We know where each other are. We run that against anyone. If it keeps working, why stop?”

Falmouth applied pressure early in the third period and tied the game with 8:56 remaining when Geoghan rebounded a Joe Graceffa shot. But the Trojans responded with two goals in a span of 36 seconds, the first from Poussard just 14 seconds after Geoghan’s goal. Moments later, Skillings connected directly off a faceoff.

“(Geoghan’s goal) was a wake-up call,” Skillings said. “(We went), ‘There’s no chance we’re losing this. We’re just going to keep pushing them off balance and capitalize on the mistakes.”

Skillings added an empty-net goal, off a pass from LeSieur, to seal the win with 26 seconds remaining.