LEWISTON – With momentum seemingly clenched firmly in Greely’s grasp, Devin Fitzpatrick and Reid McLaughlin were of a like mind sitting in the Brewer locker room during the second intermission.

“I was looking at Reid and I said, ‘We can’t lose two in a row,'” Fitzpatrick said.

The two senior captains were of a like mind again early in overtime of the Class B state championship, and the result was a 4-3 win, a first state title, and some redemption for the Witches.

Fitzpatrick sent the puck off the near glass, lofting it over the Greely defense to McLaughlin, who had nothing but white space and Greely goalie Billy Bolduc in front of him. Bolduc tried to poke check McLaughlin, but to no avail.

“I saw the puck in the air and I just darted right for it,” McLaughlin said. “I almost lost it, but I made a move, and I saw his pokecheck and blocker high was wide open.”

“I saw Reid break to their blue line, and I think Reid saw me, that I was going to put it off the glass, and he made sure he was in the right place,” Fitzpatrick said. “I was really just trying to get it out of the zone.”

“He (McLaughlin) has been in the right place all year,” Brewer coach William Schwarz said. “If there’s anybody I want with the puck, it’s either Reid or Dylan (Fitzpatrick).”

Brewer (21-3), which lost to Cape Elizabeth in last year’s final, outshot Greely, 28-22. Greely finishes the season 19-5.

The first OT game in Class B since 2002 didn’t really have any fireworks until a thrilling second period. Fitzpatrick lit the fuse just 15 seconds in with a power play goal. Dylan Fitzpatrick doubled the lead at 4:47 with a wrister from the right wing off a feed from Ryan Nadeau.

Harrison Sheldon (two goals, assist) got Greely on the board at 6:31 by beating Brewer goalie Aaron Saunders (19 saves) top shelf from the right circle. Sheldon then tied the game at 7:36 with the rush of the day, outflanking two defenders while sliding the puck through the legs of the nearest, then getting just enough of a wrister to fool Saunders between his pads.

Penalties poisoned the Witches’ title hopes last year, and a roughing call on Dylan Fitzpatrick late in the third had Brewer fans breaking their broomsticks in frustration, especially after the power play led to Leland Copenhagen’s tie-breaking goal from high in the crease at 10:51.

Brewer drew only one more penalty in a physical third period, and that ended up being matching minors for unsportsmanlike when Copenhagen snowed Saunders in the face after the whistle, and the senior goalie retaliated with a slash. Brewer tied the game at 3-3, 34 seconds later when Mike Kotredes converted the rebound of a McLaughlin shot to Bolduc’s right. From there, Greely hung on for sudden death overtime.

“To tell you the truth, we were tired,” McLaughlin said. “They’re a very fast team, and we were tired.”

“We had some chances. We had some pressure,” Greely coach Barry Mothes said. “Unfortunately, I wish, and I think the players, wish we could have had more shots on goal. It feels like we had a lot more pressure than 22 shots.”

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