Hockey
Greely slips past York in first-ever Western Maine Final for hockey 'Cats
By Essie Powers
York's Andrew Loane, pictured here, stopped 31 attempts on goal by the Greely Rangers in the Western Maine Final last week.
Photo by Paul R. Ladd III
Senior defenseman Chris Meehean, who scored York's only goal in the Western Maine Final last week against Greely, is seen here taking control of the puck.
Photo by Paul R. Ladd III
They faced their old rivals, the Greely Rangers, and fell one goal short of the championship, losing 2-1 in regulation.
It was the third time this season that York lost to Greely by a score of 2-1, as these evenly matched teams staged the best games that Class B had to offer this year.
York goalie Andrew Loane, who put on one spectacular showing in the net, stopped 31 Ranger attempts as Greely out-shot York by a two-to-one margin over three periods.
Senior defenseman Chris Meehean scored York's only goal of the game on assists from Dan Powers and Kevin Maran to give York the first-period lead.
It was only the second time all year that Greely had trailed a Class B opponent, and both times were against York.
Only two minutes into the second period, Ranger Harrison Sheldon tied the game at 1.
The Wildcats held strong until the third-period penalties wore them down.
Kyle Banfield, Ryan Clauson, Nick Richard, Kal Decato, Matt Carey, Andy Ohlson, Powers and Meehean combined to kill off two Greely power plays and two five-on-three stretches.
Sheldon's second goal of the night, on Greely's fourth power-play attempt, was the game winner.
"I just can't take anything away from these boys," said Coach Jim Powers. "This year has been a thrilling ride with them. They overcame a lot of hurdles and disruption. We had a dynamic freshman class and the best defense in Class B. We swept the defending champions twice, we took Greely to overtime twice and lost by one goal in the finals. We have five senior All-Stars and four All-Conference team players. We made history by getting to the finals. I hope it was an unforgettable year for them. I know it was for me."
