Winslow collects crown> Siviski powers Raiders by Orono

ORONO – Winslow left winger Ryan Siviski scored the game winner of the Class B Eastern Maine hockey final in the first period Thursday night at Alfond Arena.

Scoring the game’s opening goal in Winslow’s 8-0 victory was just Siviski’s way of warming up.

The speedy sophomore notched his second hat trick of the high school hockey playoffs as the Black Raiders rolled to their ninth Eastern Maine championship.

Winslow, which has won the last two state titles, is now 18-3-1. The Raiders will battle for the title at 2 p.m. Saturday against Kennebunk at the Central Maine Civic Center in Lewiston. Kennebunk defeated Greely of Cumberland Center 8-2 for the Western Maine crown Thursday night.

Orono finished 20-3.

“We played harder [than Orono]. We want to be there Saturday,” Siviski said. “Once we get going, we get really motivated. We really work hard to score more.”

As is their nature, the Black Raiders scored the bulk of their goals in a flurry. Meanwhile, Orono, which matched Winslow’s nine shots in the first, couldn’t maintain a forecheck in the second as the Raiders racked up four goals in four minutes.

“It was 2-0 with six minutes left [in the second],” Orono coach Greg Hirsch said. “Then they scored one and they had that much more energy. They played a lot tighter executing then when we played them before. Winslow is a great playoff team.”

Winslow coach Lee Bureau said he gave his team tough practices the week of the playoffs, working on excuting new systems that helped to shut down the Red Riots.

Orono was barely able to get past Winslow’s blue line all night as the Raiders clogged up the neutral zone. As a result, the Riots had very few high-percentage shots.

“We kept the gap close. Instead of the defense backchecking, we kept the gaps closed to prevent passes,” Bureau said.

After scoring with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left in the first, Siviski started the Winslow raid on goalie Stuart Cady at 8:17 in the second when he flipped up a Mark Gunning shot that landed in the crease and sent the puck off Cady’s shoulder into the far corner.

Sixteen seconds later, Jake Fraser lifted in a rebound from the right post from his brother, Ben.

Then it was Siviski’s turn again at 11:47 in the period. When Cady dropped down on Brad White’s shot, Siviski roofed the puck in from the crease. And 21 seconds later, White kept the brutal attack going when he scored off a faceoff in Orono’s zone.

The playoffs served more or less as Siviki’s coming out. The sophomore played on the fourth line last year and didn’t move up to the Raiders’ first line until halfway through the season.

“He’s come a long way,” Bureau said. “He has a knack for being in the right place. A couple of times on the forecheck, he left a dangerous situation. I was going to say something to him, but then he scored. We put him on that first line midway through the season and it’s paid off big time.”

Siviski said what has made him into one of Winslow’s top scorers is his slap shot. Once he started working with right wing Brad White taking his centering pass, Siviski found he had a knack for one-timing the puck into the back of the net. Although, he didn’t need to one-time it Thursday.

“I improved quite a big. Last year, I was a freshman. I dressed up, but I didn’t play much,” Siviski said. “I opened my eyes more this year. I started finishing shots.”

In the third, White, Nick McCann, and Jake Frasier each added goals.

Black Raiders 8, Red Riots 0

Orono (20-3) 0 0 0 – 0 Winslow (19-3-1) 1 4 3 – 8

First period – 1. W, Siviski (White, J. Fraser), 5:38; Penalties: O, Monberg, tripping, 2:38; W, Bridges, interference, 7:21; O, Holmes, slashing, 10:13

Second period – 2. W, Siviski (Gunning), 8:17; 3. W, J. Fraser (B. Fraser, McCann), 8:33; 4. W, Siviski (White, Gunning), 11:47; 5. W, White (B. Fraser), 12:08, (ppg); Penalties: O, Murdoch, interference, 12:02

Third period – 6. W, White (Gunning), 2:06; W, McCann (B. Fraser, Poulin), 7:12; W, J. Fraser (McCann, Fortin), 8:26; Penalties: O, Hite, elbowing, 3:06; O, Lundy, roughing, 3:06; W, Bridges, elbowing, 3:06; O, Brooker, elbowing, 3:27; O, Holmes, holding, 8:02; W, Poulin, roughing, 8:17; O, Hedrick, checking from behind and 10-minute misconduct, 9:23; O, Holmes, 10-minute misconduct, 10:32; O, Berry, elbowing, 12:20; W, Fraser, hooking, 14:44

Shots-on-goal: Orono 9-6-6-21; Winslow 9-14-17-40

Goalies: Orono, Stuart Cady; Winslow, Jon Taylor

Power-play opportunities: Orono 0-of-2; Winslow 1-of-7