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LEWISTON – Even with Garrett Macgowan doing his best impersonation of Jim Craig (or Superman, if you prefer), it wasn’t enough for Hampden Academy to overcome Cape Elizabeth’s sheer speed and cohesiveness.
The Capers launched a staggering 62 shots at Hampden’s senior goaltender en route to a 6-2 victory Saturday afternoon and their first Class B state hockey championship since 1999.
“Garrett kept us in it the whole game. … Unbelievable,” said coach Tom King, whose Broncos finish their first Eastern Maine championship season 20-4. “That was his top-notch game. That’s a great hockey club Cape has. They have speed, skills, talent, everything.”
Macgowan was the sole reason the Broncos were only down 2-0 after two periods as he turned aside 40 of 42 shots en route to a career-best 56-save game before a crowd of 900 fans at the Central Maine Civic Center.
“Their goalie was great. Nobody’s shut us down like that all season,” said Capers senior forward Luke Holden. “We came out hard in the first and even with 22 shots, it was just 2-0. We went into the locker room and we knew we had to go even harder.”
It took another period, but that’s exactly what Holden and the Capers did. After coming up dry despite 20 shots in the second period, the Capers exploded in the third as Holden and sophomore second-line center Dan Rautenberg lit their fuse.
Holden won control of the puck in the left faceoff circle and found Rautenberg with a pass 12 feet in front of the right goal post. Rautenberg flipped it into the left side to make it 3-0 Cape just 1:37 into the period.
Hampden brought its fans to their feet after finally breaking the ice with a goal by senior tri-captain and left wing Adam Standley. He slapped the puck in from about 10 feet in front of the net on the left post after CE goalie Tom Rowe’s save of an Ian Lee shot deflected out to Standley 21/2 minutes into the period.
The celebration would be short-lived, however, as Holden and Rautenberg hooked up again, this time on a 2-on-1 rush from the right side and a shot to the high right corner of the net by Rautenberg.
A little more than three minutes later, Rautenberg earned the hat trick with an unassisted goal on a breakaway down the left side and another high shot to the opposite corner. He would add a fourth goal, this one also unassisted, with 2:36 to play.
In between Rautenberg’s third and fourth goals, Hampden sophomore forward Mike Brown scored unassisted on a breakaway up the middle.
Cape coach Steve Ouellette said the third-period scoring flurry was a tremendous relief for his team.
“That goalie did a hell of a job,” he said. “It was still a little nerve-wracking there even though we were outplaying them and getting so many chances.”
Senior goalie Rowe, ranked among the state’s top goalies in save percentage, stopped 18 of 20 shots for the Capers, who finish their season 19-3.
Hampden had just one day to prepare for the formidable Capers, but King said he’s not sure that turned out to be a major factor.
“I think we could have had a month of preparation and still not have been prepared for that group, but our boys never quit,” he said.
Macgowan’s father, who lives in Falmouth, gave him some tips and scouting information on the Capers, but Macgowan said they’re even better than advertised.
“Oh wow, they’re an extremely quick team,” he said. “They pressured us to the puck all the time and seemed like they were one step ahead of us. They’re brilliant with the puck. I’ve never seen a team like that, in Class B at least.”
The game’s first goal was credited to Cape sophomore forward Garrett Currier, but it resulted from being tipped in off the back of the skate of one of Hampden’s defensemen with 6:02 left in the first. The second came courtesy of a Bryan Holden slap shot off an assist from brother Luke 46 seconds later.
CAPERS 6, BRONCOS 2
Hampden Acad. (20-4) 0 0 2 ? 2
Cape Elizabeth (19-3) 2 0 4 ? 6
First period ? 1. CE, Currier (M.Rautenberg) 8:58; 2. CE, B. Holden (L. Holden) 9:44; Penalties: HA, A. Standley, tripping, 1:04
Second period ? No scoring; Penalties: CE, Robinson, cross-checking, 11:14
Third period ? 3. CE, D. Rautenberg (L. Holden, Brown) 1:37; 4. HA, A. Standley (Lee) 2:30; 5. CE, D. Rautenberg (L. Holden) 3:08; 6. CE, D. Rautenberg (unassisted) 6:13; 7. HA, Brown (unassisted) 11:35; 8. CE, D. Rautenberg (unassisted) 12:34; Penalties: CE, McCarthy, holding, 8:26; HA, Dunham, 10-minute misconduct, 14:51
Shots on goal: Hampden 1-8-11 ? 20; Cape 22-20-20 ? 62
Goaltenders: Hampden, Macgowan (62 shots, 56 saves), Woods (0, 0); Cape, Rowe (20, 18)
Power-play opportunities: Hampden 0 for 2; Cape 0 for 2
Attendance: 900 (est.)
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