BANGOR – Sometimes, it all comes down to the bounce of the puck.

Bangor junior left wing Nick Payson was the beneficiary of a fortunate bounce and converted it into a shorthanded breakaway goal with 44 seconds remaining to give the Rams an entertaining 3-2 schoolboy hockey victory over Cheverus of Portland at Sawyer Arena Saturday night.

Senior defenseman Jason Eremita of Bangor (2-0) set the game-winning play in motion by alertly flipping the puck out of the defensive zone. Payson tapped the puck with a high stick and if a Bangor player had touched the puck next, it would have been whistled down and the faceoff would have been in the Bangor end.

“But their defenseman touched it down, so it wasn’t a high stick. I took it and went in,” said Payson. “I slid across, their goalie [Mason St. Hilaire] opened up his legs, and I put it five-hole.”

The backhander also capped Payson’s hat trick.

“It was unlucky. The puck went to the best player on their team,” said St. Hilaire, who had made several quality saves earlier in the period and wound up with 23 on the night.

“Nick is the best all-around player I’ve seen at this level in my three years of coaching,” said Bangor coach Dan Kerluke. “He’s a tremendous player and he finished it off for us at the end.”

Eremita added, “When I saw Nick going in, I already had my hands in the air. I thought it was money in the bank. Nick always scores.”

The game featured end-to-end action with the 2-1 Stags parlaying their exceptional speed and tenacity into a distinct territorial advantage.

But Bangor senior goalie Aaron Buzzell was immense, utilizing his fine-tuned positioning and quick reactions to thwart the Stags time and time again en route to a 29-save performance.

The Stags also missed the net on several inviting opportunities.

“They were a real strong team. They’re really fast,” said Payson.

Payson’s power-play goals in the first and second periods staked the Rams to a 2-0 lead against the run of play, but senior defenseman Christian Scarpelli’s goal with 1:43 left in the second period gave Cheverus some momentum. Senior defenseman Adam Horgan drew the Stags level 4:17 into the third period.

“Nick Payson played a hell of a game and their goalie was awesome,” said Cheverus standout junior center Sam Johnson, who had an assist. “We just didn’t get the bounces.”

Payson opened the scoring 11:44 into the first period when he worked a nifty give-and-go with T.J. Vanidestine, whose return pass hit Payson’s skate and deflected between St. Hilaire’s left skate and the post.

Payson made it 2-0 with a powerful 50-foot slap shot that glanced in off St. Hilaire’s glove. Andy Marin assisted on the goal, which came on the first of three consecutive Ram two-man advantages in the second period.

But the Stags kept coming and they were justly rewarded when Scarpelli’s snap shot from the right point hit a Ram defenseman and popped over Buzzell’s glove.

Alex Arthur, who was a threat every time he was on the ice, set up Horgan’s tying goal with a precise pass that the on-coming Horgan one-timed over the blocker-side shoulder of Buzzell.

Eremita and senior center Vanidestine were the keys to two late penalty kills, including the one that produced Payson’s game-winner.

“We played a great game,” said Buzzell. “The guys cleared the front of the net so I saw all the shots coming from the point, and they cleared the rebounds I left.”

Cheverus coach Jack Lowry said it was a great game.

“I was really happy with our effort tonight. Our kids did a great job, their kids did a great job, and the goalies were good,” he said. “It came down to the bounce of the puck.”

RAMS 3, STAGS 2

Cheverus (2-1) 0 1 1 – 2

Bangor (2-0) 1 1 1 – 3

First period – 1. Ban, Payson (Vanidestine), 11:44 (pp). Penalties: Ban, Porter, cross checking, 2:07; Chev, Shelley, 10-minute misconduct for equipment infraction, 6:14; Bangor, McPike, tripping, 6:35; Chev, Scarpelli, slashing, 10:15; Chev, Anton, roughing-contact to the head, 14:00; Ban, Payson, slashing, 14:22

Second period – 2. Ban, Payson (Marin), 9:18 (pp); 3. Chev, Scarpelli (Johnson), 13:17. Penalties: Chev, Arthur, hooking, 1:51; Ban, Varney, roughing-contact to the head, 4:07; Chev, Anton, roughing-contact to the head, 7:29; Chev, Horgan, cross checking, 8:14; Chev, A. Pochebit, 9:04; Chev, Arthur, tripping, 10:24

Third period – 4. Chev, Horgan (Arthur), 4:17; 5. Ban, Payson (Eremita), 14:16 (sh). Penalties: Ban, McPike, interference, 2:02; Ban, Vanidestine, roughing-contact to the head, 4:55; Chev, Keneborus, roughing-contact to the head, 4:55; Chev, Horgan, cross checking and roughing, 5:42; Ban, Whitney, high sticking, 7:05; Ban, George, unsportsmanlike conduct, 7:05; Chev, Johnson, holding, 9:02; Ban, McPike, hooking, 10:59; Ban, B. Silver, interference, 12:54; Chev, Anton, unsportsmanlike conduct, 14:29; Chev, Scarpelli, unsportsmanlike conduct, 15:00

Shots on goal: Cheverus 13-7-11-31; Bangor 3-13-10-26

Goaltenders: Cheverus, St. Hilaire (26 shots- 23 saves); Bangor, Buzzell (31-29)

Power-play Opportunities: Cheverus 0 of 8; Bangor 2 of 11

Attendance: 150 (est.)