The Clippers played their best game of the season as they rolled to a 5-1 win over Gorham in the opening round of the Class B South Playoffs. Cooper May ’18 led the way with a goal and three assists and Dan Latham ’18 was solid in net as he turned away 19 of 20 shots.
From the opening face-off, Gorham looked to finish checks and play a physical game. The Clippers, however, responded physically while not taking bad penalties and more importantly, did a good job with puck protection in their own zone.
In the first period, Yarmouth had back-to-back power play opportunities, but was unable to capitalize on either. Even with a 9-2 shot advantage in the first period, the Clippers were not able to find the back of the net until the closing seconds.
With 1.7 seconds left in the period, Cooper May won the draw back to Dom Morrill ’18 who fired a shot at the buzzer for an improbable tally. Needless to say, the rink was rocking after Morrill’s buzzer-beater.
In the second period, Gorham showed some spark and Cooper May again played a pivotal role in extinguishing it. On the penalty kill, John Decker ’18 had a nice poke check at the offensive blue line to free May for a breakaway on which he was hauled down from behind.
On the ensuing penalty shot, May buried a snap shot for what would ultimately prove to be the game-winning goal. However less than a minute later, Gorham came back on the same man-down situation and the Ram’s Trevor Gray scored to cut the lead to 2-1.
Yarmouth played their best hockey of the year in the third period as their defensemen continued to shut down Gorham’s forwards and moved the puck well on the breakout and neutral zone regroups.
At 4:27 into the third period, John Decker (May) buried a shot top shelf from a tough angle that started with good puck movement in the defensive zone and finished with a nice pass from May to Decker for the goal.
Dom Morrill was the next to score as he fired the puck into an open net off a beautiful behind-the-back dish from Cooper May. Kurt Heywood ’19 chipped in the final goal with an assist from Aidan Miller ’20.
Yarmouth will head to the Colisee on Friday, March 2nd for the Class B South Semi-Final Game against Greely. Game time is 8 pm and will follow the York v. Cape Elizabeth tilt, which starts at 6 pm.
Media:
Yarmouth Hockey 