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PORTLAND—It was deja vu all over again. Another hard-fought triumph for Cheverus. And more frustration for Yarmouth/Freeport.
Thursday evening at Troubh Ice Arena, in a showdown of the teams who have squared off in the past two girls hockey state finals, the Stags managed to generate just enough offense while getting a terrific effort from junior goalie Ellie Skolnekovich to end their regular season in style. And hint that perhaps another coronation could be in store. A little over a month after going to Yarmouth/Freeport and eking out a 1-0 victory, Cheverus did it again, thanks to a first period goal from sophomore standout Caroline Rousseau.
Skolnekovich did the rest, stopping all 26 shots she facedm as the Stags improved to 13-1-1 on the year, dropping Yarmouth/Freeport to 14-2-1 in the process. “It was not pretty, but it wasn’t pretty for them either,” said Cheverus coach Scott Rousseau. “When you get to the end and you have two really great teams, they make each other look bad.
The game didn’t have great flow. We took strengths away from each other. It was a battle.
” Cream of the crop For third year running, it appears that the road to the state title will go through Cheverus, but right on the Stags’ rear bumper is Yarmouth/Freeport, which, after twice being the bridesmaid, is hoping to ascend to the pinnacle this time around. Cheverus, which also features players this winter from Windham and Medomak Valley, started with home wins over York (9-1) and Falmouth (5-1), then settled for a 3-3 tie at Gorham. After a 9-1 victory over the Cape Elizabeth/Deering/Portland/South Portland/Waynflete Beacons co-op team, the Stags lost the rematch to the Beacons, 3-2, before edging host Brunswick (4-3) and downing host Falmouth/Scarborough (6-2) and Yarmouth/Freeport (1-0).
Cheverus finished the 2024 portion of its schedule with a 4-0 home victory over St. Dom’s, then steamrolled into 2025 by downing visiting Gorham ( 7-0 ), host Penobscot (5-2), visiting Biddeford (8-1), Penobscot (7-1) and Brunswick (5-2). As for Yarmouth/Freeport, it opened with a 7-4 win at Lewiston, then tied host Edward Little/Leavitt (3-3) before downing visiting York (4-1), host Winslow (5-2) and host St.
Dom’s (9-0). After falling at home to Cheverus, Yarmouth/Freeport rebounded and defeated host Penobscot (5-1), visiting Edward Little/Leavitt (5-3), the host Beacons ( 7-4 ), visiting St. Dom’s (4-0), host Brunswick (2-1) and Gorham (2-0) and visiting Winslow (5-1), Falmouth/Scarborough (10-0), Beacons (4-2) and Penobscot (5-1).
In the teams’ first meeting, senior star Lucy Johnson’s second period goal (from junior Joey Pompeo) was the lone score. Skolnekovich had her finest game to that point, making 20 saves, while sophomore goalie Lexie Wiles stopped 12 shots for Yarmouth/Freeport. Thursday, after Johnson and Zoey Radford were honored on Senior Night and after Skolnekovich sang the national anthem in front of a large and vocal crowd, history somewhat repeated itself.
Cheverus senior Lucy Johnson lunges to knock the puck away from junior Emma White early in the Stags’ 1-0 victory Thursday. Hoffer photos. Both teams had chances in the first period before Cheverus broke through.
Early on, Wiles denied Caroline Rousseau, Johnson on a rush and junior Briella Doherty, while Skolnekovich turned aside bids from freshman Eleanor Williamson, sophomore Dylan McElhinney and freshman Maya Nasveschuk. At 7:58 of the first period, the Stags got the puck in front and in a scrum, Rousseau was able to poke it past Wiles for a 1-0 lead. “I felt really good getting that goal early,” said Skolnekovich.
“It built our confidence. It’s nice to have a little leeway.” “We got tied up in the corner with too many people and they came out with the puck and had more in front than we did,” lamented Yarmouth/Freeport coach Dave Intraversato.
Late in the first, Skolnekovich saved a shot from junior Adelaide Strout and the rebound was cleared, then Strout was denied again. After a short intermission, the ice tilted in Yarmouth/Freeport’s direction in the second period, as it mustered six of the seven shots. Yarmouth/Freeport junior captain Adelaide Strout races around the net as Cheverus junior Joey Pompeo gives chase.
Cheverus went on the power play early in the period, but couldn’t take advantage. Skolnekovich then twice denied Nasveschuk and in the final minute, sophomore Erica O’Connor had a great look on a rush, but she too was stymied by Skolnekovich. After the ice was resurfaced, Yarmouth/Freeport came out and put 13 shots on goal in the third period, but none of them found the mark.
The Stags had a chance to double their lead on the power play early in the frame, but Johnson missed high. Nasveschuk then nearly scored short-handed, but Skolnekovich stood tall again. Yarmouth/Freeport went on the power play at 3:34 and had chances to draw even, but Nasveschuk missed wide, O’Connor did the same, Skolnekovich denied Strout in traffic in front, then junior Celia Zinman redirected a Strout shot, but Skolnekovich showed tremendous instincts, making the stop once more.
After Skolnekovich saved a shot from Nasveschuk and a rebound from Zinman, Cheverus went on the power play again at 9:10, but a little over a minute later, the Stags incurred a penalty of their own and that allowed Yarmouth/Freeport another opportunity to answer. With 3;55 remaining, Skolnekovich had to make a difficult save on a shot from junior Emma White. With 1:35 to go, Zinman got turned away, then got to the rebound, but Skolnekovich saved that attempt too.
Finally, 22 seconds later, Skolnekovich got over in time to rob Nasveschuk on the doorstep. “The adrenaline was there,” said Skolnekovich. “It’s exhilarating.
I love this sport. I got across the net when I had to. Honestly, in my head, it’s always 0-0.
I hardly ever look at the scoreboard. I just play my game and know my defense will do great things in front of me. I have trust in my team.
” Intraversato tried to work up some magic during a timeout with 36 seconds remaining, but the Stags never allowed another shot and were able to celebrate another 1-0 victory. Cheverus players mob junior goalie Ellie Skolnekovich at the final horn. “I love playing that team,” Skolnekovich said.
“(Freeport’s) my hometown. They’re great competition. They improve every time we play them.
” “Winning on Senior Night means so much to me and Lucy,” said Radford. “It was such an exciting game. Yarmouth/Freeport’s always one of our biggest rivals.
Playing them in two straight state finals, I think we’re they’re biggest game and they just come to play against us and we come to play against them. Our defense dug deep. We knew what we needed to do, getting the puck out.
” “I thought we did well in the third period, protecting the lead, then we took an awful penalty on the power play,” Scott Rousseau said. “If it wasn’t for Ellie’s spectacular play, they should have tied the game. I thought we got great leadership from Lucy and Zoey and Caroline, three players who have been through the wars.
The younger players and learning and getting better.” Skolnekovich wound up saving all 26 shots she faced. “Ellie had a phenomenal game,” said Radford.
“The best game I think I’ve ever seen her play.” “Ellie saved the day,” Scott Rousseau said. “She was the first star.
She was probably the second star too. We haven’t needed her a lot this year, but we needed her today and she answered the call for sure and I’m really happy for her.” “Ellie is a very good goalie,” Intraversato said.
“I think being from Freeport, she gets up to play against us.” Yarmouth/Freeport finished with a 26-10 advantage in shots on goal and got nine saves from Wiles, but wound up on the short end of the score regardless. “It’s not really frustrating,” Intraversato said.
“We’re getting our chances. We’ll put one in. With us, if we score one, we’ll score multiple.
Tonight, we tried to get out with no injuries. The game was harder than I thought it would be. Both teams were working hard.
It was like a state game out there. “We beat Cheverus once every year. We haven’t won yet, so maybe the next one’s the one.
” Playoff tune-up Both teams now turn their attention to playoff glory. Yarmouth/Freeport expects to hold on to the top seed in the North Region regardless if beats visiting Brunswick Saturday. “We have 14 wins, so I think we’re proven,” said Intraversato.
“We have a week off after Saturday. This week was tough. It was a good tune-up for us.
We just have to play clean hockey and stay out of the (penalty) box. We’re making too many mistakes and we need to clean that up.” Cheverus, which has the top spot in the South Region wrapped up, now looks ahead to the playoffs and a run at a third straight championship.
“We just have to work together,” Radford said. “We’re a really young team this year. All of our players have shown a lot of character and growth.
” “We just need to keep playing hard,” said Skolnekovich. “Every team comes to play their best against us and it’s a big target on our back, but I think we have a chance. Absolutely.
” “I joke all the time that the jerseys are the two-time state champs and the people who were wearing them are mostly gone,” Scott Rousseau added. “This is a completely new team on a new and unique journey. I’m not worried about a run.
You can’t think that way. I worry about the next game. One of the biggest strengths I think we’ve had is we just kind of keep our heads down and come to practice and go to work and fix our mistakes and hope to get better.
Everything else is just noise. “We’ll have a hard skate tomorrow, watch film on Saturday and we’ll get ready for whoever we play (in the semifinals).” Comments are not available on this story.
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