Just a few months ago, the York/Biddeford/Old Orchard Beach boys hockey team was getting to know each other.
Fast forward to early March, and these players from disparate towns stood as state champions.
No. 2 York Co-op defeated No. 3 Hampden Academy, 3-2, to capture the Class B state title in front of a raucous crowd at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine.
York and Biddeford/Old Orchard Beach found themselves in similarly precarious positions ahead of this season. Low numbers raised questions surrounding whether either program could put a full team on the ice.
So the programs elected to join forces for a co-op.
And when those players and coaches celebrated in unison on Saturday — sticks and gloves flying above them — you would think each player belonged to one town.
It was one team.
“You couldn’t tell at the end of the season who was from what town,” head coach Peter Douris said. “When we stepped on the ice, we were all one team. And that says a lot about everybody. That’s not just coaching. That’s a commitment from parents and community and everything.”
York Co-op (18-4-0) capitalized on a three-goal salvo in the second period with tallies from Henry Ober, Bronson Eldredge and Brett Aceto to stun Hampden Academy. The Broncos staged a late comeback — cutting the deficit to 3-2 with goals off the sticks of Wyatt Allen and Aiden MacFarline — but stingy goaltending from Connor Thibault allowed the York Co-op team to escape with the thrilling victory.
“We kind of just met half our team a few months ago,” Aceto said. “And then to win a state championship is awesome. It’s unreal.”
York Co-op rolled through No. 7 Brunswick/Freeport (3-0), No. 3 Kennbunk/Wells (4-0) and No. 1 Gorham/Massabesic (4-2) en route to capturing the regional crown before Saturday’s triumph.
“To me, it’s just a great experience seeing kids put so much time in and effort and wanting something really bad and actually achieving it,” Douris said. “The expression and the excitement once the final buzzer went, that says it all.”
Douris played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1985-98, including a four-year stint with the Boston Bruins from 1989-93. In 321 career games, he amassed 121 points.
Gorham/Massabesic was considered the team to beat ahead of the season. After splitting with them in the regular season, York Co-op delivered in a major way to punch its ticket to the state final.
Douris was not surprised that Hampden Academy made York Co-op work to close out the title game.
“When you get up 3-0 like that halfway through a game, it either goes to 6-0 or 8-0 or you’re back battling 3-2,” Douris said with a laugh. “It just seems to go that way.”
It’s fitting, then, that Thibault delivered in the clutch to keep Hampden Academy at bay. He was one of the many players from Biddeford/Old Orchard Beach who complemented the roster this season in what was a dream fit for both sides.
Douris said he thought Thibault was the best goalie in the state this season.
“I don’t think there was one time that I saw a soft goal go in on him,” Douris said. “And particularly if we got the lead, he was stellar. He would not give up an easy goal. And that to me, that’s my criteria for an all-star goalie.”
York Co-op also benefited from the scoring punch of Aceto, whose goal proved pivotal in the final. As Joshua Neal entered the offensive zone with speed, Aceto collected a drop pass and unleashed a powerful wrist shot to the left side of the goal to the delight of an excited crowd.
Aceto, a senior, said he worked on his shot over the summer. It’s safe to say it paid dividends.
“Whenever I could, I was just trying to rip the puck,” Aceto said.
Douris said Neal has the “heart of a lion.” He made winning plays just like his feed to Aceto all season long. Neal would even sometimes transition back to defense in close games.
“While he isn’t going to be flashy, he’s so difficult to play against because he’s relentless,” Douris said of Neal.
Douris said his group found its identity in January, when York Co-op went 6-0 while playing to a two-game sweep over Kennebunk/Wells. York Co-op relinquished just eight goals in that span.
“We weren’t high-scoring, and we weren’t going to be fancy,” Douris said. “The way we were going to do it is by outworking the other team game in and game out and making it hard for other teams to play against us.”
So that’s exactly what York Co-op did with everything on the line. It survived. They played for each other, where three communities came together to bond for one goal.
“We were like, ‘All right, we got to play the best defense we’ve ever played in our life here. Like, this is it,’” Aceto said.
