Luke Patterson made 31 saves and Brunswick High School got goals from sophomores Garrett Countway and Zach Stern-Hayes to beat Camden Hills of Rockport 2-0 in the Class B boys hockey championship game game at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on Saturday.
It was Brunswick’s first state title. Camden Hills was playing in its first state championship game.
It was 17-4 Brunswick’s 12th straight win and the list of victories included Class B South playoff triumphs over Gorham (8-1), Cheverus/Yarmouth (4-3 in five overtimes) and defending two-time state B champ Greely of Cumberland Center (6-4) in the South final.
The Dragons also dealt Class A top seed Edward Little of Auburn one of its two regular season losses, 2-1.
Camden Hills wound up 13-5 and won eight of its last 10 games including Class B North playoff victories over John Bapst of Bangor (2-0), Gardiner (9-1) and Hampden Academy (5-2).
Camden Hills had beaten Mike Misner’s Dragons 3-0 in a regular season game in Rockport on Jan. 22. That was Brunswick’s last loss.
It was just the second time this season that the Windjammers have been shut out.
Countway scored what proved to be the game-winning goal early in the first period by deflecting a Tommy Labbe point shot past standout senior goalie Jackson Bernier. Kennedy Eddy also picked up an assist on the goal.
Patterson protected the lead by making 12 of his saves during the second period as his team was outshot 12-4.
Stern-Hayes, who scored the game-winning goal in the fifth overtime against Cheverus, added an unassisted insurance goal with 2:44 remaining in the game by sliding a loose puck home during a scramble in front.
Bernier finished with 22 saves for Camden Hills and allowed only five goals in the Windjammers’ four playoff games.
“We played well. We played really hard,” said Camden Hills coach John Magri. “The first period wasn’t my favorite period but we were all over them in the second and third period. We just couldn’t get any bounces.”
He said Patterson turned in a good performance as did Bernier, but Brunswick had more high-quality shots on net. Bernier faced one multi-shot flurry in the second period where he “stood on his head” to keep them within a goal, Macri said.
He said the Dragon forwards did a good job positioning themselves high in the defensive zone to prevent his defensemen from pinching in as much as they usually do to generate offense.
He noted that Brunswick’s defensemen and forwards continually used “high chips” out of the defensive zone to relieve the pressure.
“It was a gritty, hard-fought hockey game. They were more physical than they were the last time we played them,” he added.
Magri was proud of his team and told his players after the game they had established a legacy “by doing something the program had never done before.”