LEWISTON — Ben Allan-Rahill was quick to share the glory Saturday after he helped the Old Town/Orono boys’ hockey team make history.

Allan-Rahill, a team captain and Orono High senior, scored in overtime as Old Town/Orono became the first co-operative team to win a boys’ hockey state championship, rallying for a 3-2 win over Greely in the Class B final at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

In most sports, Old Town and Orono athletes are rivals, but the two schools merged their hockey programs five years ago. Their union culminated with Old Town’s first state championship since 1993 and Orono’s first title ever.

Allan-Rahill teamed up with fellow captain Jake Dubay, an Old Town senior, for the winning goal 3:04 into overtime.

“I can’t thank (Jake) enough for the goal. He gave it to me, and it’s just a dream come true,” said Allan-Rahill.

“There’s always been that rivalry between the two schools, and it’s incredible to be that bridge.”

Tyler McCannell sparked the comeback with a pair of goals after Greely (17-3-1) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period.

“Obviously, we needed more than two goals,” Greely Coach Barry Mothes said. “That put a lot of pressure on our goalie and our defense and, ultimately, it wasn’t enough.”

The scoring was uncharacteristically low for both teams, with Old Town (20-1) averaging more than six goals per game and Greely averaging more than five. Karsten Bourgoine finished with 34 saves for Greely, while Kohle Parker had 28 saves for Old Town.

Allan-Rahill’s goal came on the rebound of his own shot after a pass from Dubay. Nate Young also assisted on the goal.

“He stopped it and I was like, ‘Ohhh no,’” Allan-Rahill said in reference to Bourgoine. “Then I looked down, and the puck was right there. I just gave it all I had to put it in the net.”

Greely got on the board 4:38 into the first period when Jake MacDonald converted a rebound. Matt Dubbert and Jackson Williams were credited with assists.

Andrew Moore made it 2-0 with another rebound goal just 31 seconds later, assisted by Quinn Molloy and Matt Kramlich.

Old Town began its comeback with 2:05 left in the period when McCannell slammed in a rebound after Dubay’s shot was stopped by Bourgoine.

“Two goals that quick? It’s just shocking,” Allan-Rahill said. “We came back and got that one at the end of the period. Then we were able to reconvene at intermission, tie the second period and win the third.”

Old Town opened the second period with a brief 5-on-3 advantage and an extended 5-on-4 power play following a minor on Owen O’Connell for elbowing and a major on Andrew Moore for boarding. The Black Bears couldn’t capitalize on either opportunity, nor did they convert on a fourth power play about six minutes into the period.

“I looked at one of the coaches and said, ‘Boy, we missed out on a great opportunity. This might come back and haunt us,” Old Town Coach Denis Collins said. “But the kids didn’t give up.”

Old Town had a 6-4 edge in shots during the second period and nearly tied it with less than a minute left when Dylan Street’s shot bounced off Bourgoine, leading to a scrum in front of the net before the Rangers ended the threat.

The Black Bears pulled even at 5:32 of the third, as McCannell scored again after Young won a faceoff in Greely’s zone.

Old Town outshot Greely 17-11 in the third period and 4-2 in overtime.

“My partner just burned the defenseman both times and I just crashed the net,” McCannell said about his goals. “We just kept focused. We all knew what we wanted to do: Put it in the back of the net.”

UPDATE: This story was corrected at 1:15 p.m. on March 11 to show the Old Town/Orono team nickname as Black Bears.

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