LEWISTON — New region, same two teams.

For the third year in a row, Scarborough and Falmouth met in a girls’ hockey regional final, but after a change in direction by the Maine Principals’ Association the Red Storm won the South region this year, beating the Yachtsmen 5-2 at Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Wednesday night.

The rematch of the past two West regional finals was a rubber match of sorts. Scarborough won in 2014, then Falmouth won the region last year. The two teams tied in the season opener this year, then Scarborough won in overtime on its home ice later in the season.

Scarborough coach Caitlin Cashman said her team wanted revenge from last year’s regional final, “bad.”

“They said to us today, ‘We don’t want to cry like we did last year,'” Cashman said.

The game was tied 2-2 late in the third period when Sami Shoebottom stole the show for the top-seeded Red Storm (18-1-1). The junior dynamo fired a turnaround shot from the right circle to break the tie with 1:51 left. She added a breakaway goal 44 seconds later and an empty-netter 21 seconds after that to complete a hat trick.

“She just impresses me every time we play,” Cashman said of Shoebottom. “I couldn’t say I was surprised that she let everybody know she was still in the game.”

“We had a good chance to clear the puck. We didn’t,” Falmouth coach Rob Carrier said of Shoebottom’s go-ahead goal. “It goes right to Shoebottom’s stick and she puts home a really good shot.”

The second-seeded Yachtsmen (15-3-2) got on the board first. Camden Carrier scored on the power play for Falmouth.

Scarborough tied it up late in the first, with Logan Bruns putting home a rebound of a Lauren Topchick shot.

Falmouth went back on top early in the second via Marcy Kittredge, who skated through the Red Storm defense on a rush before beating goalie Mckenzie Cormier.

The Red Storm took advantage of a power play to even things up midway through the middle period. Lucy Bogdanovich pushed in a loose puck that was sitting behind Falmouth goalie Ally Hurdman.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com