Players from the John Bapst co-op team show off the regional championship plaque after a 3-1 win over Messalonskee in the Class B North final Wednesday in Orono. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

ORONO — For all the good boys hockey that has been played by the John Bapst co-op team in recent years, the program had never won a regional championship.

The Crusaders have one now, thanks to an opportunistic effort in the offensive zone and a strong defensive performance.

Owen Marryatt tallied a goal and two assists, Camden Leighton stopped 27 shots, and John Bapst defeated Messalonskee, 3-1, to win the Class B North title Wednesday night at the University of Maine’s Alfond Arena. The win sends the Crusaders to Saturday’s state final against defending champion Cheverus/Yarmouth at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

“It’s a great feeling; the guys have worked hard all season, and they deserve this,” said John Bapst coach Devin Fitzpatrick. “We’re fortunate to have some great goaltenders in net, forwards who can play, and the best D in the league. … Our guys (stepped up) tonight.”

Cooper Lewis and Nick Needham also scored for John Bapst, which also draws players from Hermon, Bangor Christian and Deer Isle-Stonington.

Owen Kirk scored for Messalonskee, which got 16 saves from Nathan Kirk.

After third-seeded Messalonskee put three shots on net in the game’s opening two minutes, top-seeded John Bapst (19-1-1) scored first against the flow of play, on a goal by Marryatt at 2:55.

The Eagles, though, responded at 5:24, as Owen Kirk scored on a breakaway after a pass from Parker Grant.

There were few scoring chances for either team in an evenly played second period until John Bapst broke the tie. After a well-placed pass from Marryatt, a crashing Lewis put the puck past Nathan Kirk for the go-ahead goal at 13:10.

“I saw the puck come loose on the sideboards, and I just tried getting it on net because he was there — he’s always there,” Marryatt said. “I saw him, and I saw the goalie there, and I knew he was going to slot it in.”

Messalonskee (15-6) got its share of chances in the third period but couldn’t put the puck past Leighton. Then, with five minutes remaining, Needham gave John Bapst a two-goal cushion with a shot that bounced off Nathan Kirk’s glove and over the line.

In a game in which Messalonskee produced more chances, Leighton’s play was a difference-maker. His key saves while John Bapst was protecting the one-goal lead in the third period drew oohs and ahs from the crowd.

“He stopped so many shots for us in that third period,” Marryatt said of Leighton, a freshman. “We kind of let off the gas a little bit, but he just kept making saves, and that kept us in the game.”

Messalonskee, which lost to John Bapst by the same 3-1 score in the lone regular-season meeting on Jan. 10, certainly didn’t lose because of a lack of effort or discipline. The Eagles committed just one penalty.

“We played our hearts out,” Messalonskee coach Dennis Martin said. “Their goalie made some great saves, and they had some bounces that they took advantage of, which is what good teams do. That’s what it takes in a game like this.”

As was the case in that regular-season matchup, the Eagles were missing a key player. In the first matchup, Messalonskee was without Owen Kirk. This time, Denny Martin, one of the state’s top defensemen, was out because of an injury.

Martin’s absence left the Eagles vulnerable. Marryatt said that was something he and his teammates focused on as soon as they found out the junior wouldn’t be playing.

“When we heard the information that he wasn’t playing, we were a little happy because he’s one of their big defensemen,” Marryatt said. “That’s kind of why we worked to dig it deep, dump pucks and get there before the rest of their D.”