PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Sandwiching an easy win between two tough games, the Wildcats stuck with the usual game plan against no. 11 Hampden in Thursday’s home game, hoping to deepen their bench. Both teams took a tough first period with players spending a lot of time in the penalty box but one simple adjustment in the first intermission put the teams at full strength for the rest of the game.
“We turned the heat off in the rink and opened the garage door,” said Presque Isle head coach Dr. Carl Flynn. “The first period was much too hot for the players. When they start slow and sloppy like that it’s because it’s hot in here. Once we cooled it down a little bit they got their legs under them and we just dumped and chased it like we did against Orono and it worked out again today.”
Combined, Presque Isle and Hampden were assessed nine penalties in the first period but the Wildcats still managed to get on the board twice en route to the 4-0 win.
Freshman forward Brennen Shaw put the Wildcats ahead eight minutes into the period when he collected a pass from Josh Buck near mid-ice on the right side. Shaw sprinted diagonally to the left side and lifted a shot into the upper right corner of the net.
Junior assistant captain Greg Cyr tallied the final goal of the period, nearly 12 minutes in, when goalie Ethan Hill sent the puck down to center ice.
“I was just trying to pick up the tempo of the game,” Cyr said. “I saw an opening and I just went up through the ice and put it in the top corner.”
Hill picked up the assist on the play.
The 12 minute mark proved popular with Presque Isle. The team continued to dominate but didn’t score again until 11:57 into the second when Ben McPherson tucked the puck in the right post for the unassisted goal.
“We were just trying to play well,” Cyr said. “We had a disappointing loss to Gardiner and we know we have a big match coming up against Brewer … we were working on all the normal stuff like our penalty kill and power play.”
The Wildcats indeed proved tough on the penalty kill, nearly scoring on a Hampden powerplay twice in the third period, but the team mainly used the game as a chance to get their bench more involved.
“Hampden is 0-3 and in the bottom of the heal points in Class B east (as of last Tuesday’s standings),” said Flynn. “We played them twice in the preseason using predominantly our third and fourth lines and beat them 3-0 so I felt we could beat them and it was a good chance to let the freshmen and the rookies play a little more … We played three lines of defense consistently the whole game and four lines as much as we could.
“The 18 skaters on the team all understand and can play our penalty kill. On our power play we only have two lines that we use but when we’re on the penalty kill any of the 18 kids can be substituted in or out for one of the other guys which allows us to keep our legs fresh. Physically our kids are in good shape so they can skate a man down and generally do a pretty good job,” he said.
Brandon Daigle rounded out Presque Isle scoring with a goal at 9:38 in the third period with a little flip from the right side into the net off a pass from Dylan Collins.
Presque Isle ended the day with 39 shots on goal. Hill saved all 12 shots he faced while Hampden’s Matt Albert finished with 35 saves.
The Wildcats suffered a tough 6-1 loss at the hands of unbeaten Brewer Saturday.
Brewer jumped out to a 5-0 lead through two and a half periods before McPherson got Presque Isle on the board off assists by Buck and Daigle. The Witches added a late goal for the final margin.
Hill faced 40 shots in goal for Presque Isle while the Wildcats delivered 15 shots.
Presque Isle took a tough loss before the Christmas break against Gardiner. The Tigers went up 1-0 in the second period but Presque Isle had the answer on a goal by Dylan Collins just two and a half minutes later. Shaw and Mark Carvell got the assists.
Gardiner added a second goal to end the period but McPherson tied things up with 4:13 remaining off an assist by Dylan Collins.
The teams battled into overtime where Gardiner put in the winning goal on a power play.
Gardiner put up 24 shots to Presque Isle’s 19. The Wildcats move to 3-3-1 on the season and improve to fourth-place in the Eastern Maine Class B hockey standings. The team hosts no. 3 Winslow on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Image
