Beavers have talent to make run in playoffs
WASHBURN — The Beavers head into the 2015 season with a collective sour taste in their mouths after the way last year ended.
Coach Ben Goodwin’s squad had a solid season, but it ended in disappointment after the Beavers surrendered the game-winning goal with five seconds left in the quarterfinal round against Ashland, who went on to advance to the Class D regional final.
Goodwin will miss the five talented players who graduated — Noah Farley, Cameron Bragg, Kenny Irving, Michael Ericson and Alex Pelletier. However, he feels that plenty of talent returns to help give the team a great chance to compete.
“I am still lucky enough to have a very solid group of returnees and we have the ability to be really successful offensively and defensively,” Goodwin said. “That will all depend on the cohesion of the squad and the success of the boys that will be trying to fill the shoes of the seniors we lost last year.”
The Beaver roster includes Noah Caron, Carter Doak, Brandon Farley, Brandon Cropley, Parker Thompson, McCall Turner, Andrew Gumprecht, Cameron Hartford, Caleb Thompson, Jovanni Tavares, Quinton Thompson, Justin Davis, Keenan Jordan, Kevin Jordan, Benton Plante, Tyler Jardine and Keith McGraw.
“We want to play to our full potential, have fun and put ourselves in the best possible situation to make a strong run at the playoffs,” Goodwin said.
Washburn is off to a 3-3 start, having lost its opener to Central Aroostook before regrouping and capturing consecutive victories over Wisdom, Van Buren and Southern Aroostook. The team dropped its last two — to the Panthers and the Fort Fairfield Tigers — and took on Ashland yesterday.
The offense has been formidable with 19 goals, but the squad has surrendered 16 — including five in the opener against Central Aroostook and six in the game against the Tigers last week.
