PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — In the regular season opener for both teams, the John Bapst Crusaders bolted to a 3-0 first-period lead and went on to top the Presque Isle Wildcats, 7-4, in a varsity hockey match played Saturday at the Forum.
Logan Ellis-Cyr and Tony Cambria each scored a pair of goals for John Bapst, while Tyler Wheeler, Drew Gardiner and Kodi Lagassie all added single goals.
For the Wildcats, Denny Young and Cooper Madore tallied two goals each. Torey Levesque, Brycen Libby and Thomas Patenaude each picked up assists.
The Crusaders’ Dan Sprague faced 19 shots, while Andre Daigle faced 31 for Presque Isle.
The Wildcats were without the services of senior starting goalie Jillian Flynn, who was forced to sit out after picking up a red card in her soccer team’s playoff loss at Hermon in October.
John Bapst had an 11-2 advantage in shots in the first period and 8-5 in the second. Each team attempted 12 in the final period.
“I thought we played very tentative during the first two periods but played more loose and aggressive in the third,” said Wildcat coach Carl Flynn. “We had some defensive breakdowns that allowed Bapst to gain an insurmountable lead.”
