HOULTON, Maine — Are the Houlton-Hodgdon-Southern Aroostook-Katahdin Black Hawks peaking at just the right time?
If recent games are any indication that answer is a resounding yes.
On Tuesday evening, the Black Hawks raced to an early 2-0 lead against visiting Presque Isle and never looked back, en route to an impressive 4-1 victory at the Millar Civic Center. The win comes just four days after the Black Hawks knocked off top-ranked, and previously undefeated, Old Town-Orono, 4-3 in overtime.
The Black Hawks are now 6-8-1 on the season and moved up to fourth in the Class B standings as of Wednesday morning.
In Tuesday’s game, A.J. Henderson scored two quick goals in the first period, giving the Black Hawks a lead they would never relinquish. Henderson’s first goal came just 30 seconds into the game as he took a pass from Nick DeLucca and was able to one-time the puck past Presque Isle goalie Bryce Bonville.
Henderson struck again with 10:44 to play in the first period with assists going to Noah Reynolds and Nick DeLucca.
Riley Kinney netted the lone goal for Presque Isle with 25 seconds to go in the first period with assists going to Thomas Patenaude and Jake Stevens.
The Black Hawks added to their lead in the second period as Jason Collett scored with 9:57 remaining on a pass from Reynolds. In the third period it was Reynolds’ turn to get into the scoring action as he received a pass from DeLucca, that was set up by Henderson, and broke the scoring line with 11:37 for the team’s fourth and final goal.
Bonville made 17 saves on 21 shots for the Wildcats, while Elijah Matheson made 24 saves on 25 shots for the Black Hawks. Bonville started in goal in place of an injured Andre Daigle for Presque Isle. Matheson, a freshman, has taken over the starting goalie position for the Black Hawks.
(Photos by Joseph Cyr)
