Wildcat hockey tips Winslow, now in 5th
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The Presque Isle Wildcat hockey team made the trip to Winslow Saturday and collected a 5-4 victory over the Black Raiders.
PI fell behind 1:30 into the game, but bounced back quickly with an Isaac LaJoie goal 36 seconds later off assists by Adam Flynn and Connor Shaw.
Shaw gave PI a 2-1 lead just over two minutes later, with linemates Flynn and LaJoie getting assists.
Cody Merrill made it a two-goal lead 54 seconds into the second period off assists by Jordan Hallett and Tyler Seeley, but Winslow came back to tie the game with a goal at the end of the second and early in the third.
Midway through the final period, Seeley gave PI the lead for good with a goal off assists by Jacob Buck and Andrew Michaud. Shaw provided a two-goal cushion with 3:30 left in the contest, as Buck and LaJoie notched assists.
The Black Raiders scored again with 2:12 left, but could get no closer.
Josh MacFarline saved 44 shots in the match for the Wildcats, who improved to 5-7 overall. PI was outshot 48-38.
The Wildcats played four games the previous week, winning two and losing two.
PI was able to defeat Orono Jan. 11, 5-3. LaJoie and Hallett netted first-period goals and Buck and Flynn both scored in the second period to stake their team to a 4-2 advantage entering the final period.
Orono closed the gap to 4-3 three minutes in before Buck scored his second goal of the game on an empty-netter with 38 seconds left.
Shaw picked up three assists, Flynn had two and Caleb Buck one for the Wildcats. MacFarline had 13 saves and Orono’s Mike Brown garnered 13 as well.
Presque Isle got past John Bapst Jan. 14 in a road contest, 5-2, behind a hat trick and two assists from LaJoie.
LaJoie and Jacob Buck assisted on Flynn’s goal 3:07 into the game to get PI going. Flynn broke a 1-1 tie 2:57 into the second period by scoring off assists by LaJoie and Shaw before LaJoie scored off a Flynn assist 4:22 later.
The Crusaders cut the deficit to 3-2 late in the second, but LaJoie scored goals 4:20 apart early in the third to account for the final score. Shaw had assists on both goals, while Flynn also was credited with an assist on the final goal.
Nic Davis handled the goalie duties for PI and collected 27 saves on the evening for the victory.
The following afternoon in Falmouth, the Wildcats were defeated by Greely, 4-1. LaJoie got PI on the board first with a goal 2:06 into the game, but Greely proceeded to score four unanswered goals the rest of the way to come out on top.
MacFarline saved 43 shots in goal for the ’Cats.
On Jan. 17, Presque Isle lost a tough overtime match at home against Hampden, 2-1. Cooper Williams scored 1:54 into the extra period to give the Broncos the win.
Evan Waddell scored the lone Wildcat goal, assisted by Derek Sczuroski and Seeley. MacFarline saved 23 shots in the defeat.
Presque Isle is currently in fifth place in the Eastern Maine Class B standings, with only the top five teams advancing into the playoffs. The Wildcats next play Old Town Saturday at Alfond Arena in Orono at 8:30 p.m. On Tuesday, Presque Isle hosts Houlton-Hodgdon at the Forum at 6 p.m.
