#1 John Bapst Beats #5 Hampden Academy 3-0; #3 Messalonskee Beats #2 Cony 4-3 in Class B Northern Maine Hockey Semifinals
The #1 John Bapst Crusaders beat #5 Hampden Academy 3-0 and #3 Messalonskee beat #2 Cony 4-3 in the Class B Northern Maine Hockey Semifinals on Saturday, March 1st. Here are the recaps thanks to our special High School Hockey Correspondent, Adrian Ellingwood.
#1 John Bapst Crusaders beat #5 Hampden Academy 3-0
On Saturday evening, the John Bapst Crusaders and the Hampden Academy Broncos met for the third time in two weeks. This time around the stakes were much higher, with a spot in the Class B North Regional final on the line. After sweeping the season series, John Bapst once again emerged victorious.
Most of the opening period was mostly evenly matched, with both sides having plenty of chances. With just over 3 minutes left, a scrum in front of the Broncos net left Hampden goaltender Aiden Surran without his stick. As the Broncos couldn’t get the puck out of the zone, John Bapst stayed on the offensive front, and Will Bourgeois scored off of a rebound from Owen Marryatt’s shot. Nick Needham was also given an assist, and 2:59 remained in the opening period with Bapst up by 1 on the power play.
The Crusaders went on the power play again with 1:31 left in the opening period, and took advantage of the extra man again. Bourgeois scored his second of the game, assisted by Nate Marryatt and Nick Needham, and just 36 seconds remained in the opening stanza.
John Bapst had the majority of the chances in the second period, leading to another late-period goal. Owen Marryatt made it 3-0, assisted by Sam Churchard and Nick Needham, with 1:49 remaining in the second period of play. The Crusaders would take that lead into the third period.
With a 3-goal deficit to face, the Broncos didn’t have an easy task ahead of them. Unable to generate much offense, they were unable to find a reasonable chance to even pull the goaltender for an extra attacker, and the clock would eventually run out.
Hampden Academy finished the season with a record of 11-8-1. John Bapst will advance to the Class B North Regional Final, now with a record of 18-1-1. The Crusaders will face the #3 Messalonskee Eagles on Wednesday at Alfond Arena in Orono.
#3 Messalonskee Eagles beat #2 Cony 4-3
On Saturday night, the Cony Rams and the Messalonskee Eagles faced off in the second semi-final in Class B North Hockey at Colby College. After splitting the season series, it was the Eagles who emerged victorious, and advanced to the regional final.
Right off the bat, Messalonskee opened the scoring. Owen Kirk scored just 19 seconds in, with an assist from Tatum Doucette.
With 7:25 left in the opening frame, a pair of penalties sent Cony down two players, leaving the Eagles with a 5-on-3 power play. Kirk took advantage of the extra players, and scored his second goal of the game unassisted. 6:53 remained in the first period.
After a flurry of penalties in the closing stages of the opening period, the Rams ended up with a 4-on-3 power play. With just 23 seconds left, Cooper Clark cut the deficit in half, with his 32nd goal of the year. Messalonskee would remain ahead, 2-1, after 15 minutes of play.
Early into the second period, the Eagles responded with a quick goal. Tatum Doucette scored, with an assist from Christian Salvadori, and the Messalonskee regained its two-goal lead.
With 7:20 to go in period two, Cony got back within striking distance with another power play goal. Connor Callahan scored, assisted by Clark, and the Eagles lead was cut to 1 once again.
The Rams started the third period on the power play, but despite being unsuccessful, they continued to create chances. However, it took almost the whole period to find a third goal. With 1:51 to go, Cony had an offensive zone face-off, and called a timeout. After pulling the goalie for an extra attacker, the Rams pinned the Eagles in their defensive zone, and scored within 30 seconds. It was Ben Platt’s goal that gave Cony a late equalizer, assisted by Cooper Clark. 1:26 remained in regulation, and the game was seemingly destined for overtime.
However, there was still plenty of time left, and Messalonskee certainly knew this. Within seconds, Christian Salvadori sped past the cony defense, and scored a breakaway goal to give the Eagles an improbable lead, silencing the Cony fans.
After the ensuing face-off, the Rams pulled their goaltender again once they got into the offensive zone. With 45 seconds left, Messalonskee’s Alex Beckwith picked up the puck in his defensive zone, and only needed a split second to send the puck down the ice and into the empty net, sealing victory.
Cony finished the season with a record of 15-5. Messalonskee will advance to the Class B North Regional Final, with an overall record of 15-5. The Eagles will play the #1 John Bapst Crusaders on Wednesday at Alfond Arena in Orono.
More From 92.9 The Ticket
