Hampden Academy Beats Old Town-Orono Hockey 3-1

The Hampden Academy Broncos beat the Old Town-Orono Hockey team 3-1 on Saturday, December 14th.

Thanks to our special hockey correspondent Adrian Ellingwood for the recap.

In short, the game was full of penalties and featured a  shorthanded goal, a go-ahead goal from a Freshman, and ultimately a Broncos win.

The Broncos started the game with the better of the chances. Within the first 5 minutes, Hampden drew a tripping penalty, but the Black Bears scored a shorthanded goal within 40 seconds after the penalty. Ridge Mitchell scored assisted by Elija Carr 4:10 seconds into the game.

Old Town/Orono had multiple power play chances in the first period, but the score remained 1-0 heading into the intermission.

In the 2nd Periiod, the Broncos dominated possession, continuing to put pressure on Zach Ryder in the OTO net, but no goals. Hampden’s penalty issues continued with 2 penalties in the final 2 minutes of the 2nd Period. The Black Bears were unable to net a second goal in the second period, but would enter the third period with 12 seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 power play time.

Hampden Academy killed off the remaining penalty time, but they still had work to do to level the score. OTO iced the puck with just over 7 minutes remaining leading to an offensive-zone face-off for the Broncos. After a couple of quick passes, Hampden finally found the equalizer with their 38th shot of the game. Boston Merrow scored the Broncos’ first goal of the season with assists from Gunnar Weil and Lucas with 7:02 to play in the game.

Less than 3 minutes later, the Broncos used the momentum to take the lead, with Freshman Wyatt Allen scoring his first varsity goal. Lucas Dunn got the assist with 4:50 to play in the game.

Immediately after Allen’s goal, Hampden’s penalty struggles continue, with the Black Bears having another power play opportunity with 4:47 to play. However, that wasn’t the last of the penalties for the night. A skirmish behind the Hampden net resulted in a 4 minute double-minor for each team and an OTO timeout.

The Broncos’ strong penalty kill unit did their job once again, maintaining the lead. With 1:07 remaining in regulation, Boston Merrow deked his way through two Black Bear players and fired a shot past Ryder to ensure victory for Hampden Academy, with an assist from Dunn.

Another pair of matching minors capped off a penalty-filled game. Old Town/Orono goaltender Zach Ryder kept his team in the game until the final minutes making a total of 43 saves on 46 shots, while Broncos goalie Aiden Surran made 11 saves on 12 shots against.

Hampden Academy, 1-0 will host Messalonskee on Monday, Deember 15th at 6:30 p.m.

Old Town-Orono, 0-2 will play at John Bapst on Tuesday, December 17th at 6:30 p.m.

You can nominated an athlete for Week 2 (December 9-14) by emailing Chris Popper. Nominations will be accepted for Week 2 through Sunday, December 15th. Voting will take place Monday, December 16th through Thursday, December 19th with the winner being announced on Friday, December 20th. In your nomination please give the student-athlete's name, school, sport and any stats/times you may have.

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