AUBURN — Two days before Christmas, Scarborough handed Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland what was its worst loss at that point in the season.
Saturday was a new day in a new year, and the Red Hornets battled and skated to a 0-0 tie with the Red Storm at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn, a much different outcome than that 6-0 December drubbing.
Red Hornets goalie Manny Guimond was the star of Saturday’s game, making 24 saves.
“It’s a confidence booster. The girls now realize if they put their best foot forward, we can compete,” Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland coach Dana Berube said.
Ariella Swett made nine saves for the Red Storm.
Scarborough’s record now is 13-1-1, while the Red Hornets are 6-4-3.
Scarborough coach Taylor Fowler said finding the back of the net has been difficult for the Red Storm this season.
“It was a good game, EL is a good team. Like it has been all season, we have a hard time scoring,” Fowler said. “We have to find it somehow, we will see.”
The opening period saw both teams have their chances to break the ice, but Guimond and Swett both came up big. The best chance in the period came from Scarborough forward Evelyn Boardman, whose shot from the slot rang the cross bar.
Boardman was snake-bitten Saturday. Later in the game, Guimond stopped her on a breakaway.
“She’s got to keep shooting, keep shooting well, and hit the net,” Fowler said. “Hopefully it will come (for her).”
The Red Storm tilted the ice early in the second period when the Red Hornets received their first penalty of the game for having too many players on the ice. As they did throughout the game, the Red Hornets kept the Red Storm as far away from the net as possible.
“We kept it simple, we tried to keep them to the outside the best we could,” Berube said.
The Red Hornets only had three defensemen available for the game.
Scarborough went on a power play late in the second period, but didn’t captalize. The Red Storm went 0-for-2 on the day.
In the third period, Scarborough continued to hem in the Red Hornets into their defensive zone. The final stanza was Guimond’s busiest, but she stopped all eight shots she faced.
By then she was already in a groove.
“It’s always good to have a few shots in every period because you don’t get distracted,” Guimond said.
In the overtime session,the Red Hornets had the first opportunity to break the deadlock, and they fired two shots on Swett in the first two minutes.
Scarborough regained control of play and continued to pepper Guimond, who made five saves in the extra frame. With 2:45 remaining, Berube called a timeout, something he said needed to be done but that didn’t want to do.
“We had a couple shots a beginning, but I thought that timeout was needed,” Berube said. “I hate to give the other team a rest as well, I thought our girls needed a rest and it was more important for the rest at that point.”
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