AUBURN – Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray- New Gloucester got offense when it most needed it.
Reese Collins scored two minutes into overtime as the Kings defeated the Bonny Eagle/Windham/Westbrook Trailblazers 2-1 in a boys hockey game at Norway Savings Bank Arena on Wednesday night.
Collins drove to the net to pot the game-winner.
“As soon as (the puck) hit the goalie’s chest, it bounced down and sitting on the goal line, so I just tapped it in,” Collins said.
The game almost didn’t make it into overtime as Kings goalie Ian Guerin made a crucial stop with 1:38 remaining in the second half. Boys hockey teams are playing halves because of COVID-19 protocols this season.
Guerin made 32 saves.
“We were trying to help our goalie Ian out, he played a great game,” Collins said. “If they can’t score, they can’t win.”
Travis Brown opened the scoring to give the Trail Blazers a 1-0 lead. Guerin couldn’t control the initial shot from Aidan Hartwell and Brown put home the rebound just past the six-minute mark of the first half. Logan Caron had the secondary assist.
“We teach get shots on net, find the rebound and put it into the back of the net,” Trail Blazers coach Bobby Fothergill said. “That’s exactly what happened.”
The Kings tied the game 1-1 in the first half when there was a scramble in front of the Trail Blazers net, as Isaac White (16 saves) made a sprawling save but the puck came loose and Spenser Berube jammed home the puck.
One thing Kings coach Joe Hutchinson liked in their first game of the season was the hard work to get both goals.
“It was hard work in front of the net,” Hutchinson said. “We did a good job getting to those rebounds. I was happy with that and getting on the rebounds and to the loose pucks. It could have been better; we were a little too bunched up on offense at times.”
At the end of the first half, the Kings went on a five-minute power play that extended into the second half but they couldn’t convert on the man-advantage.
Fothergill wasn’t pleased with the number of penalties the Trail Blazers took.
“What happened was I think we had 10 minutes in penalties in the first half,” Fothergill said. “I was pretty animated (in the intermission) to the guys and all I said was kill this off, go out there, be leaders that I know you can be and let’s get back to basics.”
Windham/Westbrook/Bonny Eagle had a 5-on-3 power play but couldn’t convert. At the end of the power play the Kings had a 2-on-0 breakaway, but White made the save with about 14 minutes remaining in the second half.
“Their goalie played well, our goalie played even better, he had a great game,” Hutchinson said. “Way too many shots on net, and we gave them way too many opportunities.”
The Trail Blazers had six power plays in the game while the Kings went scoreless on three chances.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
