LEWISTON — Wednesday’s win over St. Dominic Academy is extra special for Sean Moore.
The senior goalie stopped 38 of 40 shots he faced, and Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse defeated the Saints 4-2 for the Eagles’ first win in program history over St. Dom’s.
Sean’s uncle is former St. Dom’s standout Greg Moore, who went on to play at the University of Maine and in the NHL.
“He obviously went to St. Dom’s, it’s going to be good to tell him we beat his old team,” Sean Moore, who attends Lisbon High School, said. “It will be fun and we will have a laugh. … It’s fun to beat (the school) that he played for.”
Greg Moore currently is the head coach of the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.
Eagles (5-4) forward Jacob Fullerton said the team was prepared well for the matchup with the Saints (0-7).
“We had a few good practices this week,” Fullerton said. “I had some pretty positive thoughts coming into this game. I knew we could do it if we gave it our all.”
The Saints, meanwhile, followed the game plan established by coach Dan D’Autueil. But they couldn’t solve Moore.
“We outshot them by double-digits,” D’Autueil said. “The kids did everything we asked them to do: shoot, shoot and shoot. They did. But we ran into a hot goalie. He made so many saves, it was incredible.”
Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse goalie Sean Moore keeps an eye on the puck during Wednesday’s game in Lewiston against Saint Dominic Academy. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
St. Dom’s outshot Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse 40-14.
The Eagles survived the Saints’ early push in the first period, and on their second shot of the game, senior Hunter Merryman’s long-shot fooled Saints goalie Jayden Lynn (10 saves) and gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead at the 7:27 mark.
“(Hunter Merryman) can shoot,” Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse coach A.J. Kavanaugh said. “He had eight goals his freshman year, and I put him with freshman Gerek Potvin who has been finding (Merryman) with the puck. I know it was a shot from way out, but (Merryman) can shoot from anywhere.”
Right off the ensuing faceoff, Eagles forward Johnny Hole entered the offensive zone along the left sideboards and ripped a slap shot past Lynn only five seconds after Merryman’s goal.
Jacob Fullerton added a power-play goal to extend Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse’s lead to 3-0 with five minutes remaining in the first period. The Eagles scored on three of their five shots in the period.
“I was just skating in trying to get a shot on net,” Fullerton said. “It went bottom glove, and I was just hoping for the best on that one.”
St. Dom’s had success later in the first period by forcing Moore move around the crease and go post-to-post to make a couple sprawling saves.
“We warned the kids before the game, we aren’t going to score with a straight shot on him,” D’Autueil said. “We have to get him moving, we have to get the rebounds and get goals (in the dirty areas).”
The Saints peppered Moore at the end of the first, but he continued to deny them.
“I was trying to keep (our) team in it,” Sean Moore said of the final five minutes of the first period. “I was trying to keep us in the game. We needed the win. So, why not play my heart out?”
Moore’s performance in the opening period was much-needed, Kavanaugh said.
“We left that first period obviously feeling good with the lead, but we got outshot pretty heavily,” Kavanaugh said. “We pat Sean on the shoulders and said, ‘Thank you very much.’ I felt like we buckled down on the (Saints) down-low scoring opportunities. Sean made that unbelievable save when it was still 3-0 in the first (period).”
The second period opened with an action-packed first five minutes. The Eagles took two early penalties and the St. Dom’s had a short 5-on-3 power play. The Saints took advantage. Colin Casserly set up Swedish exchange student Arvid Andersson for a goal with one second remaining in the 5-on-3 at the 2:28 mark.
“His speed, his size, and his playmaking ability, it makes teams back off a little bit,” D’Autueil said. “It gives some other guys on our team some space.
Twelve seconds later, Andersson later ripped a shot past Moore from the top of the slot for another power play goal to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Eagles settled down and a few minutes later Bryce Poulin skated from the neutral zone into the offensive zone by splitting the Saints’ defense and beat Lynn top-shelf, pushing the lead back to two goals, 4-2.
The early second-period flurry ended there, and neither team allowed another goal for the remainder of the game.
“The third period, we didn’t score but we played a sound game in the third to hold on,” Kavanaugh said.
D’Autueil said Moore denied a couple of solid chances by the Saints in the final period.
“In the third, we turned it back on and we got more scoring chances,” D’Autueil said. “There’s two or three I can think of that he robbed us.”
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