Girls hockey: Black Tigers, Brunswick skating on different paths

Winslow/Gardiner/Cony/Lawrence/Messalonskee/Maranacook/Erskine/Mt. Blue’s Katie Berard, left, and Brunswick’s Lisi Palmer pursue the puck during a girls hockey game Monday in Brunswick. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

BRUNSWICK — Two teams, two different paths.

The Black Tigers girls co-operative hockey team routed Brunswick 8-2 on Monday night at Watson Arena, in a game that illustrated a pair of programs building toward the future.

The Black Tigers — comprised of players from Gardiner, Winslow, Messalonskee, Maranacook, Erskine and Mt. Blue — are building off a successful 2021-2022 season that included a trip to the Class A North playoffs. The team entered this season with a few question marks after two of its top scorers transferred — Kaylyn Bourque went to Kents Hill and Jordin Williams is skating for the new Penobscot Pioneers program in the Bangor area.

The Black Tigers (2-0-0), who feature 26 players, took a big step forward Monday.

The Black Tigers have scored 18 goals and are pretty well-balanced. On Monday night, freshman Katie Berard scored three goals, while adding an assist. Sophia Sullivan, Elli Podey, Abigail Allen, Molly Hambrick and Alexa Caccamo also scored.

“I’m pleased with the offensive output,” Black Tigers head coach Bill Boardman said. “We were wondering where that was going to come from when we lost Kaylyn (Bourque) and Jordin (Williams). We were a little concerned about where our goals would come from, but it seems two games and (18) goals, we seem to be doing all right.”

Winslow/Gardiner/Cony/Lawrence/Messalonskee/Maranacook/Erskine/Mt. Blue’s Kylie Boardman, left, ducks a check from Brunswick’s Hannah Lay during a girls hockey game Monday in Brunswick. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

Berard, Hambrick, Podey and Caccamo are four of the team’s nine freshmen. Senior goaltender Emma Michaud was happy to see the offensive output.

“It’s nice to have it there as a safety net,” Michaud said. “If I have a rough night, they’ll be there to kind of have my back.”

There was no rough night for Michaud, who had 25 saves in the win over the Dragons.

For Brunswick (0-1), the game was the start of a build-back for a program that finished 2-11 last season. Chris Ledwick is the new head coach for the Dragons. With a roster of 25 players, the Dragons are solid in numbers. The key for the group is to gain experience.

Winslow/Gardiner/Cony/Lawrence/Messalonskee/Maranacook/Erskine/Mt. Blue’s Abigail Allen, left, and Brunswick’s Quinn McCormack scrap for the puck during a girls hockey game Monday in Brunswick. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

“We’re better than we showed (Monday), but we’ve got a long way to go,” Ledwick said.

The Dragons showed flashes of their athleticism and potential Monday night. They had a strong third period, with Solveig Ledwick and Sydney Drake each scoring.

“We came out better in the third period,” Chris Ledwick said. “We were a little flat in the first two… We’ll get there. We’re still trying to figure out some defensive zone coverage. I think that was a little obvious the first two periods. But we’ll get there eventually.”