LEWISTON — Hockey coaches often tell players, “Shoot the puck and good things will happen.”
That’s what Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Lincoln Academy junior defenseman Mallory Stuart did late in overtime Wednesday. Her point shot with 1:24 remaining in the extra session surprised Yarmouth/Freeport goalie Sydney Abbott and found the back of the net for a 3-2 victory at The Colisee.
“The shot was from a bad angle, long shot, but I think we used their defense as a screen,” Eagles (6-3) assistant coach Dave Hunter said. “It got by (Abbott), and I don’t think she ever saw it.”
Hunter said the coaching staff told the girls before the overtime started to seize any opportunity to take a shot.
Clippers (2-4) coach David Intraversato said his girls will grow from this game.
“Going through a loss like that together as a team is going to build our team chemistry,” Intraversato said. “We will regroup from it. We have a little bit of a break. We (don’t play again until) York a week from Saturday. We will work on some things and go back at it.”
Sarah Moore scored early in the first period for the Eagles when she skated to the right circle and ripped a shot past Abbott (11 saves).
The Clippers started to get possession time shortly after going down 1-0. The Clippers put five shots on Eagles netminder Greta Marchildon in a five-minute span.
Rosie Panenka tied the game at 1-1 with an individual effort in the slot and beat Marchildon on the Clippers’ sixth shot of the period. The goal came at the 8:14 mark.
“Rosie is a good player. She has a good shot and is good around the net and creates her own space,” Intraversato said. “We look for her to do that every game.”
The game remained tied for 44 seconds when Eagles freshman Remy LeBel set up Moore for her second goal of the game.
The Clippers kept the Eagles at bay in the second period, allowing just three shots on goal. Marchildon stopped all six shots she faced in the period, keeping it 2-1 Eagles heading into the intermission.
Yarmouth/Freeport got the game’s first power play in the third period. The Clippers continued to pepper Marchildon (22 saves), but she stopped all the shots on the man advantage.
The Clippers finally tied the game just past the eight-minute mark when Sadie Carnes put home the loose puck off a rebound. Panenka and Isabel Peters provided the assists.
Intraversato said the power play created the tying goal.
“I think when you have a power play, you have one more player on the ice and it’s really your best opportunity to score a goal,” Intraversato said. “We really work on that because you are going to have those chances. …We moved the puck well and then when they came out of the box, we were moving the puck like we were on the power play. That’s how we ended up scoring.”
Hunter said fatigue was setting in at that point.
“We have a short bench this year — three defensemen and two forward lines,” Hunter said. “The girls are getting plenty of ice time and plenty of work. Coming off a couple of days off because of the holidays, they were all breathing pretty hard and working hard.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
