SHS boys hockey cruises 6-1 over Kennebunk
SHS boys hockey cruises 6-1 over Kennebunk
By Emory Rounds
Special to the Leader
Fresh off preseason practices and scrimmages, the Kennebunk Rams varsity hockey team took to the ice on Dec. 9 to get their first taste of tier one, Class A hockey. Unfortunately, the meal was not exactly mouth watering – the Scarborough Red Storm had plenty up their sleeves, and more often than not the Rams got a mouthful of ice chips rather than a taste of victory.
Helped along by overall flat play on the part of the Rams, Scarborough rolled – crushing visiting Kennebunk 6-1. The Rams were hit early and often and discovered quickly that the “something” up Scarborough’s sleeve was senior forward Mike Dakers, who collected a hat trick and an assist as his team bested the Rams.
“I liked what I saw,” said Scarborough head coach Jay Mazur. “I liked how our guys moved the puck. Our penalty kill did really well, and even down a man they kept forcing Kennebunk to make mistakes for us. When down five on three I liked how they defended it, and I thought they were very patient.”
Despite frequent trips to the penalty box, Scarborough was largely unhurt by being short handed on the night. In the first period, 2:27 in, senior defenseman Jack Snyder was called for interference, but aggressive play by the Red Storm kept the puck largely in Kennebunk ice despite the disadvantage. Then, at 5:36 Scarborough struck, as senior forward Brian York skated left-to-right behind the Kennebunk net before backhanding a shot past junior goalie Mark Airoldi for the 1-0 lead. Steve Cook and Jason Quirk both grabbed assists.
Almost exactly four minutes later, the Red Storm upped their advantage to 2-0, this time as Dakers connected with a slap shot near the blue line that blasted past Airoldi. Cook and Nate Gadbois helped out with assists as Scarborough out shot the Rams 10-4, a pattern that would continue throughout the night.
“Scarborough has got a good club,” said Kennebunk head coach Don Hill. “And we do too – we just didn’t play well tonight, basically. We dug ourselves a hole early and had a hard time crawling out of it, especially when we were short handed.”
More Red Storm goals followed. 7:21 into the second period, Scarborough widened their lead on a power play backhand by Dakers (assists by Gadbois and Brent Mayo).
Barely 30 seconds later Rams junior defenseman Thomas Errico was called for interference. Scarborough wasted no time – twelve ticks after the penalty, Cook connected for the 4-0 lead.
Twice in the closing minutes of the second period, Scarborough penalties gave Kennebunk a two man advantage, and twice the Rams came away with no goals and only a handful of shots.
“We just made poor decisions,” Hill said. “Scarborough did a good job keeping us to the perimeter, and while their goaltender played well, I didn’t think it was the reason that we had a hard time – he wasn’t standing on his head. They just played well. All around they are a fast team, and we just couldn’t get the ball rolling. We had no momentum.”
By the time six minutes remained in regulation, the Red Storm had added another two goals (Dakers’ third at 2:58 in and a second for Cook with 6:44 remaining), and Kennebunk was facing a 6-0 deficit.
Undaunted, Kennebunk sophomore forward Matthew Tucceri at least saw to it that the Rams were not shut out. Up five on three once more with 3:03 left, Tucceri made it look easy as he swept around behind the Scarborough net and beat the goalie with a backhand to make it 6-1. That score would hold until the end of play.
“I told these guys that we have got 19 games left, and this is not the end of world,” Hill said. “We’ve got some work to do. We’re going to be facing teams like this every night.”
By Emory Rounds
Special to the Leader
Fresh off preseason practices and scrimmages, the Kennebunk Rams varsity hockey team took to the ice on Dec. 9 to get their first taste of tier one, Class A hockey. Unfortunately, the meal was not exactly mouth watering – the Scarborough Red Storm had plenty up their sleeves, and more often than not the Rams got a mouthful of ice chips rather than a taste of victory.
Helped along by overall flat play on the part of the Rams, Scarborough rolled – crushing visiting Kennebunk 6-1. The Rams were hit early and often and discovered quickly that the “something” up Scarborough’s sleeve was senior forward Mike Dakers, who collected a hat trick and an assist as his team bested the Rams.
“I liked what I saw,” said Scarborough head coach Jay Mazur. “I liked how our guys moved the puck. Our penalty kill did really well, and even down a man they kept forcing Kennebunk to make mistakes for us. When down five on three I liked how they defended it, and I thought they were very patient.”
Despite frequent trips to the penalty box, Scarborough was largely unhurt by being short handed on the night. In the first period, 2:27 in, senior defenseman Jack Snyder was called for interference, but aggressive play by the Red Storm kept the puck largely in Kennebunk ice despite the disadvantage. Then, at 5:36 Scarborough struck, as senior forward Brian York skated left-to-right behind the Kennebunk net before backhanding a shot past junior goalie Mark Airoldi for the 1-0 lead. Steve Cook and Jason Quirk both grabbed assists.
Almost exactly four minutes later, the Red Storm upped their advantage to 2-0, this time as Dakers connected with a slap shot near the blue line that blasted past Airoldi. Cook and Nate Gadbois helped out with assists as Scarborough out shot the Rams 10-4, a pattern that would continue throughout the night.
“Scarborough has got a good club,” said Kennebunk head coach Don Hill. “And we do too – we just didn’t play well tonight, basically. We dug ourselves a hole early and had a hard time crawling out of it, especially when we were short handed.”
More Red Storm goals followed. 7:21 into the second period, Scarborough widened their lead on a power play backhand by Dakers (assists by Gadbois and Brent Mayo).
Barely 30 seconds later Rams junior defenseman Thomas Errico was called for interference. Scarborough wasted no time – twelve ticks after the penalty, Cook connected for the 4-0 lead.
Twice in the closing minutes of the second period, Scarborough penalties gave Kennebunk a two man advantage, and twice the Rams came away with no goals and only a handful of shots.
“We just made poor decisions,” Hill said. “Scarborough did a good job keeping us to the perimeter, and while their goaltender played well, I didn’t think it was the reason that we had a hard time – he wasn’t standing on his head. They just played well. All around they are a fast team, and we just couldn’t get the ball rolling. We had no momentum.”
By the time six minutes remained in regulation, the Red Storm had added another two goals (Dakers’ third at 2:58 in and a second for Cook with 6:44 remaining), and Kennebunk was facing a 6-0 deficit.
Undaunted, Kennebunk sophomore forward Matthew Tucceri at least saw to it that the Rams were not shut out. Up five on three once more with 3:03 left, Tucceri made it look easy as he swept around behind the Scarborough net and beat the goalie with a backhand to make it 6-1. That score would hold until the end of play.
“I told these guys that we have got 19 games left, and this is not the end of world,” Hill said. “We’ve got some work to do. We’re going to be facing teams like this every night.”
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