’Cats eliminated by Bulldogs
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
WINSLOW — The Wildcats’ hockey season came to an end last Tuesday with a 4-3 overtime playoff loss to Lawrence.
The game, held at Sukee Arena, was an Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinal between the No. 4 Bulldogs and the No. 5 Wildcats. Lawrence won the lone regular-season matchup, but in the rematch, PI held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before falling short in the end.
Isaac LaJoie gave PI the early lead by netting a goal off assists by Connor Shaw and Jordan Hallett 3:51 into the contest, but the Bulldogs tied the game with 5:05 to play in the period.
Tyler Seeley again put the Wildcats on top 4:48 into the second period, with Andrew Michaud and Derek Sczuroski picking up assists, but Lawrence scored a power-play goal with 44 seconds remaining in the second to knot the score.
The Bulldogs gained a 3-2 advantage with another goal 1:10 into the third before LaJoie came up with his second goal of the game with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation.
The score remained tied until Lawrence scored at the 2:41 mark of overtime to earn the right to play No. 1 Brewer in the semifinals this past weekend. The Bulldogs ended up losing that game, 8-0.
“We had a game plan centered around Caleb Buck shadowing [the Bulldogs’] Devan Belanger, but Caleb had been battling a torn cartilage in his right knee all season which limited his playing time,” said PI coach Carl Flynn. “On the way to the game, Caleb’s knee locked up and he couldn’t play.
“As a result, Connor Shaw and Tyler Seeley took turns shadowing, which really limited our offensive abilities.”
Presque Isle was outshot 40-27. Josh MacFarline handled the goaltending duties for the Wildcats, collecting 36 saves.
Flynn said he was pleased with his team’s performance, both in the playoff game and throughout the year.
“I thought as a team we played well and that Lawrence won the game as opposed to us losing it,” he said.
“This was a growing year given our [personnel] losses from last year and I feel we met and surpassed our preseason expectations.”
