’Cats foiled in repeat bid by Brewer Witches
Sports Editor
ORONO — Hopes of winning back-to-back Eastern Class B championships were dashed for the Presque Isle hockey squad Tuesday when the No. 3 Wildcats fell prey to No. 1 Brewer at the Alfond Arena at the University of Maine at Orono.
The Wildcats (15-5) fell 8-1 to Brewer (18-1-1) in the regional championship. Presque Isle was outplayed by a stronger, more physical Brewer squad, but that is precisely what Wildcat coach Carl Flynn anticipated.
“I felt Brewer was clearly the better, deeper team and we knew that from the outset,” Flynn said. “Our strategy was to limit their good scoring chances which in turn meant we had to take away from our offense to strengthen our team defense. We knew this strategy would create a lopsided shots on goal, but hoped that if we kept the score low then we would have a chance of succeeding.”
Presque Isle was able to do just that in the first period thanks to good puck movement and outstanding play by Wildcat goalie Josh McFarline and his Brewer counterpart Eric White.
The Wildcats took a short-lived 1-0 lead when Presque Isle senior center Brennen Shaw redirected the puck to White’s weak side with 3:02 to play in the period. Brewer’s Tyler White knotted the game at 1-1 two minutes later as he scored with 1:06 to go in the period.
“Brewer’s first goal was a defensive breakdown by our defense and our goalie, but I was happy after the first period,” Flynn said.
In the second period, the Wildcats continued their defensive strategy, but Brewer was able to score two more goals by Spencer Valley and Brody Valley for a 3-1 lead
“Playing defense exerts a lot more energy than playing offense and that showed in the second period, however we still held our own and stuck to the game plan, being down 3-1,” Flynn said. “During the intermission prior to the third period, we needed to decide if we were going to continue our defensive posture and likely lose 3-1 or take an offensive approach and leave our defense vulnerable and risk giving up several goals. We chose the latter and had some good scoring opportunities, but Brewer had several as well and capitalized on them.”
In the third period, Brewer scored five more goals to break open the game. Scoring goals were Joey Fowler, Evan Nadeau, Lucas Lammond, Jamie Williamson and another by Spencer Valley for the 8-1 margin.
Brewer outshot Presque Isle 46-15. Wildcat goalie Josh McFarline had 38 saves, while Brewer goalie Eric White had 14 saves.
Last Tuesday’s game marked the third meeting of the year between Brewer and Presque Isle, with the Witches winning all three.
“I thought the kids did a great job staying composed especially in light of the fact that we all — the general hockey community in Maine — feel that Brewer belongs in Class A,” coach Flynn said. “An added obstacle for us was that our top scorer, Brennen Shaw had no edge on his left skate and it wasn’t until the second intermission that we were able get get rink personnel to fix it for us. I felt he looked more like his usual self in the third period, but by then it was too late.”
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
SLAPSHOT — Adam Flynn, right, of Presque Isle fires a shot toward the net as Brewer’s Jake Valley defends during last Tuesday’s Eastern Class B hockey championship at the Alfond Arena in Orono. Moving in from behind is Wildcat Zac Campbell.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
BODY LANGUAGE — Presque Isle forward Zac Campbell, right, uses his body to shield Brewer’s Evan Nadeau away from the puck.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
ONTHE MOVE — Wildcat Mitchell Davis goes down on one knee in an effort to reach the puck during last Tuesday’s EM championship game against Brewer. In the background is Brewer’s Alec Pacheco.
