Black Hawks play for EM title

  WINSLOW, Maine — Rallying from a late two-goal deficit is something the Houlton-Hodgdon hockey team has not had to do this season.
But that’s precisely what happened Saturday evening as the Black Hawks (16-3 overall) overcame a 3-1 deficit by scoring four unanswered goals in the third period for a thrilling 5-3 victory over No. 3 Old Town (11-7-1) in an Eastern Class B semifinal match played at the Sukee Arena in Winslow.
    No. 2 Houlton faced No. 1 Brewer (18-0-1) Tuesday night for the Eastern Class B championship. Brewer beat No. 4 Lawrence of Fairfield 8-0 Saturday, in a game also played at the Sukee Arena and is the defending State Class B champ.
The winner of Tuesday night’s game faces either Greely of Cumberland (15-3-1) or York (14-5) on Saturday in the State Class B championship, at 1 p.m. at The Colisee in Lewiston. The Black Hawks faced Brewer twice during the regular season, with the Witches winning both contests — 5-4 in overtime at Houlton Jan. 22 and 7-1 Feb. 12 at Brewer. Houlton-Hodgdon’s only other loss was a 9-1 defeat by Greely.
Both squads have been dominant this season. The Black Hawks have outscored opponents 91-46, while Brewer has outscored its foes 128-36.
Against Old Town, the Black Hawks received goals from five different players as Dylan Gard, Kam Lincoln, Cody Briggs, Ian Gervais and Parker Sanderson each had one goal to extend their season. Sanderson, Gard, Logan Holmes and Jordan Russell each had one assist.
For Old Town, Ryan Dubay, Cody Cross and David Wilcox each had one goal.
Malik Abouleish had 14 saves on 17 shots for Houlton, while Nathan Colaninno had 25 saves on 30 shots.
“He [Abouleish] makes one or two saves a game that probably should be goals,” Houlton-Hodgdon coach Joel Trickey said. “We are quite happy to have him do that.”
When the final buzzer sounded, Holmes turned to Abouleish and leapt into his arms as the goalie hoisted Holmes into the air.
“It was an unbelievable feeling, coming from behind in the third was thrilling,” Abouleish said. “Logan and I just made eye contact, so he leaped. It was the first time that ever happened.”
“It was a great feeling and also a great relief,” Holmes said. “Between the second and third periods, Old Town definitely had us shell-shocked. We have had many teams score the first goal, but we have never had anything that severe.”
Penalties plagued Houlton-Hodgdon in Saturday’s game. The Black Hawks were cited for six penalties, while the Coyotes had just three. Two of Old Town’s goals came on power plays, while the Black Hawks were playing short-handed.
“When I talked with the boys between [the second and third] periods, I said ‘We cannot win this game if we keep making stupid penalties,’” Trickey said. “In my opinion, some of our penalties were pretty stupid. We got the boys’ heads back on straight [for the third period] and they found the energy and skated a little better.”
After neither team was able to crease the net in the first period, the Black Hawks broke the scoring ice with 12:28 to play in the second period as Gard scored on a ricochet in front of the net.
“We anticipated it being a physical game,” coach Trickey said. “We are a physical team anyway. We like to hit and use it to wear the other team down.”
Old Town scored three times in the second period to take the 3-1 lead, and coach Trickey said he rallied his seniors in the locker room to step up and not let this game be the final one of their high school careers.
“In the third [period], we went to the front of the net harder,” Abouleish said. “Kam’s goal came from a screen in front. Cody scored right in the slot in front of the net. And Ian scored on a rebound.”
“Our two main lines that we rely on, every one of those players has over 40 points,” Trickey said. “We have no one guy you can key on.”
The Black Hawks know they have an uphill battle facing Brewer for the third time on the season.
“For Brewer, we must create a lot of traffic in front of the net and work for dirty goals,” Abouleish said. “Two other focuses will be to stay out of the [penalty] box and hit them every chance.”
“Against Brewer we will need to play a complete game,” Holmes added. “We can’t take any shifts off. We have to leave everything on the ice. We played at the Alfond in the regular season, but it won’t compare to what it will be like for a championship game. We are really hoping a lot of fans come out and support us like they have throughout the season.”