Hockey
Wildcats hockey stings hornets 3-1 in opener
By Essie Powers
YORK - Junior goalie Andrew Loane can put the first one in the bank.The Wildcat hockey team skated to a strong 3-1 win over Leavitt on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Biddeford Arena, with quick glove saves from Loane, some disciplined penalty-kill lines and a consistent defensive effort from the whole team.
Coach Michael Vessey was pleased with their performance in their first outing.
"We played well, we controlled the play in the neutral zone, and all three lines worked hard back checking," he said. "It was good to open with a win, especially in the manner that we did. It was great to see."
Leavitt forward Scott Redman scored the first goal of the night on his team's first power play. Before the period ended, York had taken a 2-1 lead on shots from defenseman Dan Powers and Senior Captain Ryan Clauson. Powers drove down the boards, took a feed from Clauson and wristed one in from the middle. Clauson broke the 1-1 tie on a Wildcat power play getting a hard-fought assist from Andy Ohlson and Kyle Banfield.
York's defensive effort dominated the play in the second period and kept most of the action in the Wildcat offensive zone.
"We had the puck for 90% of the game," said Clauson. "We out-shot them like crazy."
Senior forwards Matt Carey and Dan Graziano brought their hard-working style to the ice and played aggressively across the middle with freshmen David Figlioli and Paddy Murphy. Nick Richard, Kal Decato and Matt Haight held the points, forcing Leavitt back inside the blue line.
"Defensively, we held Leavitt to just ten shots," noted Vessey. "That's something any coach likes to see."
The Cats killed off two penalties in the second period and six more in third. Clauson, whose tenacity and strength makes him tough to beat in the corners, sprang the puck through the Hornet's forwards. Kevin Maran broke up a drive through the middle and turned it back through the neutral zone, and Jake Posternak set up his winger Devin Zucker who just missed at the goalmouth.
Early in the third, Ohlson snapped in one more for York. Hornet goalie Richard Thibault had already fended off a flurry of shots from senior Chris Meehan, Graziano, Murphy and Powers, but Ohlson found the opening in the left corner with assists from Richard and Clauson.
"Our offensive lines really moved the puck tonight," said Meehan, adding it is a good feeling "when everything is working the way you want it to."
Leavitt had some chances in the final minutes with York shorthanded, but Banfield won a face-off back to Meehan who cleared the puck from the corner and the Hornets could not regroup.
"They really tried to fight back at the end," said Clauson, "but we didn't let them through."
York takes on Lake Region tonight, Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the Biddeford Arena.
Junior 'Cats 8, Leavitt 1
York's J-Cats had a grand time for themselves opening their season with an 8-1 victory over Leavitt.
Freshmen David Figlioli, Paddy Murphy and Max Leeman all scored and Tim Murdough hit three for the hat trick. Nick Richard, Dana Ferrande, Tanner Chase and PJ Stocks each had assists. The brothers Decato put in two more when Kal assisted Corey, and Kal put in another. Gary Merrill in net helped give the Wildcats a clean sweep on the night.
