The official scorer at the Portland Ice Arena was rather busy last Thursday when South Portland topped the combined forces of Gray-New Gloucester/Poland, 11-6, in the final regular-season contest before the holiday break for both squads.
Tim Clark, the Red Riots offensive dynamo, netted five goals, including a hat trick in the first period alone. The senior already has 14 goals just four games into the season, more than half his team’s total output.
“He’s such a strong skater,” said Bart Keinath, South Portland’s coach. “He can skate through body contact as well as skate around it and, with that combination and his hands, he’s pretty unstoppable.”
Sean Bilodeau, the freshman goalkeeper for the visiting Patriotic Knights, was pummeled with 49 shots and did all he could in stopping 38 of them.
“We knew going in that they had one guy who is a powerhouse,” GNG/P coach Brad Davie said. “We usually try to control the slot, and we didn’t do a very good job of that. They had some players who could shoot from anywhere and get it in the net.”
Despite the lopsided shot totals – the Knights (2-2) got off 28 on Riots goalie Amanda Teixeira – and the final score, the game was close during the second period, when Davie adjusted his strategy.
“I played all of my top players on one line to get a few goals,” the coach said, “but I could only do that for so long, because I’ve got nothing behind it.”
Davie’s decision was likely motivated by South Portland’s 5-1 first period lead. Just 95 seconds into the action, Clark put the scorer to work when the forward picked up a loose puck, whizzed down the left side of the rink and flipped Bilodeau’s initial save into the net.
Two minutes later, Knights forward Dylan Michaud put in the first of his four goals to tie the score, but the Riots responded with four unanswered goals, including a Clark blue-line slapper and, with two minutes to go in the first, one of his patented finesse goals.
After receiving a nice pass in the slot from Jason Battle, Clark patiently moved the puck from side to side, avoiding defenders and waiting until Bilodeau exposed just enough net for a scoring opportunity. Then Clark flipped it in.
“He tends to let the defense come to him and work with what they give him,” said Keinath. “He’ll take the contact and make a quick move around it. He’ll push the puck to the side and let the guy skate by. He’s doesn’t have to work overly hard to skate through people.”
Clark said that it took some time, but he eventually learned that patience can lead to scoring and assist opportunities.
“I used to rush it and it’d get stolen or I’d get hit,” he said, “so I just try to pick my head up and look for someone else who can get a shot off.”
With his stacked line seeing significant time at the start of the second period, Davie’s skaters scored three goals within as many minutes to bring cut the margin to one at 5-4. Clark pushed his team up by two a few minutes later, and then in the third frame it was all South Portland again, as the Riots put the red light on five more times.
In addition to Clark’s offense, teammates Battle (two goals, two assists), Nicholas Griffin (three goals, one assist), Nick Fornwalt (one goal, one assist), Jon Gendron (three assists) and Robert Basinet (two assists) each made solid contributions.
Apart from the explosive scoring, South Portland (2-2) is quite aware of its weaknesses and working to improve them.
“We have a young defensive squad, and they are learning just how fast varsity hockey can be,” said Keinath. “They’re learning to play their positions, to not step up and take chances. They need to be a little more patient and to slow down the rush of the other team.”
Despite her opponents’ six goals, Teixeira played well, with a number of outstanding saves. Most notable was when she shut the door on a breakaway by Cory Cormier in the waning seconds of the first period.
“She really kept us in it,” said her coach. “Our defensive lapses led to most of our goals. She made some huge stops and without them it would have been a closer game.”
The Riots face Kennebunk (3-2) on the road Jan. 4 in their next regular-season game.
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