Ice Cats 4
South Portland 3
The Fryeburg Academy-Lake Region hockey team built a 4-1 lead in the second period and saw it nearly disappear in the third before holding on for a 4-3 win over South Portland Monday night at Bridgton Academy. Nick Marshall had two goals for the Ice Cats including the game-winner.
The Riots couldn’t make any headway against the Ice Cat defense until late in the third. Maietta found himself with room to shoot at the blue line, and fired a wrist shot into the back of the net with 2:23 to play in the third to make it a 4-2 game. Just 25 seconds later, Nick Griffin scored from the right faceoff circle to cut the lead to one with 1:58 to play.
As soon as they were able, the Red Riots pulled goaltender Connor Igo in favor of an extra attacker. With the Ice Cats firing at the empty net, the Riots were able to keep the pressure on with face offs in the attacking zone. With eight seconds left in the game, Nick Fornwalt broke free for South Portland. He was headed toward the goal when he was tripped by Cody Leland with three seconds left. Even with a two-man advantage and a face off in the Ice Cat zone, the Riots couldn’t score in those final three seconds and the Ice Cats won it.
“In the first and second periods we were able to keep the puck off our goalie,” said Ice Cats coach David LePage. “We were giving up shots but not rebounds. In the third period, that kind of collapsed on us-we started to panic and just throw the puck around and fire it up the middle of the ice.”
It was a good thing for the Ice Cats that they built a cushion in the second period. Trailing 1-0, South Portland got on the board early in the second. Leland was sent to the sin bin just over a minute into the period for tripping. The Riots took advantage of their power play chance and Fornwalt launched a floater toward the net that got by Ice Cat goalie Isaiah Moran to tie the game.
But the Ice Cats answered just over a minute later when Jon Norris fired a wrist shot from the slot to give his team a lead they would never relinquish. Midway through the period, Marshall tallied his first goal of the game when he skated in ahead of the Red Riot defenders and flipped a backhanded shot into the twine for a 3-1 Ice Cats lead. Marshall scored his second goal with only 43.2 seconds left in the period when he let loose a wrister from the left circle that found the corner of the goal.
“That second period was the difference in the game,” said LePage. “We have been showing strength in the second period all year. We were strong in the first but the second period has been the best for us.”
The Ice Cats took their first lead of the game just 40 seconds after the opening face off when Tavish Leland scored on a one-timer. That goal was the only goal of the first period.
The Ice Cats are scheduled to be in action on Saturday when they host Sanford at Bridgton Ice Arena. The Red Riots were scheduled to host Bonny Eagle on Thursday.
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