PORTLAND — Kennebunk had to face a handful of situations in a boys hockey game against Cape Elizabeth on Saturday, not to mention having its hands full with the Capers. But the Rams dealt with the bad, as well as the good, and came out on top 3-2 at Portland Ice Arena.
Kennebunk entered the game with a much better record than the Capers, and seemed to sleepwalk through the opening minutes. But an early penalty kill for having too many men on the ice, and later a goal by the Capers (2-7-1), woke up the Rams (6-2-1).
“I think it was more like, ”˜Oh, jeez, we better get going here,’” said Kennebunk head coach Sean Smith. “I would say it woke them up some.”
“In the past, we’ve kind of had trouble getting going after (the opponent) got the first one ”¦ but I think we’ve improved on that a ton this year,” said Kennebunk senior captain Bryce Fraser.
A goal by James Ross, off a shot from the point by Joe Mooney, with 27 seconds left in the first period tied the game up heading into the first intermission.
“We were lucky to go out of the first period 1-1,” said Fraser.
Kennebunk took its first lead 25 seconds into the second period, as Fraser snuck a shot inside the left post against Cape Elizabeth goalie Grant Rusk.
Fraser scored again less than five minutes into the period as the Rams were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone after a power play.
It’s often said, however, that a two-goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey, as the trailing team is just one goal away from changing the direction of momentum.
“I was actually way more worried about the 3-1 lead than when we were down 1-0,” said Smith.
The Capers were able to grab that momentum, with some help from the Rams, who twice put themselves in the penalty box after going up 3-1.
Jack Tierney cut the lead to one 10 minutes into the period, and with seven seconds left in a power play, as he tipped in a shot from the point by Ben Shea.
“You want to stay out of the penalty box. You can’t win in the penalty box,” said Smith. “We’ve found that out the hard way year after year.”
A Caper goal again woke up the Rams, as they were called for just one penalty the rest of the way, and were able to refocus on the puck, rather than the nearest player to hit.
“We had to keep our mental piece in check. If you get into the hits and stuff like that, that’s when you start to lose it,” said Fraser. “It can be difficult, because everybody wants to get the big hit ”“ the crowd was going after us ”“ but you’ve just got to keep your head and execute.”
“I wanted this to be physical. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite that physical. Some of that was a little more than physical; it was a little chippy at times.”
Kennebunk had a few chances early in the third to retake a two-goal lead, but Rusk did yeoman’s work in net to deny the Rams each time.
When the ice started to shift Cape Elizabeth’s way, Kennebunk goalie Mike LeBlanc was able to do the same thing. LeBlanc’s biggest save of the period came with 4:40 remaining, as he stuffed Ben Ekedahl’s backhand attempt.
“Mike’s been fantastic all year. He’s been unreal,” said Smith. “He’s been the rock all year. I’m some happy he’s our goalie, that’s for sure.”
The Capers hurt their chances at coming back when they were called for too many men on the ice with 50 seconds left as they tried to get Rusk off the ice in lieu of an extra skater.
As it was all game long, nothing came easy for the Rams, including finishing off the win, as the Capers had a chance to tie in the final seconds.
But Kennebunk did, in fact, hold on, and secured one of its hardest-earned victories in Smith’s two years as head coach.
“I was just telling the boys it’s been a while since we’ve been able to overcome some adversity. It was a real chippy, physical game; a lot of emotions flying around. I can’t say enough good things about the boys. They really dug deep, found a way to win,” said Smith. “It was sloppy at times, it got heated at times, but overall it was a good team win.
“We finally were able to be mentally tough enough to come out of here with a close victory.”
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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