Thornton Academy’s Chandler Bilodeau looks to shoot in the first period on Wednesday. ALEX SPONSELLER/Journal Tribune
After scoring two first-period goals, the Trojans were shut down throughout the second period and into the third.
The two clubs battled early in the third period with MOB missing a handful of opportunities, and the Trojans would put the game out of reach when Nick Beaudoin scored to make it 3-0 TA with under seven minutes left. Sawyer Wirsing added his second goal of the game less than three minutes later to make it 4-0.
“We’ve been playing very well defensively with our coverage and (goalie Seth) Dube is playing very well. We would like more offensive chances, we’ve preached on getting more quality shots and generating more quality shots. We definitely did better with that,” said TA coach Michael Roux. “Our shots went down because we were waiting for better opportunities. I’m happy with the team, they bounced back and played hard.”
MOB would get a power-play goal from Dylan Tozier with 1:12 to set the score at 4-1. MOB coach Loren Blair was proud of his team’s fight after falling behind.
“It took a little bit for us to get going. The guys worked hard, they have the skills. They could have shut down after that first period but they were hungry and wanted to go,” said Blair.
TA would take the early 1-0 lead on a goal from Tom Levasseur midway through the first period. Wirsing scored with 26 seconds left in the first off of a rebound to give the Trojans the 2-0 advantage.
“The first goal was a beautiful play and the second was a defensive zone turnover. That’s been a little bit of a struggle for us this year. We had a defensive zone turnover and they capitalized on it … seems like every time we make a mistake it’s a goal,” said Blair.
Roux was pleased with his team’s patience on offense, but felt that it may have made the Trojans hesitant to fire in the scoreless second period.
“It was just the way the game flowed, we were gripping our sticks a little tight and looking for the perfect play instead of trying to just get the shot. Sometimes instead of looking for a perfect shot, a quality shot is just as good … we want to find a happy medium,” said Roux.
Roux was also happy with his team’s continued success on defense.
“We didn’t change anything because we’re good defensively. We held Biddeford to just two points and have played well against other good teams. Dube is doing a lot, our defenseman, our forwards are playing well with D-zone coverage,” said Roux.
The Trojans improved to 6-6 on the year and kept pace in the Class A South playoff picture. The six TA losses came from a combined seven points, and Roux hopes his team remains confident as it heads into the home stretch of the regular season.
“We have some games we need to win — our goal is to host a home playoff game,” said Roux. “I told the boys to keep their confidence, there (have been) bouncing pucks here and there and some guys are just missing. Hopefully a few of those bounces will go our way.”
NOTE: Wirsing and Beaudoin each added assists in the win along with Nolan Millett and Jack Baker who recorded two. Brady Cormier assisted on MOB’s late score.
— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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