Edward Little’s Jack Keefe, left, battles for the puck with Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde’s Cade Charron, back, and Noah Magda in Auburn on Tuesday in a boys high school hockey Class A North quarterfinal at Norway Savings Bank Arena. See the story in sports on B1. (Daryn Slover / Sun Journal)
AUBURN — There were two keys coming into Tuesday’s Class A North boys high school hockey quarterfinal against Edward Little at Norway Savings Bank Arena for Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde.
First, stay out of the penalty box. Second, receive a stellar goaltending performance from freshman Sean Moore.
Behind Moore’s 42-save performance and a goal with 1.5-seconds remaining in the third period by Cam Poisson to force overtime, the fifth-seeded Eagles nearly pulled off the upset.
But, Edward Little, the No. 4 seed, scored 6:30 into overtime for a 2-1 victory.
The Red Eddies (13-6) move on to face top-seeded and defending State Class A champion Lewiston Saturday afternoon at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, while the Eagles finished 8-10-1 in their first playoff appearance in 14 years.
Freshman Jack Keefe scored the game-winning goal off a pass from Ben Cassidy to send EL to the semifinals.
But the talk afterwards was all about the freshman Moore, who did all he could to push the Eagles over the top.
“He was just unbelievable,” said Red Eddies coach Norm Gagne. “We beat him 5-0 down at their place, and it was about getting shots on net and getting to rebounds. We were just missing real good plays to the net, where the pass wasn’t quite in the place that we could handle it.”
“The kids fought so hard to the very last second. Sean was able to play well in a big game and get that experience,” said Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde coach A.J. Kavanaugh. “Sean stepped in when (senior) Cade Charron, a four-year starter in goal for us, saw something on defense, and we knew moving him there was the right thing. Sean stepped in, and against Lewiston in early January he had 55 saves. We knew right away we made the right decision.”
The Red Eddies threw everything they had at the Eagles’ net. EL outshot the visitors, 24-4, over the first two periods. Moore stopped Keefe, Cassidy and Gage Doucette on breakaways in the second frame as the teams went to their locker rooms locked in a scoreless battle.
“I was able to square up and keep the boys happy,” Moore said. “The defense kept them wide, allowing me to make the easier save. I had more time to react and saw the puck coming all the way through.”
The Red Eddies focused on Eagle forward and Class A leading scorer Noah Austin, keeping him bottled up in the neutral zone.
“In the neutral zone they collapsed on Noah,” said Kavanaugh. “We were trying to get him to the high slot. We lost Ian (Struck) recently after a couple big games. We were
Gunnar Winslow, left, of Edward Little High School and Cam Poisson of the Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde Eagles compete for the puck during the second period in Auburn at Norway Savings Bank Arena on Tuesday. (Daryn Slover / Sun Journal)
one of the highest scoring teams when they were together. Noah rallied these young guys behind him.”
“We had to play good defense to win,” Gagne said after holding the Eagles to no shots on goal in the second period.
In the third period, EL’s persistence finally paid off. Doucette sent a shot on goal, with Moore making the save through a screen. But the rebound slid far enough away for Cassidy to get his blade on it, sending the puck into the cage for a 1-0 EL lead with 8:11 remaining.
The Eagles tried to find some offense, often sending Austin into the neutral zone, looking for a quick outlet pass.
As the time ticked down, an icing call on EL and a Red Eddie timeout allowed the Eagles to draw up a play with Moore on the bench for an extra skater.
“The play was to throw three guys to the weak side. Just crash the net,” said Kavanaugh, who watched as Poisson managed to slip the puck underneath EL goaltender Devon D’Auteuil (seven saves) with 1.5-ticks remaining. “Cade — goalie, turned defenseman, turned power forward for those last eight seconds — was the first on the puck and made it happen for us.”
Overtime
The Red Eddies began the overtime by continuing to apply pressure on the Eagle cage. Moore’s best save came on a deflection by Cam Audette midway through the eight-minute frame.
But, there was little he was able to do when Cassidy launched a pass to the waiting stick of Keefe, who perfectly deflected the puck into the back of the net for a 2-1 Red Eddie win.
“I passed the puck to (Ben) and I went to the far post and the pass came right there,” said Keefe, who discussed his teammates’ frustration with Moore. “He played out of his mind, stopping two or three breakaways. We knew that if we kept the pressure on we would eventually get a puck or two past him.”
“I told the kids you are always going to face adversity,” Gagne said. “I was proud of the fact that we battled back really well after having the rug pulled out from underneath us. This is just the first step of where we want to go. We got through it.
Gunnar Winslow of Edward Little High School gets his stick on the puck during the second period of Tuesday’s game against the Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde Eagles in Auburn. (Daryn Slover / Sun Journal)
“(The Eagles) did a good job. We didn’t get a power play. We took three penalties, so we are a better hockey team than we were a year ago. If we play 5-on-5, we can play with anybody.”
Austin picked up an assist on the Eagles’ lone goal. Classmates Ian Cooke, Charron and Poisson played their final game for Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Hyde.
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