Behind a two-man combination of speed and muscle, Bonny Eagle defeated South Portland, 8-4, Jan. 25 at the Portland Ice Arena.
The speed, Nate Jewell, and the muscle, Travis Dunn, combined to score seven of Bonny Eagle’s eight goals.
“He has good vision and he usually finds me,” said Jewell of his linemate. “He plays more of a physical game and I play more of a speed game.”
Jewell had four goals and two assists while Dunn added three goals and three assists, all of which came on goals by Jewell.
“He’s a little faster and has more stick-handling skill,” said Dunn. “He does most of the shooting.”
While their combined numbers against the Red Riots were gaudy, they weren’t far from the norm.
“Tonight was about average,” coach David Petterson said. “They tend to work very well with each other. They have some pretty good chemistry between them.
They always seem to know where the other is. They have the patience to find each other on the ice. They both like the score.”
Jewell, a senior, has 32 goals and 30 assists this season while Dunn, a junior, has 29 goals and 36 assists.
The Scots broke the game open in the second period. Leading 1-0, Bonny Eagle scored four goals in the first four minutes of the middle frame.
Dunn got it started, taking it himself while having a 2-on-1 advantage and beating the South Portland goalie just 35 seconds in the period. Less than two minutes later Jewell took a long pass from Dunn and scored to put the Scots up 3-0. Less than 30 seconds after that, Dunn send with a long wrist-shot squirting into the net. Seconds later Jewell went five-hole on a breakaway – assisted by none other than Dunn.
The scoring spree gave Bonny Eagle a 5-0 advantage, all the margin they needed. The flurry of goals wasn’t by accident either. Between periods, the Scots discussed how to beat South Portland goalie Robby Morong who stands over 6-feet tall.
“We talked a little bit about how you play different goalies,” Petterson said. “Bigger goalies take up a lot of the net, and we are shooting everything up high on him. He was dropping down and the gloves are taking everything. That’s why the first period wasn’t working.”
In the second period the Scots put nine shots on net, seven of them were on the ice, and five of them went in. They had taken 14 shots with only one goal in the first period.
Senior Eric Laveault also scored for the Scots.
Bonny Eagle (11-3) fell to Deering, 5-3, on Saturday. They are scheduled to face Portland this Saturday at the University of Southern Maine Ice Arena.
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