BIDDEFORD — If nothing else, the games between the Thornton Academy boys hockey team and Waterville are always entertaining.
It was no exception on Saturday night, as the Golden Trojans escaped with a 3-2 overtime win over the Purple Panthers.
It was the third game in the past two seasons Thornton and Waterville have gone to overtime. The Trojans have taken each of the two games this season, winning a 4-3 contest at Waterville on Jan. 17.
“No matter who they line up with, [Waterville] just lines up and competes on every play,” Thornton Academy head coach Shawn Rousseau said. “I love the way they play. I like the fact we come up with wins, but they don’t make it easy.”
Thornton forward Seth Prior scored the winning goal on Saturday, only one minute into overtime. Prior, a senior, raced down the ice and snuck a backhand shot past Panthers goalie Cody Thibodeau.
“I just skated down, cut the open ice and just hit the back of the net,” Prior said.
After two periods of one-goal play, the goal capped an exciting third period, which included three combined goals, all on the power play, between both teams.
The contest was a good rebound win for the Trojans (7-4), who lost to state title favorite Lewiston on Jan. 24.
The upcoming week will be important for Thornton. The Trojans play Portland on Thursday, before they take on Biddeford in a rematch on Saturday at the Biddeford Ice Arena. The Tigers won the first contest between the two ancient rivals on Jan. 5, as Biddeford won 5-1.
Biddeford is the only team above Thornton in the Western Class A Tier 1 division. However, Rousseau made the point that the Trojans must be ready for Portland first before playing the Tigers.
“Every game has been tight this year,” Rousseau said. “We’ve got to stay focused, take each game one at a time and not look past Portland. I think they’ve got enough dangerous players. We did have success when we played them very early, so as much as we’re eager to get back at Biddeford, guess what, Portland is eager to get back at us. I think we really need to get the boys focused for the Portland game on Thursday.”
Defense was a factor throughout the game for the Trojans, who were able to block shots and keep opportunities of scoring away from Thornton goalie Jamison Finch.
“I thought we did well on defense all game,” Rousseau said. “Both goals that we gave up were on the power play. Coincidentally, when we played them the first game we went to overtime, all but one goal was on the power play. [Waterville] sets up very nicely, they’ve got a great puck-moving defenseman in Matt Lee, and they got [Tim Locke] that can just rifle the puck, and they’ve got hungry kids that go in for rebounds and that’s what we saw on their second goal today. I think overall defensively we played very sharp, but when you go down a man against a team that’s executing well, you’re going to give up plays and they finished them.”
After a scoreless first period, the Trojans notched the first goal of the game midway through the second period, as Rob Downing deflected a Brandon Veilleux shot into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Waterville tied the game with five minutes left to play in the third period, on a power play goal by J.T. Whitten. Thornton looked to have the game in hand after a power play goal by C.J. Maksut, a top-shelf wrist shot, with less than two minutes to play in regulation. However, a late penalty by Thornton gave the Panthers a last-minute opportunity which was taken advantage of by Waterville forward Kyle Bishop, who rebounded a Whitten shot into the net with 57 seconds remaining to tie the score at 2-2, before Prior ended the game only a minute into the extra frame.
“I went across my body and just put it in,” Prior said. “It’s a goal I try to do every time anyway. It’s a predictable goal, but sometimes a goalie is not expecting it, so I do my best to keep a goalie on his toes.”
— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318.
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