BIDDEFORD – Maybe the shots were not all sizzlers, but the York Wildcats kept the pucks coming in a girls’ hockey game Wednesday night at the Biddeford Ice Arena.
York dominated the Biddeford Tigers and came away with a 3-0 victory.
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Nicci Heroux, Rachel Yorke and Tori Stocks all scored for York.
The Wildcats (2-0) outshot the Tigers 35-13 as Biddeford’s new goalie, Emily Brassley, got a workout.
“She’s had two outstanding games for us,” Biddeford Coach Marie Potvin said. “This could have been real ugly. But 3-0, with the way we played; she made it respectable.”
The way the Tigers played?
“We got beat to the puck,” Potvin said. “We didn’t handle the puck.”
The Tigers (1-1) could not keep up with the Wildcats, who skated three lines the whole game and continued to cycle the puck low.
“We were trying to cycle and pass as much as we could to get an opening,” said junior forward Caroline Hird. “It was just a matter of time.”
It took some time as Brassley made 16 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless.
In fact, the best scoring chance of the period belonged to the Tigers, when Haley Reny raced past the Wildcats’ defensemen on a breakaway.
But Stocks, a defenseman, tracked back and interrupted Reny before she got a shot off.
“I just skated as fast as I could,” Stocks said. “I knew if I could get on her right side, I could lift up her stick.”
The Wildcats’ defense, led by Hannah Keating and Macki Hill, along with Tori and Sammy Stocks, sealed the leaks. And goalie Olivia Drew backed them up with 13 saves in the game.
In the second period, York continued to dominate, outshooting the Tigers, 9-0.
Heroux made a crossing pass to Carly Lee, who sent it back to Heroux at the far post, where she poked it in 57 seconds into the period.
York kept shooting. Julia Hird sent a puck into traffic in front of the goal, and Yorke stuffed it in at 6:37.
“Keep it low and try to get a lot of shots on net,” York Coach Kevin Banfield said. “Wait for our opportunities and crash the net. I was happy that they came out aggressive — high speed, high energy. But we still have a lot of work to do. We just got to work on the cycling a little better and taking better quality shots.”
Biddeford’s attack was hurt when starting left wing Tiffany Gagne left with an ankle injury one minute into the game.
“When Tiffany went down, we sunk emotionally,” Potvin said. “They never got themselves back up.”
Reny, Autumn Brown and Jenna Roy created chances, but the Wildcats stifled them quickly.
Meanwhile, the York lines were working — Lee, Heroux and Caroline Hird; Yorke, Cari Posternick and Julia Hird; and Ellie Giles, Olivia Leroux and Gabby Boualavanh.
NOTES: Before the game, a moment of silence and short ceremony were held in the memory of Joel Potvin, who died last March. Potvin, the husband of Biddeford Coach Marie Potvin, was very active in youth sports. … York plays tonight at Brunswick, while the Tigers next play Saturday at Cheverus.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
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