It took an entire career’s worth of work to get him to this juncture, but it took Andrew Roderigue just 28 seconds to put his name atop the record books.

The Waterville Senior High School defenseman’s assist in the first minute of the game last week against Winslow gave him 106 points for his career, the most for a Purple Panther blue-liner in the program’s history.

“It feels great,” the captain said of the record. “It’s awesome, but we do it as a team.”

Roderigue finished the game against the Black Raiders with six points, giving him 111 with more than two-thirds of the season remaining. He snapped a three-way tie with Chad Hart (1996-1999) and Josh Hart (1999-2002), who each registered 105 points in their careers.

Where Roderigue scored 29 goals as a junior, another school record he now holds, he’s taken a slightly different path this season. He has seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points for an unbeaten Purple Panthers squad after scoring nearly twice as many goals at this point last winter.

“In every game, he’s moving the puck up the ice, triggering the power play, all the little things that he does so well,” Waterville head coach Dennis Martin said. “It’s all the things you need as a team that he does, and it’s all business with him.”

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Roderigue never looked like a player chasing a career record in the buildup to setting the mark, as he continued to simply play within the team’s structure. His speed and ability on the puck have been critical to his extremely consistent game.

The key, Roderigue said, is to not think about the record books.

“It is. It really is,” he said. “I wouldn’t have the points I have without the unselfishness and teamwork of the team.”

“He brings it every time,” Martin said. “He’s a team player, and I’m sure it’s the first thing he talked about is the team. Everything with him is about the team, and when you play as a team and play as a group, that’s when the good things happen.”

Good enough that Waterville is 5-0-0, having outscored opponents 52-6 with no signs of slowing down. Complacency, Roderigue said, is not an option for the reigning Class B state champions.

“We’ve got to realize that there’s better competition out there, even if we’re not playing them,” Roderigue said. “We can’t get caught up in this (early success), then go to northern Maines or states and blow it. We’ve just got to keep up the pace in games and in practices.”

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• • •

 

The Winslow/Gardiner girls hockey team is right in the thick of the playoff structure, holding onto its seventh spot in the North region through 10 of their 18 games on the schedule.

In the face of an offseason merger between the two schools, and a limited practice schedule with the closure of Sukee Arena, head coach Chris Downing has marveled at how well his 5-5-0 team has adapted.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these girls. They’re working so hard in practice.” Downing said. “That’s the thing that, probably if you’re looking from the outside you don’t realize, is we’re taking four practcies and squeezing it into two every week. They’re learning each other, different terminologies, learning their opponent. For these girls to be able to come together and play women’s hockey in the state of Maine the way they’re playing right now is pretty impressive.”

A 1-0 loss at York/Traip on Saturday might best illustrate how far the Black Tigers have come from a season-opening 7-0 loss to Edward Little in November.

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“That was a really hard-fought game (against York), and we probably outshot them two-to-one,” Downing said. “Those teams at the top are usually good from the goalie out, and they were.

“We’ve got eight games left, and I’d like to be .500 or better in those eight games. If we can get into the playoffs, anything can happen. I truly believe that. Anything can happen in the playoffs.”

• • •

 

It’s been a tough season for the Lawrence/Skowhegan boys team, but one expected bright spot for the Bandits has stood tall.

Senior netminder Curtis Martin posted a 62-save effort in a 3-2 loss to Mt. Ararat on Dec. 21. The loss came in the middle of a three-game stretch of one-goal losses for Lawrence/Skowhegan, including back-to-back 3-2 losses to Windham/Westbrook.

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“I know it does get frustrating, especially for Curtis, because he’s the one out there on the ice the whole game, but he’s done a wonderful job taking it all in stride,” first-year head coach Dakota Gendreau said. “I didn’t expect all the shots he’s been facing, but he’s really good about not jumping on the young guys. He’s really trying to build them up.”

Martin’s play has been outstanding. Despite the Bandits opening the year at 0-5-0, Martin ranks fourth statewide in Class A with a .922 save percentage among goalies who have played a minimum of 90 minutes this season.

Gendreau thinks the team is on the cusp of turning a corner, one that will reward Martin for all of his efforts thus far. A loss in overtime in the second meeting with Windham may have signaled as much.

“I feel like the corner is coming up,” Gendreau said. “That overtime game against Windham, that was one where we thought it was right there. Some of the guys are starting to feel that, too, and it’s still a big motivating factor for us.”

Travis Barrett — 621-5621

tbarrett@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TBarrettGWC


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