Skowhegan freshman Nathan Dionne found himself in position to do something most hockey players only dream of.

With the score tied, 2-2, and 6:46 remaining in overtime in Saturday’s game at USM, teammate Nathan Nixon recovered a deflected Bonny Eagle pass near center ice and quickly slapped it up to Dionne for a breakaway.

The young forward had nothing but open ice and Scots’ goalie Cody Bradway standing between him and victory. Despite the green jerseys hot on his trail, Dionne outskated his pursuers to the net and slipped a quick wrist shot past Bradway for the winning score.

“I hate breakaways,” said Dionne. “I didn’t want to mess up, but it turned out OK. I got a great pass from Nate Nixon.”

The win was Skowhegan’s first in seven tries, while Bonny Eagle dropped to 3-2.

Thanks to stellar defense by the Scots’ Brett Dostie, Alyssa Dunn and captain Kayle Hamilton, the Indians were able to test Bradway (13 saves) in the net only 16 times the entire game. However, Bonny Eagle was forced to skate shorthanded a number of times, and Skowhegan took advantage of every given opportunity, making the critical shots

“I think that we had too many penalties for our own good,” said Bonny Eagle coach David Petterson.

His club came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders in the first period. The Scots were aggressive offensively and slapped four quick shots at Indians goalie Jared Johnson (28 saves) within the first two minutes.

The forceful offensive surge continued throughout the period as the majority of play unfolded on Skowhegan’s end of the ice. Nate Jewell spilled first blood for Bonny Eagle when he recovered a turnover and skated the puck hard up the rink to slip it past Johnson unassisted with 5:38 remaining.

“We had a tough first period coming off the long bus ride, but we really picked it up in the second and third periods,” said Dionne. “We had good goaltending, and we pulled it off.”

With 4:30 to go in the period, each squad’s intensity increased, as the entire arena could feel the shift of energy in the atmosphere as each team delivered big hit after big hit.

Bonny Eagle would maintain the momentum as everyone retreated from the ice for intermission, but – with the Scots outmanned a few times in the second due to penalties – the momentum began to shift in the Indians’ direction.

Skowhegan’s Nixon took the puck during one power play and hit a mid-range slap shot for the tying score with 6:11 on the clock.

“We really didn’t get a lot of shots on net,” said Skowhegan coach Scott Holmes, “but we got the shots that counted.”

Bonny Eagle nearly doubled their opponents, with 30 shots on goal.

“We hold the puck too long before we shoot,” said Petterson. “We had a lot of opportunities but sometimes we skip right across the net and don’t shoot the puck. In a close game you can’t afford that.”

The third period continued with the same amount of combativeness as the previous two. Skowhegan took the upper-hand midway through the frame when senior Neil Ferguson got a wrist shot past Bradway just as Dostie returned to the ice to end the power play. However, the Indians did not retain their advantage for long.

Two quick, successive Skowhegan penalties left Bonny Eagle with a two-man advantage, and the Scots could smell blood. All five green jerseys were on the attack, rapidly firing shot after shot, pummeling Johnson in the net.

Then, after receiving a pass from forward John Norton, Jewell streaked the puck through the reaching Indian defenders for his second goal, tying the score.

With the clock approaching one minute, the Scots had one final chance to gain the lead in regulation when they charged up the ice on a three-on-one break away. However Johnson – who was strong in goal all night – denied his opponents’ valiant attempt, leaving the final outcome to be decided in sudden-death.

“It was a hard loss,” said Jewell. “I think we were a little overconfident coming in. We’ve got a tough game with Gorham coming up, but I don’t think (the loss) will affect us that much.”

The Scots return to USM today (Jan. 11) to battle Gorham.

“We’re going to take this (loss),” said Norton, “and turn it around into wins.”