BIDDEFORD — It was a great start to the season for the Kennebunk boys hockey team, but unfortunately for the Rams, the finish was not.
The Rams bolted to a 2-0 lead in the first game at their new home, and the first game for new head coach Sean Smith, but they fell to Bonny Eagle 3-2 at the Harold Alfond Forum on Saturday.
After the two teams battled for the first few minutes trying to feel each other out, Bryce Fraser scored the first goal for the Rams at their new home arena on the campus of the University of New England. Ben Bath then scored for Kennebunk less than two minutes later to get the crowd going.
“It felt great. Starting off the year good, first goal of the year,” said Fraser. “First deuce, so it kind of put us ahead and put some momentum under us.”
The momentum didn’t last long, though, as Josh Bagley scored for the Scots less than a minute later.
Kennebunk had a golden chance to put it back to a two-goal lead, as the Rams went on the power play with a little more than three minutes to go in the first period, and finished the period on a 5-on-3 situation.
Another Bonny Eagle penalty just 1:23 into the second period gave the Rams the power play for five consecutive minutes. But the Rams couldn’t score.
“It’s disappointing. You have to capitalize on all your opportunities,” said Fraser. “We just need to keep working on the power play. We hadn’t practiced it that much. First game of the year; there’s a lot more to come.”
“We’re going to improve, with time,” Smith said of the Rams’ power play.
When a Kennebunk player finally went to the penalty box midway through the second period, the Scots capitalized. Travis Rogers intercepted a bad pass off a faceoff in the Bonny Eagle end and took it the other way for a 4-on-4 goal, tying the game at 2-2.
The Rams had a chance to retake the lead late in the period, but neither Ben Cherry nor David Parker could push a bouncing puck into an open net.
The Rams then started the third period the way the Scots ended the first: Perpetually in the penalty box. The referees called Kennebunk for three penalties in the first three minutes, but unlike Bonny Eagle, the Rams couldn’t kill them all off. Rogers scored from the top of the left circle with just 17 seconds left in the final penalty to give the Scots a lead they didn’t relinquish.
The Rams took simultaneous penalties later in the period, hurting their chances of coming back.
Fraser missed a chance on a pass from Nick Manuel with 20 seconds left that was the Rams’ final hope, as they opened the season in defeat.
“We couldn’t get one to bounce,” said Fraser. “We had a few opportunities on the six-on-five at the end of the game when we pulled the goalie. But you can’t get them all.”
“I am really proud of them,” Smith said of his young team after the game. “I am very proud of that team, even though we did come up short, and gave up that lead.”
— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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