BIDDEFORD — The Kennebunk boys’ hockey team will remember this game as one where they ran into a hot goalie. Greely, on the other hand, might look back and wonder how the ice didn’t melt beneath senior Kyle Kramlich’s feet.

Kennebunk put 48 shots on net Saturday and came away with a 3-0 victory in a Western Class B game at the University of New England’s Harold Alfond Forum.

Kramlich, Greely’s senior goalie, made 45 saves – 21 in the second period alone – to slow the Rams’ potent offense, which had outscored opponents 27-3 in their first three games.

“Kramlich is certainly the best we’ve seen so far,” Kennebunk Coach Sean Smith said. “There aren’t many kids much more talented than him.

“I told our kids to drive the net, put bodies in front of him; if he can’t see it he can’t stop it. We did, and he still managed to stop a lot of shots.”

The Rams (4-0) got a goal from David Parker 2:25 into the first period, and one each in the third from Jack Graydon and Jan Rutrle.

Advertisement

In between, there was a lot of rubber thumping against leather and pinging off metal.

“He has an awesome glove,” said speedy forward Bo Beveridge, who set up Kennebunk’s first goal. “We had to just keep pouring it on and not let (a lack of goals) get to us.”

Riding a strong forecheck anchored by a combination of Beveridge, Parker, Patrick Gassman and Donovan Connor, the Rams dominated the smaller Rangers, who feature 19 sophomores and freshmen on their 25-player roster.

“We try to keep the puck in their end as much as we can and take care of the blue line,” Smith said. “We have enough depth and big enough bodies that they didn’t have much opportunity to set up in our defensive zone.”

Parker’s early goal came off a rebound of Beveridge’s shot from the top of the slot.

“I just poked it in,” Parker said. “I knew if I didn’t score then, it would have been a lot closer, and we would have had to work a lot harder.”

Advertisement

After a scoreless second period, Graydon pushed the Rams’ lead to 2-0 just 3:25 into the third, knocking in the rebound of Gavin Baumler’s shot.

Kramlich made a pair of point-blank saves on Beveridge and stopped Brenden Whitten one-on-one with a stop that left Whitten looking skyward.

Despite Kramlich’s heroics, the save of the game came at the other end of the ice, when Mike LeBlanc smothered a 2-on-0 breakaway with 7:19 to go. Greely’s Colby Williams collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke in behind the Rams’ defense along with Andrew Ray. LeBlanc held his ground, blocking Ray’s hard shot to the chest and smothering the rebound.

“If they put one in there, it’s a one-goal game with momentum on their side,” Smith said. “That stop was so big. Mike only faced 11 shots, but he made all 11 stops.”

With the Rams killing off Graydon’s penalty for elbowing, Rutrle lifted the rebound of his own shot past Kramlich for a short-handed goal with 1:49 to play.

“They were quick, they were strong, and we lost a lot of puck battles,” Greely Coach Barry Mothes said. “That makes it hard to possess the puck and generate much offense.

“I thought there were a lot of positives in some aspects of our game. This is a process, and we’re only in the second week of our regular season. We’re trying to work hard and get better.”


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.