Biddeford’s Curtis Petit waits to receive a pass in the second period Wednesday night against Noble/Wells.
Ricky Ruck scored two goals for the Tigers, who also got one goal apiece from Brady Crepeau, Colin Lavigne and Colin Petit.
Noble/Wells’ goal scorers were Evan Whitten, Kyle Wiswell and Matthew Szcygiel.
Biddeford goalie Tom Green stopped 27 shots, while Noble/ Wells goalie Nate Paul recorded 16 saves.
Biddeford wasted little time getting on the board thanks to a fast goal by Crepeau just 51 seconds into the contest.
Less than four minutes later, Noble/Wells struck back with a goal from Whitten, tying the score at 1-1 early in the first.
Both teams continued to pressure the opposing defenses as both goalies were busy throughout the first period.
With 3:34 remaining, Ruck took the puck down the right side of the ice and fired a shot into the back of the net to put the Tigers in front.
Biddeford received some insurance a minute later when Lavigne crashed the net, putting another goal away and giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead heading into the second.
Both defenses tightened the screws in the second period, with each team having limited scoring chances throughout the 15 minutes.
At the 3:57 mark, Ruck broke through for his second goal as he chopped a bouncing puck into the net giving the Tigers a comfortable 4-1 lead late in the second period.
Noble/Wells would not allow the Tigers to maintain the momentum as Wiswell responded less than two minutes later with a goal, making the score 4-2 Biddeford heading into the final period of play.
Just 1:24 into the third period, Szcygiel managed to guide the puck behind the net and put away a wrap-around goal, bringing Noble/Wells within one early in the third.
Biddeford responded just 56 seconds later when Petit fired the Tigers’ fifth goal in the net, giving them a 5-3 advantage.
Noble/Wells continued to fight throughout the third, but were not able to make up lost ground.
Noble/Wells coach Keith St. Cyr was pleased with his team’s effort, however felt that there were too many mistakes made.
“I thought we competed well, but they took advantage of some of our mistakes so that was the difference for them,” said St. Cyr. “I think when things like this happen we just need to buckle down defensively. When we play behind we tend to try to do more than we need to and that’s when the mistakes start to pile up.”
St. Cyr stressed to his team the importance of playing the way that they want to play instead of losing momentum.
“Their first two goals were transition goals, however we outshot them for the first two periods,” said St. Cyr. “I think if we can slow things down a little and keep things in front of us we will have a better chance of being successful.”
Moving forward, St. Cry’s message to his team was to play relaxed and not panic when the going gets rough.
“It’s just the mistakes. It’s about playing and not feeling like the world is on your shoulders,” said St. Cyr. “Just play the way you are capable of playing and minimize the mental errors.”
Biddeford assistant coach Matt Lemay was happy with the team’s strong performance.
“I think we played pretty well. We had a few defensive breakdowns, but I thought we hung in there,” said Lemay. “I think they did a really good job in the neutral zone tonight. We have some good team speed and I thought they did a good job slowing us down. But they came up with the plays when we needed them.”
Perhaps the unsung hero of the game was Green, who faced heavy pressure in net in the first and third periods.
“Tom came up with a lot of big saves tonight. In the first and third periods, down the stretch they really put some pressure on him,” said Lemay. “They shot from some tight zones but Tom did a great job for us tonight.”
Wednesday’s win improves Biddeford to a 6- 5 record, while Noble/Wells falls to 2-6.
— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282- 1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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