Massabesic/Old Orchard/Bonny Eagle’s Tanner McClure takes the puck up ice in the second period in Wednesday’s season finale. McClure scored four times in the contest.
MOB’s goals were scored by Travis Marsh, Spencer Shields, Cameron Roy who scored three and four from Tanner McClure. MOB goalie Kyle McKay made 22 saves.
Marshwood’s goal scorers were Jarid Tomblin and Henry Honkonen while goaltender Alex Weeks recorded 8 saves. Goalie Ethan Hammond also stopped two on the night.
Marshwood wasted very little time getting on the board, with Tomblin taking the puck down the center of the ice and tapping it through the legs of McKay, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into the contest.
MOB dominated the possession battle throughout the period. Although there was not a single powerplay opportunity, MOB managed to keep the puck in Marshwood’s zone for the majority of the period.
Despite MOB’s puck control, Marshwood took advantage of another scoring opportunity at the 10:31 mark when Henry Driscoll passed the puck down the ice to Honkonen who put the puck away for a fast 2-0 lead.
MOB coach Loren Blair was disappointed in his team’s slow start.
“They got a couple first shot goals, we couldn’t get the puck out of our zone, we struggled. But we woke up and stopped making those turnovers in the neutral zone,” said Blair.
MOB continued to press for the remainder of the period, looking to gain any traction it could.
As the period entered the final three minutes, MOB scored a flurry of goals to regain the momentum.
The first goal was scored at the 2:42 mark, when Marsh took a deflected puck off of the glass and launched it in to make the score 2-1.
Just 44 seconds later, Marsh once again made his presence felt when he sent an accurate pass down the left wing to McClure who sent it in the net, tying the score at 2-2.
Less than a minute later, MOB took a 3-2 lead when Shields collected a pass in the center of the ice and put it in the top right corner of the net.
Blair felt that the end of the first period was the turning point for MOB.
“It was great, they started to have fun. They were nervous heading into the game, you could tell in the locker room they were a bit jittery. This is a big game for us, hopefully we can advance,” said Blair.
MOB’s momentum carried into the second period, as the their offense pressured Marshwood for the entire 15 minutes.
At the 6:40 mark, Roy stole the puck and forced a breakaway down the ice and put the puck in the net to make the score 4-2. Just 31 seconds later McClure recorded his second goal, adding to the MOB lead.
The MOB offensive dominance continued, With 2:32 remaining in the second, McClure secured the hat trick with a wrist shot that sailed into the left side of the net making the score 6-2.
Just 14 seconds later, Roy scored his second goal off a pass from Shields, and later would get a hat trick of his own with 1:40 left off another goal.
The MOB squad was still not done, as McClure wrapped around the net and tapped in his fourth goal of the evening, making the score a dominating 9-2 heading into the final period.
Entering the third with a seven-point lead, MOB began to slow down the pace of play, essentially playing a game of keepaway from the Marshwood forwards.
Although MOB continued to control the puck, Marshwood had multiple opportunities to chip away at the MOB lead, including a failed breakaway scoring attempt from Henry Driscoll and four powerplay opportunities.
MOB closed out the third period strong, completing the convincing victory.
Blair was pleased with his team’s performance in the final two periods of the game.
“They were just doing their job. They did what they had to do, they passed, they didn’t turn the puck over, they collected the rebounds…they blew them out,” said Blair.
Hoping to advance to the playoffs, Blair was happy overall with his team’s season.
“It feels great, these kids worked so hard. We finished 9-9, there are a few games we wish we could have back. But this was a great win for them tonight,” said Blair.
— 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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