HALLOWELL — Michael Poirier was keeping his Gardiner boys’ hockey team in its season opener. The senior goalie just needed a little bit of help from the offense.
Leave it to a family member to provide the boost.
Poirier made 27 saves and younger brother Matthew scored twice, including the winner, to lift the Tigers to a 3-2 victory over Greely on Saturday at the Camden National Bank Ice Vault.
“I think we played a little sloppy and undisciplined. We took way too many penalties,” said Gardiner Coach Sam Moore, whose team went 15-5-1 last season and reached the Class B South final.
“Michael really held us in the game and made some great saves. We were lucky to come out of it with the win, honestly. I honestly think we were.”
The Tigers broke a 2-2 tie in the third, thanks to the instincts of the younger Poirier. Greely was in the attacking zone when Matthew, a sophomore, stole the puck from Andy Moore and tore up ice for a breakaway.
“He opened up to shoot the puck and I just saw my opportunity,” Poirier said. “I poke-checked it, I saw open ice, and I skated as hard as I could.”
As he approached the net, Poirier first took the puck right, then carried it left after the goalie moved and buried the shot with 10:40 remaining.
“He’s really quick, he’s got soft hands, he’s good with the puck,” Moore said. “That was an awesome effort on Matt’s part to poke that puck away … and then have the composure to make a move and put it away.”
The Tigers killed six power plays. Poirier turned away Greely rushes and rebound tries, and made a big stop with 3:50 left when Jackson Williams carried the puck in and tried a shot from just in front of the crease. Williams lost his balance and collided with Poirier after the shot, but the goalie held on.
“The kids see the kind of effort that Michael puts out. Never says a word, never complains,” Moore said. “It’s hard for them not to go out and give 110 percent.”
The teams swapped goals in the first two periods. Greely struck first at 11:03 of the first after Poirier made a pair of impressive saves, stopping Matt Kramlich on a rush and then Caleb Duff on a rebound from the slot. The puck stayed in the zone, however, and Jake MacDonald took it into the right corner before finding Kramlich in the slot for a one-timer.
Gardiner answered at 13:44. Joe Clark took the puck close to the goal line on the right side before sending a pass through the slot, and Matthew Poirier was waiting on the other side of the net to bang it home.
The Tigers took their first lead at 5:34 of the second period. Clark again carried the puck into the right corner and sent a pass toward the slot, where Ryan Kelley was waiting to knock it in.
That lead didn’t last either, as Greely’s Jack Saffian fired a shot from the left side that kicked right to Peter Lattanzi, who sent it into the net at 8:49.
Greely Coach Barry Mothes liked the showing from his team, which went 6-12 last year.
“I thought the guys came in and played a pretty good hockey game tonight,” he said. “I think we’re disappointed that we kind of didn’t take care of a couple of pucks.”
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