BRUNSWICK

There weren’t nearly as many penalties in Saturday evening’s girls high school hockey “Battle of the Bridge’ rematch as the first showdown on Jan. 11, but there were just as many goals.

Unfortunately for Mt. Ararat/Morse, Brunswick scored them all.

The Dragons flew out onto the ice and scored five goals in the opening 10 minutes and got a pair of hat tricks from Jenna Brooks and Rayna Sage en route to a comfortable 9-0 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win.

“We were just focused on skating and moving the puck,” Brunswick coach Dave Boucher said. “If there’s any commotion, skate away from it. The physicality affected our play last time, so they kept skating and moved the puck this time, which was nice.”

Brunswick (7-8) took control early and shot a loose puck off the post two minutes into the first period before sophomore Beth Labbe opened the scoring on a backhand at 2:25. Brooks finished on a breakaway three minutes later and freshman Charlotte Kirk made it 3-0 on assists from Brooks and Labbe less than two minutes later.

The Dragons converted on 5-of-13 shots on goal in the first period and held Mt. Ararat/Morse (0-15) to zero.

“It was so great out there,” Sage said. “The team energy, we all keep it up so high. That’s the reason I love hockey is because of my team, really.”

Brooks scored again on the game’s first power play at 9:16. Lurking around the goal, she punched in a loose puck to make it 4-0 before Kirk scored on two more assists from Brooks and Labbe a mere 12 seconds later. Brooks completed her hat trick just over a minute into the second period.

Then it was Sage’s turn. In her first game back from injury since before Christmas, the sophomore closed out the second period by stealing the puck and finishing on a half-ice breakaway at 13:48.

She finished off her hat trick and rounded out the scoring with back- to- back goals in the third period. One came from a clean pass across the net from Brooks.

“They just work so well together,” Boucher said of Sage, Brooks and Labbe. “They can all skate and shoot. When you have three on the line, it makes a big difference compared to two or one. It enables everybody to get involved in scoring.”

“Me, Jen(na Brooks), Beth (Labbe), we’ve all grow up together. We’ve played hockey since the very first year, all starting together,” Sage said. “They’re great players, they’re amazing. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Labbe finished with one goal and four assists on the night.

Tentative Eagles

After 29 combined penalties in the first meeting, Mt. Ararat/Morse coach Ron Hutchins knew the referees would take control in the rematch. The Eagles certainly listened, but it meant for a slow start.

Their first shot on goal didn’t come until two minutes into the second period.

“Our girls started off really pensive, kind of shy,” Hutchins said. “It was a matter of settling down and realizing it was OK to play the game. The refs were pretty strict on their instructions at the beginning of the game. Our girls really took that to heart and then realized it wasn’t going to be as restrictive as they thought it would be.”

Mt. Ararat/Morse eased into the game and out-shot the Dragons 10-6 in the second frame, ultimately testing goalie Marilyn Daniel 14 times. Hutchins and his staff are focused on much more than shots on goal, though. In a winless campaign, every little improvement counts.

“With any game this season, we’re looking to win the small battles,” Hutchins said. “We’re keeping stats on our girls. How are we doing on face-offs, how are we doing on the boards? Puck possession in the neutral zone, change, turnovers. We’re looking at all that stuff and looking for improvement in all of it.”

Freshman Lily Schenk blocked 17 shots off the sticks of Brunswick, which is gearing up for the postseason with a couple of key additions coming back to the team. It’ll start this week with a tough game against York/Traip on Friday at 5 p.m.

“We’re in pretty good shape now,” Boucher said. “We’ve got players back. The suspensions and injuries to Rayna (Sage) and a couple other minor ones have hurt our momentum. Probably three games there we would have won if we had our full team. We’re getting ready for playoffs now and trying to solidify our lines.”

“We’re feeling really strong,” Sage said. “We’re working really hard to be the top team this year. We’re planning on doing pretty well.”

Brunswick 9,
Mt. Ararat/Morse 0

At Watson Arena
Eagles— 000—0
Dragons— 522—9
First period — 1. (B) Beth Labbe
(Colleen McKearney), 2:25; 2. (B)
Jenna Brooks (Beth Labbe), 5:42;
3. (B) Charlotte Kirk (Jenna
Brooks, Beth Labbe), 6:07; 4. (B)
Jenna Brooks (Beth Labbe), 9:16;
5. (B) Charlotte Kirk (Jenna
Brooks, Beth Labbe), 9:28. Penalties — (MtA) Kathryn Hinderks,
tripping, 7:39; (B) Madeline
Berry, checking, 11:02; (MtA)
Kayleigh Temple, holding, 12:09.
Second period — 6. (B) Jenna
Brooks (Beth Labbe), 1:13; 7. (B)
Rayna Sage, 13:48. Penalties —
(B) Shea Sullivan, slashing, 0:41;
(MtA) Eola Saucier, checking,
8:40; (B) Madeline Berry, slashing, 9:16; (B) Beth Labbe, elbowing, 10:32.
Third period — 8. (B) Rayna
Sage, 6:26; 9. (B) Rayna Sage
(Jenna Brooks), 6:45. Penalties
— (MtA) Amber Card, tripping,
0:34; (MtA) Isa Blessington,
roughing, 2:03; (B) Colleen McKearney, roughing, 3:17; (MtA)
Isabel Burch, contact to the head,
4:14; (MtA) Chloe Beattie, tripping, 10:02; (B) Charlotte Kirk,
cross-checking, 11:30; (MtA)
Kathleen MacDonald, slashing,
13:56.
Shots on goal — Mt. Ararat 0-
10-4-14; (B) 13-6-7-26.
Saves — (MtA) Lily Schenk 17;
(B) Marilyn Daniel 14.
Power-play opportunities —
Brunswick 2-of-8, Mt.
Ararat/Morse 0-of-6.
Records — Brunswick 7-8, Mt.
Ararat/Morse 0-15.
Up next for the Dragons — Friday at home against York/Traip, 5
p.m.
Up next for the Eagles — Thursday at home against
Winslow/Gardiner, 8:35 p.m.