BRUNSWICK

Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse boys hockey coach A.J. Kavanaugh knew Brunswick was going to push back 10 days after his Eagles ended a long losing skid to the Dragons with a 7-2 victory.

On Saturday at Sidney J. Watson Arena, Kavanaugh’s prediction was right on, as Bill Bodwell’s Dragons scored three third-period goals to put a scare into the Eagles.

But, Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/ Morse held on, getting two big saves from goaltender Cade Charron in the final seconds for a 5-4 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win, giving the Eagles a 5-7 mark and more importantly ending a three-game slide since that earlier win in the “Battle of the Bridge” rivalry.

Trailing 4-1 with 9:44 left in the third period, Bodwell called a timeout. When play resumed, Michael Deveaux pocketed a pair of goals just 12 seconds apart to make for a 4-3 contest.

“We had a ton of shots in the third period and created a wrinkle to get more shots, and Michael got those two goals to get us right back in it,” said Bodwell, who said there were no magic words that he provided to his team during the timeout. “We are not a deep team, so we use our timeout to give our guys a time to breathe. That is the third time that I have called a timeout and we came out and scored.”

“We were just trying to get more offense, and we focused on getting opportunities on that side of the ice,” said Deveaux of his two goals. “That third period proved that we can battle back against a very good team and that we don’t give up.”

“The game felt similar as the last time, where all three periods it just never seemed over, and you have to give Brunswick credit,” said Kavanaugh, whose Eagles visit South Portland/ Freeport/Waynflete on Thursday at 5:40 p.m.

Now locked in a one-goal game, Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/ Morse sophomore forward Noah Austin had an answer. He skated through the Brunswick defense and sent a shot past Dragon netminder Riley Kirk (11 saves) to make for a 5-3 contest with 8:37 remaining.

“Noah’s goal, that fifth goal, was huge for us,” said Kavanaugh.

The Eagles were whistled for two penalties down the stretch, including a five-minute major for boarding. Brunswick pulled Kirk and scored with 44 ticks remaining as Jack St. Pierre tipped a shot from Andrew Eno past Charron (17 saves).

Brunswick kept Kirk on the bench and pressed for the tying goal. Jacob Doring’s point-blank shot was stopped by a diving Charron, and a scramble for the loose puck ended with an Eagles clear as the final seconds ticked away.

“I am proud of the way they played and the composure, just two penalties, and we had the feeling that we could get more power plays and that helped us at the end,” said Bodwell.

Quick start

Brunswick struck right out of the gate, with Eno sending a wrist shot underneath the crossbar just 17 seconds in for a 1-0 Dragons lead. Quinn Solberg earned an assist.

“We knew they were coming off a tough loss, so we were hoping to come out flying and take over,” said Bodwell of his team’s quick start. “Overall, we are not that deep and are young. We just need to have things go our way.”

Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse wasted little time tying the contest, as Austin scored his first of three goals. Austin broke into the Brunswick zone on a 2-on-1 break with linemate Jacob Sargent, who found the sophomore for the goal 2:30 in.

Four minutes later, the Eagles had the lead, with Steven Schuman beating Kirk. Ryley Austin and Mark Abreu assisted on the go-ahead goal.

From there, defense was the name of the game. The Eagles held a slight 4-3 shot advantage in the first period, and late in the middle frame, Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse had just eight shots on goal to Brunswick’s seven. Both squads did a solid job clogging up the shooting lanes.

The Eagles struck for the next goal as Sam Alexander cleaned up his own rebound with 4:30 remaining in the middle frame.

“We wanted to forecheck hard and get in front of shots,” said Alexander, who talked about his goal. “We were battling hard the whole shift, and when that third goal came we just knew it would open up after that.”

Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse earned a power play late in the frame and the Eagles made Brunswick pay, with Noah Austin scoring his second goal from Tyler Halls and Tyler LaCascio for a 4-1 advantage through two periods.

The win gives the Eagles a sweep of the season series with the Dragons. Now, Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse needs to put together a winning streak.

“We had the frustration of the Windham game (a 2-1 loss) that carried over for us after that Brunswick win, and we have been in a rut every since,” said Kavanaugh. “We know that we need to win nearly every game from here to get into the playoffs. Now it is on to South Portland.”

Meanwhile, Brunswick fell to 2-8-1 with its fifth consecutive setback and will try to get on track at home Tuesday against Greely (6:45 p.m.).

Eagles 5,
Dragons 4

Saturday, at Sidney J. Watson Arena
Eagles— 221—5
Dragons— 103—4
First period — 1. (B) Andrew Eno
(Quinn Solberg), :17; 2. (MtA) Noah
Austin (Jacob Sargent), 2:30; 3.
(MtA) Steven Schuman (Ryley Austin,
Mark Abreu), 6:36. Penalties — (B)
Andrew Eno, holding, 13:05; (MtA)
Sam Alexander, unsportsmanlike
conduct, 13:05.
Second period — 4. (MtA) Sam
Alexander (Ryley Austin), 10:30; 5.
(MtA) Noah Austin (Tyler Halls, Tyler
LaCascio), pp, 14:34. Penalties — (B)
Max Burtis, cross-checking, 13:05;
(MtA) Cam Grant, high sticking, 15:00.
Third period — 6. (B) Michael Deveaux,
5:30; 7. (B) Michael Deveaux (Jacob
Doring), 5:42; 8. (MtA) Noah Austin
(Jacob Sargent), 6:23; (B) Jack St.
Pierre (Andrew Eno), pp, 14:16. Penalties — (MtA) Sam Alexander, high
sticking, 8:49; (MtA) Sam Alexander,
boarding major, 12:04.
Shots on goal — (MtA) 4-9-3-16; (B)
3-5-13-21.
Saves — (MtA) Cade Charron 17; (B)
Riley Kirk 11.
Power play opportunities — (MtA) 1-
for-1; (B) 1-for-4.
Records — Eagles 5-7; Dragons 2-8-1.
Up next for the Eagles — Thursday at
South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete,
5:40 p.m.
Up next for the Dragons — Tuesday
at home vs. Greely, 6:45 p.m.