Cheverus swarms around Zoey Radford after her game-winning goal in overtime against Penobscot on Thursday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
It was the kind of game you’d expect from the two teams leading their respective divisions, and it was the kind of game both the Cheverus co-op and Penobscot girls’ hockey teams expect the next time they meet in Brewer in just a couple of weeks.
Cheverus defender Zoey Radford got a shot through traffic and into the net just 1:57 into overtime, lifting the Stags to a come-from-behind 3-2 over the Pioneers at Troubh Ice Arena on Thursday night.
“We knew coming in they were the best team in the South, possibly the best team in the state. Skating against them tonight, you could definitely see why. They’re very well-coached, a very deep roster,” Penobscot Coach Jarrod Williams said. “You play a team like that, you’ve got to have a couple things bounce your way, and I think they’re coached so well they take those things away as well.”
The defending state champion, Cheverus, now 7-0, entered Thursday’s game ranked first in the South Heal Point standings, while Penobscot (8-2) sits atop the North standings. The teams are ranked 1-2 in this week’s Varsity Maine girls’ hockey poll. The rematch is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer.
Radford’s game-winner on a shot from the point was just her second goal of the season.
“I was trying to get it on net. I wasn’t sure quite where it was going to go,” Radford said. “They’re a really good team. We’ve really learned how to play against teams like that.”
Cheverus Coach Scott Rousseau said his veteran team didn’t panic going into the third period trailing by a goal, and the game-winner was set up because everybody on the ice was working hard.
“We got a puck deep, Caroline (Rousseau) is in on the forecheck and held it there, and was able to get support from Charlotte (Miller). We get the puck to the blue line and Maddie (Doherty) is screening in front. A lot of good things happened to get that goal,” Rousseau said.
The Stags tied the game midway through the third period, when Caroline Rousseau poked in a shot for her second goal of the game, knotting the score at 2-2.
The Pioneers took the lead with a pair of second-period goals. First, Isabelle Brideau’s power-play goal at 6:22 tied the game. Brideau scored on a high, tough-angle shot, almost even with the goal line. At 11:48 of the second, Penobscot took a 2-1 lead when Paige Oakes scored on a rebound of a Jordin Williams shot.
“We were just working our systems. The girls were just skating hard,” Coach Williams said.
Cheverus took a 1-0 first-period lead on an unlikely goal. Taking a neutral zone pass from Mikayla Talbot, Caroline Rousseau skated in for a breakaway chance. Rousseau was tripped as she fired her shot, her stick going airborne. As Rousseau hit the ice, the puck slid under the pads of Penobscot goalie Abbie Derosier, and the Stags had the lead 4:38 into the game.
Ella Lemieux made 23 saves for Cheverus, while Derosier stopped 21 shots.
“Their goaltender was fantastic,” Scott Rousseau said. “It wasn’t our best night and things weren’t going our way, but I think we were able to really regroup in the third period.”
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