Black Hawks topped by Raiders

The Houlton- Hodgdon Black Hawks ended their season this past Monday in an Eastern Maine semifinal match against the number-one seeded Winslow Black Raiders in Sukee Arena, Winslow’s home rink. The final score was 4-2 with Winslow coming out on top and moving to the Eastern Maine final in Orono.
    The first period saw the Black Raiders come out looking like the number one seed as they outshot and outplayed the youthful Black Hawks. Taking advantage of the playoff experience of eight seniors, the Black Raiders held an 18-4 shot advantage but could only muster a 1-0 lead going into the locker room. Malik Abouleish made several grade A saves and the Black Hawk defense held Winslow to one shot on most scoring opportunities to keep the game close.
The second period saw Winslow take a 2-0 lead but a rash of Winslow penalties gave the Black Hawks power plays for most of the second half of the period. The Black Hawks responded with two power play goals to tie the score at two after two periods of play. Taylor Martin scored on an outstanding individual effort taking the puck from the neutral zone and sliding it between the Winslow goalie and the near post as he was skating behind the net. Zach Chase scored the tying goal just over three minutes later as he poked the puck into the net during a scramble in front. Mike Epley assisted n the marker and it looked as if the Black Hawks might be taking over the momentum.
The third period saw the locals having to kill over a 5-3 for 46 seconds and a 5-4 for another 56 seconds. Unfortunately the experienced Winslow team took the lead with just a few seconds left on the penalty kill as senior forward Sean Bourgeois potted his second goal of the contest. The Black Raiders netted another goal just over two minutes later and they never let the Black Hawks back into the game after that, playing a solid defensive game. When the final buzzer sounded on the Black Hawks’ season, Winslow was headed to the Eastern Maine final with the 4-2 victory.
Abouleish ended the game with 35 saves and looked like he will give the team one of the best netminders in the state over the next three seasons.
The Winslow team’s experience showed here tonight as we never really could match the intensity of the 8 seniors on their team. With that many talented players looking at their last high school game we knew we would have to come out and play our very best and hope for a few breaks.
“After the first period, we felt we still could get back in the game and when we tied it at two it looked very promising,” said Black Hawks coach Joel Trickey. “However, you have to give credit to Winslow as they regained their composure and really took the game away from us in the third.”
However, this game was the end to a very productive season as the Black Hawks finished in the semis again and the underclassmen played pivotal roles in the team’s success.
“With the young, talented players we have on this team and the experience they gained, we anticipate strong teams over the next few years,” said Trickey. “The team would like to thank everyone that has supported us this season and hope to give our fans more exciting games next year.”