Wildcats end Black Hawks’ season

The Houlton-Hodgdon Black Hawks ended their season last Tuesday with a heart-breaking 4-3 overtime quarterfinal loss to arch rival Presque Isle at the Forum in Presque Isle in front of a packed house with both bands in attendance.
    The game ended an up-and-down season for the Black Hawks, as they finished at 7-11-1, but were in almost every game they played. The game was fast paced from start to finish as the two teams were very evenly matched. The Black Hawks had gone 1-0-1 in the regular season against the Wildcats and both teams were looking to advance in a year where any one of the five teams involved had a very good chance to take the Eastern Maine crown.
The first period of the game saw Presque Isle take a quick 1-0 lead on a goal by Brennen Shaw, with assists going to Jason Martin and Mitch Davis. The evenly-played period ended 1-0 Wildcats with Presque Isle outshooting the Black Hawks 10-7.
The second period was a different story, as the locals found their skating legs and tied the game just 2:28 into the period on a goal by Logan Holmes. Assists went to Morgan Hall and Elliot Mooers. Hall alertly centered the puck to an open Holmes from behind the net and Holmes one-timed it past the Presque Isle goalie. Just over two minutes later, the Black Hawks took the lead on a goal by Hall. He was set up by Ben Ward. The Black Hawks took the lead despite being outshot 10-9 in the period. Malik Abouleish made several grade A saves in the period to allow the Black Hawks to take the lead.
     The third period gave the boisterous fans of both teams plenty to cheer about as the fast-paced action was end-to-end with several scoring chances for each team. The Wildcats tied the game at the 3:55 mark as senior captain Dylan Collins hit for an unassisted goal. The Black Hawks retook the lead shortly afterwards as freshman Sam Fitzpatrick, subbing for an injured player, stole the puck from Shaw right in front of the Presque Isle net and in the same motion swept it past the Wildcats’ goalkeeper. This was Fitzpatrick’s first varsity goal and looked like it might give his team a victory and a trip to Winslow for the semifinal.
Shaw made up for his mistake a few minutes later as he tied the game on a shot from the left wing. This was assisted by Isaac Lajoie and Steve Ford. With half a period left to play both teams had opportunities to win the game, but neither could find the marker that would send them on in the playoffs. In the overtime, both teams gave it their all with the Black Hawks getting two shots on net and it looked liked they might have a breakaway chance, but it was whistled for a high stick. On the ensuing face off, the Wildcats scored the winning goal as Mark Carvell picked up a loose puck in the slot and found the net for the game-winner. Abouleish faced 29 shots on the night and came up with several key saves to give the Black Hawks their chance to move on. Josh MacFarline faced 28 shots in the Presque Isle net.
“Our season was one of the more interesting in the past few years,” said Houlton-Hodgdon coach Joel Trickey. “We played one of the toughest schedules in the state and managed to keep up with many of the state’s top Class B teams.”
The Black Hawks were led by five seniors, with a core group consisted of younger players.
“While we were in most of the games we lost, our inexperience often made the difference,” Trickey explained. “These kids all grew as hockey players and matured as people over the year. Our last couple of weeks, we had a very encouraging upturn in how our kids not only played, but also prepared for games. Hopefully this year’s sophomores and freshmen will bring what they have learned about playing varsity hockey to the ice next year and their progress will show in a more wins next season.”
Trickey said, while the year has been a challenge, it has been rewarding and a pleasure to have spent another season coaching the Black Hawks.
“The staff is looking forward to next season and giving our fans another year of exciting hockey,” he said.