Sports Editor
The Presque Isle Wildcats opened their season in style, winning two home games played within three days of each other over the holiday weekend. The defending Eastern Maine Class B champs blanked Bucksport Saturday before edging MDI Monday.
A recap of games played from Sept. 1-7 follows:
Presque Isle 3, Mount Desert Island 2 – At Presque Isle Monday, reserve Ryan Thibeau scored the game-winner off a nice pass by Isaac Lajoie to lift the Wildcats to the home win in the Labor Day afternoon contest.
Wilder York and Lajoie had the other goals for the ’Cats,
“We were a little tentative in the back at times and MDI made us pay for a couple of breakdowns,” said PI coach Scott Young. “We did pass the ball very well again, but did not finish as well as we will need to as the season moves along.”
Dillon Kingsbury saved five of eight shots in goal for MDI. Dennis O’Neil had both MDI goals.
Presque Isle 6, Bucksport 0 – At Presque Isle Saturday, a hat trick by Nathaniel Postell led to a successful home and regular season opener for the Wildcats.
Nate Ackerson scored twice and Isaac LaJoie had the other goal for the winners, who enjoyed a 25-5 shot advantage.
“We passed the ball very well as a team and everyone was involved the entire game,” Young said.
Kingsbury collected four saves to earn the shutout.
Easton 7, East Grand 1 – At Danforth Saturday, Corey White scored four goals and Holden Turner had three goals and two assists to key Easton to the victory over East Grand, which was playing its first game of the season.
Cody Tompkins saved five of six shots in goal for Easton.
Andrew Gilman scored East Grand’s lone goal. Goalies Abe and Alex Brittain combined for 25 saves on 32 shots for the Vikings.
Madawaska 2, Central Aroostook 0 – At Mars Hill Friday, the Owls made it a sweep of their season series against the Panthers with the shutout victory. Jon Lee assisted Michael Cannan for goals in both the first and second halves to account for the scoring. The Panthers mustered 15 shots on goal, but could not solve goalie Jamie Cyr and the Madawaska defense.
Ross Grass saved seven of 18 shots in goal for CA, whose only losses this year have come to the Owls.
Washburn 0, Limestone-MSSM 0 — At Limestone Friday, the Beavers and Eagles played to a scoreless tie, as Washburn goalie Justin Howe had 15 saves on 22 shots and his opposite, Limestone-MSSM’s Aaron St. Pierre, had six saves on 11 shots.
Fort Fairfield 3, Washburn 2 — At Fort Fairfield Thursday, the hosts had to battle back from a one-goal deficit at halftime to pick up the triumph over the Beavers. Josh Booth scored the equalizer 10 minutes into the second half and Josh Churchill provided the game-winner with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Freshman Tyler Churchill scored his first career goal in the first half for the Tigers, while Mitchell Worcester scored both Beaver goals, with Jordan McLaughlin assisting on each one.
Chris Weeks saved six of eight shots in goal for Fort, while Justin Howe had 10 saves on 19 shots for Washburn.
Ashland 3, Hodgdon 2 — At Hodgdon Thursday, Ashland saw a quick 3-0 lead nearly evaporate as the Hornets let Hodgdon back into the game. Taylor Condon, Lucas Hafford and Alex Chasse each had a goal for Ashland. Kenny Tarr and Condon both had one assist.
For Hodgdon, Wade Estabrook scored a goal in each half.
Bobby Gardner had seven saves on 15 shots for the Hornets, while Dan McGillicuddy had 11 saves on 24 shots for the Hawks.
“We came out strong, and then got real complacent,” said Ashland coach Kevin Paradis. “The team relaxed after we were up 3-0.”
Madawaska 3, Caribou 2 — At Madawaska Thursday, the Vikings began their season falling just short of a win. Nathan Beaulieu scored with three seconds left in regulation to lift Madawaska to victory.
“It was one of the toughest losses I’ve experienced as a coach,” Shea said, “but overall, I was extremely pleased with the way we played, both offensively and defensively.”
Jeff Cyr and Jacques Daigle also had goals for the Owls.
Cameron Anderson and Ethan McDuffie scored goals for Caribou. Anderson’s was a beautifully-placed free kick from 25 yards out, with McDuffie following with a goal off an Anderson assist to make it 2-0 – a lead that Caribou held until the Owls began their comeback with 15 minutes left in the second half.
Garrett Jordan had 14 saves on 20 shots for the Vikings, while Jamie Cyr had six saves on 14 shots.
“Madawaska is a very talented, senior-laden team, and they simply refused to lose,” Shea said. “I look forward to playing them on our home turf Sept. 17.”
Central Aroostook 3, Washburn 1 — At Washburn last Tuesday, the Beavers took an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Jordan McLaughlin, off a pass from Mitchell Worcester, but that goal did not hold up as Central Aroostook scored three unanswered goals for the win.
The Panthers first goal came on a penalty kick by Dan Brewer on a handball call inside the scoring area. Brewer added another goal in the second half and Brendan York chipped in with an insurance goal to lead the Panthers to victory.
Ashland 6, Easton 1 — At Presque Isle last Tuesday, Kenny Tarr and Casey Cobb both scored two goals as the Hornets stung Easton. Royce MacDonald added a goal and two assists, and Kyle Spooner also had a goal. Lucas Hafford had two assists.
“I was happy with our offense,” said Ashland coach Kevin Paradis. “We still need to work on our defense, as we are making huge mistakes that are leading to good scoring chances.
Corey White tallied the lone goal for Easton.
Jayme D’Ozier had seven saves on 10 shots for Ashland, while Cody Tompkins had nine saves on 26 shots for the Bears.
“Easton is a much better team than they showed against us,” Paradis said. “They looked very tired, having played quite a few games in a short amount of time.”
Fort Fairfield 3, Hodgdon 1 — At Fort Fairfield last Tuesday, Josh Churchill, Brian Hale and Kenny Hernandez each had one goal to pace the Tigers to victory. Andrew Lane had Hodgdon’s only goal.
Chris Weeks stopped eight of 12 shots for Fort Fairfield, while Dan McGillicuddy had eight saves on 24 shots for the Hawks.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
SOARING INTO THE AIR to head the ball on a corner kick is Ashland’s Lucas Hafford, middle, as teammate Kenny Tarr also leaps into the air during Thursday’s game at Hodgdon. Defending on the play are Hawks’ Mike Merry, left, and Trevor Benton. The Hornets won, 3-2.
Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics
BRANDON BONVILLE of the Presque Isle Wildcats goes up high to head the ball during his team’s match against Bucksport Saturday at the Johnson Athletic Complex. PI won, 6-0, and also beat MDI Monday, 3-2.
