PI to face off against Winslow in semifinal match
Sports Reporter
Presque Isle and Winslow are becoming familiar foes on the ice. The teams squared off three times last year, including their meeting in the Eastern Maine championship game which was won by the Wildcats.
The teams split this season’s regular season matches, with each winning on the other’s home ice, and are set to meet again on Saturday, Feb. 27, in the semifinal round of the EM Class B playoffs.
The Wildcats are most likely going to be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming playoff tourney, giving them a bye into the division’s final four. Presque Isle finished with a 14-4 record and will meet up against a Winslow team that stood a 12-4-1 heading into Tuesday’s regular season finale against top-ranked Brewer. The semifinal against the Black Raiders is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Winslow’s Sukee Arena.
Lawrence and Houlton-Hodgdon will meet in the lone quarterfinal for the right to take on the Witches in the other semifinal.
Coach Carl Flynn said he expects his team to be ready to defend its regional title
“We are offensively more potent, our goaltending has been much more consistent and overall our defense has played pretty well,” Flynn said. “We need to play as a team and each do our part and not try to do too much individually. We need to stay out of the penalty box, which we have done a decent job of this year to date.”
The Wildcats’ regular season came to an end Friday and the team is in the midst of a two-week stretch before their opening playoff match. Senior forward Mitch Davis said there is plenty to accomplish between now and then.
“We’re feeling pretty good and we have a lot of time to figure out how we’re going to handle that game,” Davis said. “We need that time because we all agree that we still have some things to work on.”
The Wildcats lost in overtime to Houlton-Hodgdon last Tuesday, which served as a wake-up call for the team, according to senior captain Brennen Shaw.
“I think the loss makes our team realize anything can happen, and it brought us down to earth after the wins over Bangor and Winslow,” Shaw said.
The ’Cats were impressive in those road victories, which were played on consecutive Saturdays in late January. However, the home loss to Winslow Dec. 30 and the recent defeat at Houlton were unexpected and has the Wildcats motivated to avoid any further letdowns.
“Losing games that we probably should have won is a common theme to last year, but in each instance we learned a valuable lesson that should help us in the playoffs,” Flynn said.
Presque Isle is led offensively by Shaw, who became the school’s all-time leading point scorer earlier in the season and finished with 33 goals and 27 assists. Younger brother, Connor, a sophomore, had a four-goal game Jan. 26 against Old Town and finished second on the team in both goals scored (17) and points (32). They are joined on the first line by Davis (9 goals, 10 assists).
Other weapons on the front line are sophomore Isaac Lajoie (6 goals, 17 assists), senior Zac Campbell (13 goals, 9 assists) and freshman Adam Flynn (3 goals, 9 assists), who make up the second line.
The defensive trio of seniors Steve Ford and Jason Martin and junior Jacob Buck have excelled in both slowing down the other team’s top offensive threats as well as figuring in the offense. Ford had 17 assists to go along with his four goals, while Martin (7 goals, 11 assists) and Buck (3 goals, 9 assists) also proved to be top-notch two-way players.
Junior Jordan Hallett and freshman Carl Benson are the other defensemen, while the No. 3 offensive line is made up of junior Caleb Buck, sophomore Cody Merrill and junior Derek Sczuroski and the fourth line includes sophomore Evan Waddell, freshman Scott Rhynold and sophomore Kate Campbell.
Junior Josh MacFarline was one of the heroes of last season’s run through the EM playoffs and he has shared goalkeeping duties with sophomore Nic Davis.
“Both goaltenders have played well, but both have also had at least one bad game,” Flynn said. “Josh is more senior, so I plan to give him the start and it will be his to keep or lose.”
Mitch Davis has confidence in the abilities of both netminders.
“One thing that can’t hurt at all is having a hot goaltender in either Nic or Josh,” he said. “If Josh plays as well in the playoffs as he did last year and we play both a strong offensive and defensive game, I think this team can do just about anything.”
Flynn has a similar notion.
“We need our defense to help our goaltenders,” he said. “We need our second line to score to take pressure off our first line, but we need our first line to continue to produce and our third line to see some quality ice time.”
Brennen Shaw says last year’s experience does make his Wildcats more of a target for the opposition, but feels the team will respond.
“Our team is more confident than last year,” he said. “Teams come to every game expecting it to be a tough one. If we stay focused, I think it will lead to a strong playoff run.”
