The Houlton-Hodgdon Black Hawks’ season ended Monday with a 3-2 loss to Lawrence in a quarterfinal game played at the Millar Civic Center in Houlton. The Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead on a power-play goal just 2:42 into the game, as the Black Hawks took two early tripping penalties giving Lawrence a 5-3 man advantage. The first period ended 1-0 for the Bulldogs, with Houlton-Hodgdon putting 10 shots on the Lawrence goaltender and the Black Hawks’ goalie Malik Abouleish turning back four Bulldog shots, only letting the two-man advantage goal beat him.
“We started off a little slow in this game and it cost us an early goal,” said Black Hawks coach Joel Trickey. “While we controlled a lot of the play, it seemed we were a little out of sync all night. Most of our players haven’t been in the high-pressure situation of a playoff game. While it’s disappointing to have our season end, this experience will help our team next season.”
The second period saw the Black Hawks tying the score as Nick Chase tipped a Kam Lincoln shot in behind the Lawrence goaltender. Jared Tapley also picked up an assist on the tying goal.
Lawrence countered with a superb individual effort by senior Joshua Dearborn, as he scored two goals in a three-and-a-half minute span to give Lawrence a 3-1 lead. The Black Hawks pulled within one after Ben Ward scored with 2:01 left in the period. Ward’s goal was set up by Cody Briggs and Lincoln.
Abouleish faced nine Bulldog shots in the period, as the Black Hawks put 11 shots on their opponents’ net.
The third period saw the Black Hawks put another eight shots on the Bulldog net, but they couldn’t get anything past the Lawrence netminder. With 14 seconds left, Abouleish was pulled for an extra attacker. In what seemed to be the Black Hawks netting the tying goal was ruled a no goal by the official, as the puck didn’t quite make it over the goal line.
Never giving up, the Black Hawks played hard looking to tie the game in the last few seconds, but couldn’t come up with the goal to extend their season. The Black Hawks finished with 29 shots on the Lawrence goalie and Abouleish faced 21 shots in the Houlton-Hodgdon net.
“We lose two outstanding defensemen, but return 10 forwards who have gained a lot of experience this year,” said Trickey. “We’re already pretty excited about our chances of having a really good season next year. The team would like to thank our fans for their support this year and we hope to see you all back next year. I’d like to thank our senior captains Jake Peabody and Jared Tapley for their hard work and leadership this year everyone here will miss you both next year.”
