With one minute left in overtime, Drew Marino of the Houlton Atoms was chased by a Casco Bay Thrasher defender up the ice. The Thrasher defender was riding Marino and pushing him back away from the net. Somehow, Marino gathered himself and sailed the puck over the Casco Bay goalie’s shoulder, as the crowd went wild, and the Southern Aroostook Minor Hockey Association Atoms captured the state title.
STATE CHAMPS – The Southern Aroostook Minor Hockey Association Atoms, sponsored by Grand Rental, captured the state championship. Playing for the team are, from left, front, John Thatcher and A.J. Henderson; middle, Anessa Wilde, Garrett Perkins, Daniel Moreno, Olivia Carr, Joshua Malone, Drew Marino and Sam Lilley; back, coach Eric Cowperthwaite, Nicholas Cowperthwaite, Nick DeLucca, Kinsman Corthell, Abe Lorom, Jamie Palmer, Zachary Fitzpatrick, Jeremy Fitzpatrick, James Toby and coach Tony Marino.
The Houlton 9-10-year-old Atoms, sponsored by Grand Rental, competed in the Maine Amateur Hockey Association (MeAHA) state game and defeated the Casco Bay Thrashers 4-3 in overtime at the Kennebec Ice Arena in Augusta last Saturday.
The Atoms were off to a strong start in championship game, as Kinsman Corthell scored the first goal for Houlton off a Jeremy Fitzpatrick assist. The Houlton team forged a 3-0 lead after the second period when Marino scored, assisted by Nick DeLucca, and Abe Lorom found the net unassisted.
Going into the third, the Houlton crowd and team were feeling confident, but guarded, knowing the Thrashers were a tough opponent. The Atoms met the Thrashers in the Tier III Squirt Tournament held Feb. 12-14 at the Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer, edging them 2-1.
The Thrashers mounted a comeback scoring twice within a four-minute span to cut the lead to 3-2 with just five minutes left to play. The Houlton contingent held their breath. The clock slipped down to two minutes and Houlton was still leading, but then, it happened. The Thrashers scored the tying goal.
The Houlton Atoms didn’t panic. They kept the puck in the Thrashers’ zone, feeding Nick Cowperthwaite at the blue line for several shot attempts, but they came up empty, heading to a 10-minute overtime period.
With the game on the line, both teams had shots on goal, but none could get by the goalies. With four minutes left, Houlton took a blow when Josh Malone was hit with a penalty, giving the Trashers a 5-on-4 advantage. Then, DeLucca was penalized and it became a 5-on-3 game.
But, Cowperthwaite, Lorom and Marino stepped up for defensive stops to hold off the Thrashers, as Malone returns for 5-on-4 play with about a minute and a half to play. The Houlton defense remained solid and it appeared as if it could go into a shootout until Marino scored with 59 seconds left.
Marino’s teammates skated to him, tackled him and piled up on him, as the ice was littered with gloves and sticks, and the celebration began.
“The kids played their hearts out,” said coach Tony Marino, who coaches with Eric Cowperthwaite. “It was great to see their hard work pay off. It was close for a while, but we finally pulled it off. I am so proud of them.”
