Black Hawks win two

The Houlton Hodgdon Black Hawks picked up a pair of wins, as they defeated Old Town, 8-1 last Thursday, and took a 3-1 road win over John Bapst last Friday in Bangor.
The Old Town game saw the Black Hawks jump out to a quick 1-0 lead on a marker by Dylan Gard at the 12:55 mark of the first period. Assists went to Ben Ward and Kam Lincoln. Old Town tied the score just two minutes later, but Jordan Brown regained the lead on a shot from the point with just under six minutes left in the period. Assists went to Jordan Russell and Parker Sanderson. Nick Chase picked up the first of two consecutive goals with just 11 seconds left in the period, assisted by Cody Briggs and Ward.
The second period saw the Black Hawks strike for three more goals to make the score 6-1 after two. Chase hit for his second of the night, assisted by Ward. Briggs found the twine, assisted by Ward then Ward hit for one of his own, assisted by Chase and Lincoln.
The Black Hawks tallied two more in the third for the final margin. Sanderson hit the net, assisted by line mates Russell and Sam Fitzpatrick; and Logan Holmes finished the scoring, assisted by Lucas Grant.
Malik Abouleish ended the night in net with 12 saves and the Black Hawks put 54 shots on the beleaguered Coyote netminder.
“The team played very well in the Old Town game maintaining their intensity through the entire 45 minutes,” said Black Hawks coach Joel Trickey. “They totally dominated play and the results speak for themselves.”
On Friday, the Black Hawks traveled to Bangor to take on a much improved John Bapst squad. The Black Hawks handled the Crusaders easily in a preseason tourney, but John Bapst put up a good fight in this game.
Ward opened the scoring just 41 seconds into the game on a nice tip of a Briggs’ pass. The score remained 1-0 until the 2:29 mark of the second when Josh Bragan wristed a high shot over the Bapst goalie’s shoulder from the high slot. Ward then added to the lead with a short-handed effort taking the puck from his own end and finishing the play with a close in shot that beat the goaltender cleanly. John Bapst scored in the middle of the third period to tighten the score.
Avery Kibler got the start in net for the Black Hawks and made several grade A saves, said Trickey, among his 26 for the evening.
“Against John Bapst, I think we came into the game thinking it would be an easy win and we never reached the intensity level we’re looking for,” said Trickey. “While John Bapst played well, the final 3-1 score is more a result of our lack of intensity than anything else. Hopefully, we’ve rectified that and we come ready to give 110 percent effort for the rest of the season.”
The Black Hawks face County rival Presque Isle tonight at 6 p.m. at the Millar Civic Center.
“Hopefully, a large crowd will turn out to cheer the kids on,” Trickey said. “When these two teams get together, you never know how the game will turn out.”