The Presque Isle Wildcats held a 4-2 late in the second period of their home match against No. 2 Houlton-Hodgdon last Tuesday, but the visiting Blackhawks went on to score four unanswered goals en route to the 6-4 victory.
The game did represent a major turnaround for PI since the teams’ first meeting Dec. 22, won by Houlton-Hodgdon, 8-1.
Connor Shaw and Isaac LaJoie scored two goals each for Presque Isle. LaJoie and Adam Flynn had two assists each, while Mikey Michaud, Derek Sczuroski, Jacob Buck and Shaw had one apiece.
The Blackhawks held a 35-24 advantage in shots on goal, with Josh MacFarline collecting 29 saves in net for the ’Cats.
On Friday, Presque Isle made the trip to Orono to take on the Red Riots at Alfond Arena. The Wildcats had a strong showing, firing 40 shots on goal during the first two periods and going on to an 8-5 triumph.
LaJoie scored four goals to lead the PI attack, while Tyler Seeley, Cody Merrill, Buck and Shaw had the team’s other goals. Flynn picked up three assists in the contest, while Jacob Buck had two and Merrill, Seeley, Shaw and Caleb Buck one apiece.
Both MacFarline and Nic Davis saw action in goal for Presque Isle, which takes a 6-9 record into an important 1 p.m. home match Saturday against John Bapst.
The Wildcats are currently fifth in the Eastern Maine Class B standings, just one point ahead of the sixth-place Crusaders, who hold a 5-10 record. When the teams met Jan. 14 in Bangor, Presque Isle won, 5-2.
Only the top five teams in the division will qualify for the post-season. Brewer is currently in first place at 13-0-1, followed by Houlton-Hodgdon (12-2), Old Town (9-3) and Lawrence (5-7-1).
After Saturday, Presque Isle has two regular season game remaining – Feb. 19 at Hampden and Feb. 22 at home against Brewer.
