HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton-Hodgdon-Southern Aroostook-Katahdin cooperative hockey team is heading to the playoffs for the second straight season thanks to an impressive end of year streak.
Winners of four of their last five games, the Black Hawks finished the regular season with an 8-9-1 record, which earned the team the No. 5 seed in the Class B North standings.
The Black Hawks will face the No. 4 seed Hampden Academy (12-6) Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer in the quarterfinal round. If the team is to taste success, it will need to shake off the 5-1 loss the Broncos gave them in that arena back on Jan. 20.
At home, the Black Hawks beat Hampden Academy 3-2 on Feb. 16.
“We have had a great second half of the season,” Houlton assistant coach Dave Wilson said. “We have been playing solid hockey for the entire season, out shooting our opponents and controlling the play, but we weren’t scoring. That is what has changed. We are now getting quality shots on net from many players.”
Last year, the Black Hawks also finished as the No. 5 seed and faced No. 4 Hampden. This year’s squad is hoping for a better outcome as the Broncos skated to a 3-0 victory over the Black Hawks in the quarterfinal.
Wilson said much of the team’s success of late can be attributed to solid play from its seniors AJ Henderson, Nick DeLucca, Brandon Dunn, Abe Lorom, Drew Marino and Zach Fitzpatrick. “Both AJ Henderson and Brandon Dunn are finding the back of the net resulting in wins rather than close game losses,” he said.
Wilson also attributed the stellar play of freshman goaltender Elijah Matheson, who stepped in as the starting goalie during the team’s dramatic turnaround. “Elijah has been in net and doing a fantastic job making very big saves,” he said.
Facing the Broncos for the third time on the season should leave no surprises for either squad and the Black Hawks are determined to continue their hot hand, the coach added.
“The team spirit is great and we are confident and focused,” Wilson said.
