High-powered Red Riots gain strong goalie play

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With the departure of standout goalie Stuart Cady and workhorse defensemen Matt Hedrick and Rob Murdoch, there were questions about how the Orono High School hockey team was going to keep the puck out of its net.

With returning forwards such as Jake Hedstrom, Pat Skall, Mike Merritt, and Derek Williams and the addition of John Bapst High School transfer Will Toner, opponents figured the Riots would score enough goals to win plenty of games.

Orono has certainly scored enough goals to be 16-0 after Thursday night’s 3-1 win over previously undefeated Gardiner.

The Red Riots have scored 103 for an enviable 6.4 goals-per-game average.

The surprise has been in the goals-against average, which stands at 1.75 per game. Orono has surrendered only 28 goals so far.

“We’ve received solid goaltending,” said Riot assistant and former University of Maine goalie Blair Marsh. “Paul Pangburn and Casey Hale have both stepped up and played real well. They’ve been a lot better than we expected.”

Head coach Greg Hirsch concurs.

“It wasn’t a matter of whether or not they had the skill. It came down to whether or not they had the mentality to carry the team. They’ve stepped up and played with confidence,” said Hirsch.

Hedstrom, a senior center and assistant captain, added, “We knew they had a lot of talent. They both worked hard over the summer and played a lot to get their games up to this level.”

Winslow High School coach Lee Bureau said, “Their goaltending has been more than adequate.”

Hale has a 1.56 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage while Pangburn has a 1.75 GAA and a .913 save percentage. They have split the goaltending and each has eight wins. Hale rejected 38 shots against Gardiner.

But it’s not as though Pangburn and Hale have to keep a lot of pucks out of their nets the way their teammates have been lighting the lamp.

“This may be the most depth we’ve ever had up front. We have three solid lines and our fourth line is as good, if not better, than anyone else’s third line,” said Hirsch.

Williams, a right wing and also a captain, said they take pride in their depth.

“Everybody gives 100 percent and we have interchangeable lines,” said Williams. “Nobody plays with the same linemates for more than three games.”

Hedstrom has been the catalyst up front as he has figured in nearly half of the Riot goals with 28 goals and 23 assists.

“Jake is one of the best players in the state,” stated Hirsch.

Hedstrom is flanked by Toner (15 & 17) and Nat Breece (6 & 8) while second-leading scorer Pat Skall (18 & 14) is the left wing on the second line with center Merritt (11 & 18) and RW Eric Gordon (8 & 4).

Williams (3 & 14) is the right wing on the third line with feisty titan and penalty-killing specialist Nick Dwyer (2 & 4) and LW Mark Caggiano (3 & 2).

Fourth-liners Brian Mattesich and Jay Kinzer have each scored a goal and Scott Zadakis has an assist.

Veteran Travers Kurr (2 & 5) has anchored the defense corps, and the Riots have also received quality minutes from Brian Caggiano (1 & 10), Ian Ferguson (1 & 9), Dustin Sleight (1 & 1), and James (1 & 2).

The defense corps and the goaltenders have benefited from conscientious and effective backchecking by the forwards.

“Backchecking has been a key emphasis for us,” said Williams.

The Riots have also shown an ability to overcome adversity. Hirsch received a 10-day and two-game suspension for throwing a trash can on the ice during a win over Winthrop/Hall-Dale on Dec. 27.

“I regret that. I lost my cool for 10 seconds. If there was something good that came out of it, the players learned that if you make a mistake in judgment, there is a price to pay,” said Hirsch.

“Once coach Hirsch came back, we sat down as a team and discussed what we wanted to do as far as work ethic and team stuff were concerned. Everybody started to get focused and we work as hard in practice as we do in games,” said Kurr.

He added that the Riots, the EM Class B champs two years ago, learned a more valuable lesson when they were upset by Gardiner in the Eastern Maine Class B semifinals a year ago. That has been on their minds ever since, although Thursday’s win helped ease the pain.

“We were looking ahead to facing Winslow in the final [last year],” said Kurr. “Now we take each game and each shift as it comes.”

An 8-3 win over defending state champ Winslow on Dec. 18 gave their confidence a shot in the arm and Williams said a 4-3 overtime win over Hampden Academy four days later was important.

“We had a bunch of players injured or sick and Nat Breece and I had to play defense,” said Williams. “But we had the mindset that we were going to find a way to win no matter what it takes and we did. When we accomplished that, we felt we could beat any team when we were at full strength.”

They’ve done a pretty good job of that so far.