Kerluke: Top ‘A’ line is Bangor’s Talented trio totals 36 goals, 36 assists

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Bangor High School hockey coach Dan Kerluke calls his high-scoring line of left wing Nick Payson, center T.J. Vanidestine and right wing Dylan George “the best line I’ve seen in Class A hockey, bar none.”

He may be a bit biased, but the statistics validate his claim. They have combined for 36 goals and 36 assists to power the Rams to an 8-2 record that includes impressive wins over Lewiston, Waterville, Cony and Brewer.

Payson is the second-leading scorer in Class A with 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points in 10 games; George is tied for fourth with 21 points on 13 goals and 8 assists and Vanidestine is tied for eighth, with 20 points on 4 goals and 16 assists.

“They’re probably the top line in the state,” agreed Brewer coach Steve Van Dolman. “They have all the ingredients you need: a goal scorer [Payson], a crafty playmaker [George] and a hard worker [Vanidestine].”

Kerluke said the three of them are “all a little different.

“Nick is at the high end. He’s a skilled all-around player. He can muck the puck out of the corner, he can shoot it, he can skate. He has the whole package. Dylan can make college level passes. He can score as well. He’s been scoring a lot lately. T.J. is the workhorse. He gets that puck first, wherever it is, and digs it out for those two.

“The chemistry is where it needs to be. The puck movement is great. They’re on the same page and they trust each other,” added Kerluke who has had them together since the first day of tryouts.

“We’re all working together now,” said Vanidestine. “We’re moving our feet. Coach [Kerluke] pointed out on video that if two of us were working, one of us would be standing still in front. Now we’re all moving and that makes it hard to cover us.”

George admitted that he was the culprit more often than not.

“T.J. and Nick told me I was standing in front of the net a little bit too much and they were doing all the cycling. Now I’m starting to go down low and passing out in front to Nick and T.J.,” said George.

Payson said they have developed a productive familiarity with each other.

“We’re starting to know where each other is going to be. If T.J. is in the corner, he knows one of us will be there ready to support the puck. He doesn’t have to look around,” said Payson.

They also know their roles.

“I see myself as the scrapper. I go in the corners and dig the puck out. I know if I can get the puck to Nick or Dylan, there’s a good chance it’s going in the net,” Vanidestine said.

“I’m the bigger one so I hit a lot more and when the guys give me the puck, most likely I’m going to try to score,” said the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Payson. “They look to me to score and, hopefully, I can do it.”

The 5-foot-10, 140-pound George, who had been a defenseman until this season, said he tries to “hook Nick and T.J. up with passes. But if I’m open, they’ll give me a pass. Everybody can make a pass, skate and hit. You know what they’re going to do and what they can do.”

Bangor senior goalie Aaron Buzzell said he is thankful they are his teammates and not his opponents.

“They’re great at cycling the puck down low. I’ve never seen anything like it in high school hockey before,” said Buzzell.

They enjoy being linemates and have developed a healthy confidence.

“It’s nice to know that if you play to your potential, you’re capable of scoring goals. It’s kind of like incentive. If you work hard, you know you’re going to be very productive,” said Vanidestine, who is 5-9, 175 pounds.

They also know it’s important to have a good work ethic game in and game out because, as Payson pointed out, their teammates “will pick their games up.”

Kerluke said one thing that has helped the line is the Rams have more depth up front and that enables him to rest them and keep them fresh.

Kerluke said the decision to move George up to right wing was predicated by a need for more offense.

“He’s an offensive-minded guy and at this level of hockey, the more offense you can generate, the better it is for your team,” said Kerluke. “It has worked out really well.”

He also sought to put quality players on a line with Payson because there had been a void in the past and he was forced to do too much individually.

“Nick had to lug the puck from top to bottom and guys were converging on him so he wasn’t able to do too much,” said Kerluke.

That certainly isn’t the case these days.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in high school hockey before.”

Aaron Buzzell