George goal gives Bangor overtime victory, berth in EM final

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LEWISTON – The Brunswick Dragons thought they had won the game in the final minute, but the goal was disallowed.

The Bangor Rams’ Dylan George also thought he had won the game in the final minute of regulation. He and his team, too, were mistaken.

In overtime, though, with a wide-open net beckoning, one word resounded between George’s ears: redemption.

“I was flipping out at first [when the original goal was waved off],” said George, “but I understand that the ref thought he had it. They had one taken away, so we were even. [In overtime], I was just following the puck. When I got it, I flipped out and was like, wow.”

George slid the puck past a diving Dennis Estes after Jason Eremita stunned the goaltender with a quick wrist shot from the left side as No. 1 Bangor edged No. 4 Brunswick 4-3 in an Eastern Maine Class A hockey semifinal Saturday night.

“It was tit-for-tat in the final minute of the third,” said Bangor coach Dan Kerluke. “I told them after the game that we were one step closer to a title because of the way we dealt with adversity.”

Bangor advances to play in the EM championship at Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center at 6 p.m. Tuesday against No. 2 Lewiston, which defeated No. 3 Messalonskee 2-1 at the Colisee in the second game of the doubleheader.

Brunswick, meanwhile, had the edge twice in the game, once at 2-0 in the second, and again at 3-2 early in the third.

“Between the second and third periods, we knew that the next goal was going to be huge,” said Brunswick coach Mike Routhier. “They got it and they cashed in, took the momentum and didn’t look back.”

In the third, with Bangor facing a 3-2 deficit, Nick Payson tied the score with a great finish on a George crossing feed from the left circle, setting the stage for the circus in the final minute, and for George’s heroics.

Cory Broniarczyk put the Dragons ahead 1-0 late in the first period after Brunswick dominated play for more than five minutes in the Bangor end. With the play pinned behind the net, Broniarczyk dug in front of Aaron Buzzell and waited while teammate Jason Lachance poked the puck free behind the cage. Lachance slid the puck to Blaine Cardali in the left corner, and he zipped a pass into the middle. All Broniarczyk had to do was angle his stick properly and give the puck a tap, sending it past the prone Bangor netminder.

“Aaron’s the kind of goaltender that won’t let a bad goal bother him,” said Kerluke. “He was a little nervous to start the game. There was a lot of pressure on him, but he’s been consistent all year.”

In the second, after the Dragons took a 2-0 lead on a Chris Pendagast tally, Bangor started on the comeback trail.

Payson’s first shot on Estes hit the Brunswick netminder in the left pad, but the rebound came out to T.J. Vanidestine who banged the puck into the net, cutting the lead in half.

Payson got one of his own four minutes later, at the 12:16 mark of the middle period, when he took his own rebound of a high wrist shot, slid to the right and blasted a slapper past Estes’ glove, knotting the score at 2-2.

“At 2-0, that’s always the toughest lead in hockey,” said Kerluke. “To go down 3-0, especially in the playoffs, that would have been tough for us to come back from.”

The teams appeared ready to skate to the locker room deadlocked, with Bangor carrying the bulk of the action as the minutes ticked off the clock, but Brunswick came up with one more blue-line stand.

Doug Wright took a wrap-around clearing attempt at the blue line, skated three strides into the zone up the left boards and sent a slow roller toward the net. The puck missed five pairs of skates and five sticks, including Buzzell’s, and slid helplessly into the net, giving the Dragons a 3-2 edge with 20 seconds to play.

RAMS 4, DRAGONS 3 (OT)

Brunswick 1 2 0 0 – 3

Bangor 0 2 1 1 – 4

First period – 1. Brun, Broniarczyk (Cardali, Lachance) 10:47

Second period – 2. Brun, Pendagast (unassisted) 3:32 (pp); 3. Ban, Vanidestine (Payson, George) 8:37; 4. Ban, Payson (George, Eremita) 12:16 (pp); 5. Brun, Wright (unassisted) 14:40

Third period – 6. Ban, Payson (George, Vanidestine) 7:33

Overtime – 7. Ban, George (Eremita) 1:05 (pp)

Shots on goal: Bangor 4-14-8-2-28; Brunswick 9-8-5-1-23

Goaltenders: Bangor, Buzzell (23 shots-20 saves); Brunswick, Estes (28-24)

Power-play opportunities: Bangor 2 of 3; Brunswick 1 of 4