Eremita sparks defense Bangor in first EM final tonight

Third-year Bangor High School hockey coach Dan Kerluke calls it “the best decision I’ve ever made as a coach.”

To shore up an inexperienced defense corps, Kerluke moved senior right wing Jason Eremita back to defense during the preseason. Eremita had spent a productive junior year playing on a high-powered line with 39-goal scorer Nick Payson and playmaker T.J. Vanidestine.

“During the middle of tryouts, I asked him if I could play defense just for a little bit. And I wound up staying there. I like defense. It’s a good fit for me,” said Eremita who has been the backbone of a blue-line corps that has helped goalie Aaron Buzzell limit opponents to two goals per game.

“Jason is so quick. Even if he does get beat, he can get back quickly and break up the play,” said Kerluke. “He’s the anchor of our defense corps. He can also produce [offensively] when we need him to.”

“He’s a very good player,” said Lewiston coach Tim Smith. “He went coast-to-coast to score a goal against us. He’s a solid defenseman. He’s made the transition quite easily.”

Eremita has notched three assists in Bangor’s playoff wins over Mount Ararat of Topsham (6-0) and Brunswick (4-3 in overtime), including the assist on Dylan George’s game-winner against Brunswick.

The Rams will play in their first Eastern Maine Class A championship game in their 22-year history tonight.

The 18-4 Rams, the top seed, will try to beat No. 2 Lewiston, 17-5, for the third time this season at 6:30 at Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center. The Western A title game will follow with No. 1 Cheverus of Portland (19-1) meeting No. 2 St. Dominic of Auburn, 20-2.

Eremita, one of the team captains, said among the biggest challenges in making the switch to defense has been compensating for his 5-foot-7, 150-pound frame.

“I can be a little scrappy forward but it’s hard to be a little scrappy defenseman,” said Eremita. “It would be a little bit better if I was bigger.”

So how does he hold his own in those critical one-on-one battles the puck in the corner?

“I get real low and try to get near the puck and pin it. Then I try to move it with my feet as best I can,” explained Eremita, who had been a forward his entire career until seeing some limited duty on the blue line last season.

He considers himself a stay-at-home defenseman although he said “when I see some open ice in front of me, I love to skate with it. But I always think defense first.”

Another adjustment has involved adapting to new skating tendencies.

“The changing of directions is the big thing you have to get down. Forwards to backwards, backwards to forwards. It has been a big switch,” said Eremita who is going to study engineering at the University of Maine in the fall.

Eremita and the Rams will have to continue to find ways to neutralize Lewiston’s top lines like they did during the regular season in 4-1 and 4-0 victories.

“They’re a real good team, especially their top line [seniors Adam Wilding, Brian Ricker and Joe Gauthier],” Eremita said. “They move the puck real well and they cycle the puck real well. We’ve got to pin them and stay with them to stop cycling from happening. We’ve also got to hold the neutral zone as best we can defensively.”

Bangor continues to be led, offensively, by left wing Payson (42 goals, 28 assists) and linemates Vanidestine (11 & 36) and George (23 & 23).

Lewiston, playing in its fourth straight EM title game, has won nine of its last 10 behind the Wilding line; a veteran defense corps headed up by senior Tim Roy and goalies Nick Langlais and Brian Nason.

“We’ve got to play better in the defensive zone and capitalize on our opportunities because Buzzell doesn’t give you many opportunities,” said Smith whose Blue Devils eliminated Bangor 4-3 in overtime in the EM semis last year.