November 22, 2024
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY

Rams hand archrival Witches 1st loss Boehmer hat trick cements Bangor win

BANGOR – Sophomore left wing Johnny Warren said he and Bangor High School linemates Matt Boehmer and Christian Dionne knew they had to have a productive night if they were going to beat undefeated archrival Brewer Thursday night.

And they did, combining for all five goals, with Boehmer notching three of them, as the Class A Rams beat Class B Brewer 5-1 at a jam-packed Sawyer Arena.

The game was much closer than the score.

Junior goalie Andrew Riley was forced to make several quality saves among his 25 for the 6-1 Rams, who beat Brewer for the seventh straight time.

Brewer goalie Aaron Saunders (20 saves) also played well.

Senior center Boehmer had an assist to go with his three goals, junior right wing Dionne had a goal and two assists, and Warren had a goal and an assist. Senior defenseman Jake Silver had two assists.

Dave Perry scored for Brewer (7-1).

“We knew tonight was our time to lead the team and get them going,” said Warren.

Dionne said, “We were gunning for them. This game meant big points for us.”

“That line clicked all night long,” said Brewer senior defenseman and tri-captain Devin Fitzpatrick. “After the first goal, we should have shadowed Boehmer or paid more attention to that line.”

“We didn’t play bad tonight. We just didn’t play smart,” said Fitzpatrick.

Boehmer opened the scoring 43 seconds into the second period when he followed up a Dionne breakaway which was foiled by a Saunders poke-check.

“I had my stick on the ice, I stopped, and the puck hit my stick and went in,” said Boehmer.

Warren made it 2-0 5:39 later when he was sent in alone by Dionne.

“[Saunders] started coming out and I made a little fake with my leg. He tried to poke-check me and I went around him and shot it in,” said Warren.

Perry cut the lead in half at the 11:16 mark when he one-timed a precise cross-ice backhand pass from Marc Relford past Riley.

But Dionne restored the two-goal advantage 1:29 later on the power play.

The bouncing puck landed on Warren’s stick at the post to Saunders’ right and he slid it across the crease to Dionne for an easy tap-in.

“We worked all week on posting in front of the net and Johnny gave me a nice pass across,” said Dionne.

Boehmer cemented the win by scoring 27 seconds apart late in the third period.

On the first one, he picked up a loose puck at center ice, started cutting from right to left across the low slot, and directed the puck into the open short side as Saunders moved across with him.

He capped his hat trick on the power play by deflecting a Dionne pass behind Saunders.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Riley said his mates made his job easy.

“Everybody played great in front of me. They cut down all of their good chances. I just had to stop easy shots from the outside,” said Riley, who added that he was focused and wanted to win the game for his goalie coach, Joe Walton, who was at Brewer last year.

“He made some great saves. We hadn’t faced a goalie that good all year,” said Brewer center and leading scorer Dylan Fitzpatrick. “And our shooting was definitely off tonight.”

Bangor coach Ted Taylor said his defense corps “played spectacular, especially against a high-flying team like Brewer that can score goals.”

Brewer averaged 8.9 goals in its first seven games.

RAMS 5, WITCHES 1

Brewer (7-1) 0 1 0 – 1

Bangor (6-1) 0 3 2 – 5

First period – No scoring. Penalties: Brew, Kotredes, hooking, 4:38; Ban, Whitney, slashing, 8:32; Brew, Kotredes, tripping, 11:48.

Second period – 1. Ban, Boehmer (Dionne, Silver), :43; 2. Ban, Warren (Dionne), 6:22; 3. Brew, Perry (Relford, Lopez), 11:16; 4. Ban, Dionne (Warren, Boehmer), 12:45 (pp). Penalties: Ban, Mooers, holding, 3:59; Brew, Coombs, slashing, 6:44; Ban, Silver, holding, 7:42; Brew, Perry, boarding, 11:44; Ban, Whitney, holding, 14:52.

Third period – 5. Ban, Boehmer (unassisted), 11:13; 6. Ban, Boehmer (Dionne, Silver), 11:40 (pp). Penalties: Brew, Lopez, tripping, 1:52; Brew, De. Fitzpatrick, tripping, 4:36; Brew, Relford, tripping and 10-minute misconduct, 11:30; Brew, Kotredes, interference, 12:43; Ban, George, holding the stick, 13:25; Brew, Swett, slashing, 14:22; Ban, Trundy, interference, 14:40.

Shots on goal: Brewer 9-9-8-26; Bangor 10-8-7-25

Goaltenders: Brewer, Saunders (25 shots-20 saves); Bangor, Riley (26-25)

Power-play opportunities: Brewer 0 of 4, Bangor 2 of 8

Attendance: 800 (est.)


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