The Class A hockey game between Thornton Academy of Saco and Bangor High School at Sawyer Arena on Saturday afternoon looked like a playoff boys hockey matchup.
Both teams contested every piece of ice in an intense defensive struggle and there weren’t many high-percentage scoring chances.
But the Trojans received a goal from senior right wing Shane Bergeron in the first minute of the second period; an insurance goal from sophomore right wing Gavin Pellerin with 5:13 left in the third period to earn a hard-fought 2-0 victory.
Senior goalie Porter Krause had 13 saves, including a massive stop on a penalty shot by sophomore left wing Andrew Slocum midway through the second period. Bangor senior goalie Liam Doughty made 20 saves in his own stellar performance.
Thornton Academy, which is atop the Class A Heal Points standings, improved to 8-1 while Bangor fell to 2-3-1.
“It was a good, old-fashioned hockey game,” Krause said. “A low scoring, neutral zone game.”
Krause made a nice right pad save off Slocum’s breakaway attempt as he was being hauled down by TA defenseman Brady Corson which produced the penalty shot. After the game, the goalie said he yelled at Slocum to tell him his shoe was untied. He shot it low pad.
“That gave us a big energy boost,” Bergeron said.
Bergeron’s goal came 49 seconds into the middle period and was set up by Evan Beaudette.
“Evan tried to get a pass to me and one of their defensemen got his stick in the way. But it went right on net so we just drove the net and I buried it,” said Bergeron, who jammed it through Doughty from the edge of the crease for his second goal of the season.
After two evenly-played periods, the Trojans did an exceptional job protecting the lead as well as seeking insurance goals and it paid off when Pellerin scored.
The Trojans held Bangor without a shot on goal in the final period until there was 2:35 remaining.
Pellerin and linemates Kyle Lesieur and Gavin Corson cycled the puck effectively in the offensive zone. Lesieur made a beautiful cross-crease pass to Pellerin, who tapped it into the net on his backhand.
Doughty had made three rapid-fire saves in the first minute of the third period to keep his team within one.
Bangor pulled Doughty in favor of an extra attacker in the final minute and generated three chances during a wild flurry in the waning seconds but Krause stopped all three shots. He credited his teammates for their role in the shutout.
“The defense held them to only 13 shots. That’s crazy,” said Krause. “They kept them to the outside which made it easier for me.”
Bangor coach Quinn Paradis said his team played better than it did in its 5-2 loss to Scarborough in its last outing, adding that he was happy with the effort but that his team needs to find ways to score. Converting the penalty shot would have been “huge,” he said.
“It gave us a good idea of how good we can be this year. We could have played better and definitely needed some more shots on net,” Bangor senior left wing and captain Mike McLean said. “But they’re one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the league so this gave us a good understanding of where we’re at.”
Up next: Both teams play again Wednesday. Bangor hosts Lewiston at 6:30 and TA plays Biddeford-Massabesic-Old Orchard Beach at 8:45.
