The Hampden Academy hockey team wanted a measure of revenge on Thursday night when they took on Camden Hills High School from Rockport in a Class B North game.
Camden Hills beat the Broncos 5-2 in last year’s B North championship game thanks to three goals in the first 2:17 of the third period.
Hampden Academy got its revenge by the same score as senior goalie Aaron Donovan made 38 saves and the Broncos received a goal and an assist apiece from seniors Andrew Crouse and Adrian Webb and sophomore Lucas Dunn.
Crouse’s goal sewed up the win with 2:05 remaining in regulation and Dunn added an empty-net goal.
Hampden Academy improved to 3-2-1 while Camden Hills fell to 4-3.
Donovan said the final has been haunting him for eight months.
“I wanted that one back. We should have won that game. But they’re a great team,” said Donovan, whose most important save came off a break-in by freshman left winger Bridger Witbeck with five minutes left.
Hampden Academy was leading 3-2 and Witbeck burst down the left wing and made a crafty move to get around a Bronco defenseman and cut in alone on Donovan.
“I was about to bite but I held my [skate] edges, saw him make the move and I slid over and got my left pad on the shot,” Donovan said. “I locked in for the shot and let my instincts kick in.”
“[Donovan] turned in a helluva’ performance,” said Camden Hills coach John Magri. “We moved the puck well. We just couldn’t open him up.”
Camden Hills had a 40-24 shots-on-goal advantage but the Broncos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and the Windjammers could never tie it up despite cutting the lead to 2-1 and 3-2.
Tucker Leland and Keith Brooks staked the Broncos to a 2-0 lead with power plays goals at the 2:56 and 10:01 marks before Aiden Aselton scored on the power play with 2:16 left in the period.
Adrian Webb scored what proved to be the game-winner at the 2:21 mark of the second period but Gunnar Weil answered for Camden Hills at the 9:10 mark.
The Windjammers stormed the HA net seeking the equalizer but Donovan made 16 saves in the middle period and his teammates did a much better job limiting Camden Hills’ scoring chances in the third period.
Senior winger Crouse finally supplied HA with that vital insurance goal off a two-on-one with Webb, who passed it over to him.
“I saw that Adrian had the puck and their defenseman pinched over toward him so I called for the pass. I put the puck on my backhand and beat the goalie [Quinn Hoppin],” said Crouse, who sliced from right to left across the low slot before flipping the backhander inside the near side post.
“That goal was huge. That enabled us to play more relaxed,” said Hampden Academy first-year head coach Zach Wilson. “They outshot us nearly 2-1 but we capitalized on our opportunities.They’re a great team, they’re well-coaches, they play a 200-foot game and they have some kids who can fly.”
Leland opened the scoring when he rushed the puck through the neutral zone, cut from left to right in the offensive zone and beat Hoppin with a 22-foot snap shot from the inner half of the right faceoff circle.
Brooks made it 2-0 with a tap-in at the far post after being set up by Dunn and Matthew Shayne.
Aselton beat Donovan with a low one-timer from the left circle after the dynamic Owen McManus chased down a loose puck behind the net and passed it out to him.
Webb made it 3-1 when he redirected Zach Wilson’s low shot from the point up over the shoulder of Hoppin.
Weil’s goal came off a sustained forecheck with McManus and Flynn Lilly picking up assists.
Weil swatted the puck into the short side from 14 feet out during a scramble in front.
Hoppin, the only goalie on the Windjammers roster, wound up with 19 saves.
Camden Hills will host Old Town-Orono on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. while Hampden Academy will play again next Thursday at Brunswick at 4:45 p.m.
