BREWER – The second-seeded Penobscot Pioneers rang up a season-high 12 goals and advanced to the Class A North schoolgirl hockey semifinals with a 12-3 victory over seventh seed Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland at the Penobscot Ice Arena on Wednesday night.
The Pioneers, 15-4 and winners of four in a row, will take on the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 3 Brunswick, 9-9, and No. 6 Lewiston/Oak Hill, 10-8, in Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal at The Colisee in Lewiston.
Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland wound up 7-12 after going 2-16 a year ago.
Junior centers Jordin Williams and Paige Oakes led the way for the Pioneers, who are composed of players from Bangor High, Brewer, Hampden Academy, Hermon, John Bapst of Bangor, Old Town and Orono and are in just their second year of existence.
Williams notched her 30th goal of the season and also had six assists to raise that total to 35. Oakes scored her 29th, 30th and 31st goals and also had her 11th assist.
Senior defenseman Anna Molloy had two goals (12th and 13th) and two assists; junior right wing Delaney Carr had a pair of goals (12th and 13th) and senior defenseman Hannah Marsh, freshman left wing Isabelle Brideau, senior right wing Meghan Delahanty and senior center Sophie Hepler contributed a goal and an assist apiece.
Brideau’s goal was her sixth, Delahanty’s was her 21st while Marsh and Hepler each collected their second goals.
Standout senior center Kylee Spugnardi scored a pair of goals and assisted on senior center Helena Moon’s goal for the Red Hornets.
The Pioneers led 4-1 after the first period and 6-2 after the second before exploding for six third-period goals.
“We came out a little flat and their team has improved a ton since we played them the third game of the season (10-2 Penobscot win),” said Penobscot coach Jarrod Williams. “We talked between the second and third periods about our (lack of) effort. We weren’t backchecking or skating as hard as we could.
“And they really responded in the third period,” said Williams.
“It was a little rough at the beginning but we got better at the end,” said Jordin Williams, the coach’s daughter. “We realized we had to crash the net and get rebounds. They did a very good job blocking our shots.”
The speedy Oakes opened the scoring 4:30 into the game when she skated the length of the ice and went around the net before tucking a wraparound backhander inside the near post to the left of senior goalie Izzy Jalbert.
Molloy made it 2-0 with a wrist shot from the point that deflected off a Red Hornet player in front and evaded Jalbert.
Moon cut the in half by swatting home a loose puck just outside the crease but Penobscot responded just over 1:24 later when the dynamic Williams dug out a puck behind the net and fed Carr in the low shot for a quick wrister.
Brideau expanded the lead with a shot from the outer half of the the right circle while the Pioneers were on a power play.
Penobscot opened the scoring in the second period when Brideau skated around the net and found Carr in front who directed the puck past Jalbert from close range.
Spugnardi answered by flipping home her own rebound but Williams responded shortly afterward by scoring from the slot off a Molloy feed.
The Pioneers sewed up the win with goals by Delahanty and Oakes in the first 1:16 of the third period.
Sophomores Abbie Derosier and Mariah Coon and senior Peyton Sullivan combined for 16 saves in the Pioneers net while EL’s Jalbert made 55 saves including a ton of stops off Grade-A (high-percentage) opportunities.
“I was proud of our effort,” said EL coach Dana Berube. “We won only two games last year so it was good for them to get a taste of the playoffs.
“(Penobscot) is a very good team. They have a chance to win the state championship,” added Berube.
