Fortunately for the Shipbuilders, the schedule-makers helped out a bit.
Morse’s 21-0 Eastern Maine Class B victory over winless Mt. Blue on Hyde’s School turf field on Wednesday was the team’s fourth straight victory, giving the Shipbuilders a 5-4 mark.
During this winning stretch, Morse has outscored its opponents by a whopping 70-10 mark.
“It was a huge stretch for us, but I still feel we are not clicking the way we should,” said Morse coach Jay Paulus, whose slate gets tougher on Monday with a home date with undefeated St. Dom’s. The Saints beat Morse, 10-3, on April 26. “St. Dom’s is our last home game, and we are really looking toward that.
“I like playing teams that are a lot more physical. We need to work better as team, and if we don’t spread out and work the ball around, we won’t beat a St. Dom’s.”
All Morse
Mt. Blue (0-9) was on its heels right out of the gate, falling behind 3-0 less than three minutes in. The Shipbuilders cruised to a 5-0 edge after a quarter, with Schuyler Mace scoring two goals, and one coming from Alexander Paulus, Alec Beverage and Zach Hershey.
Morse kept coming in the second quarter, outscoring the Cougars 8-0 for a 13-0 edge at the half, and four goals in both the third and fourth quarters during running time amounted to the easy victory.
The Shipbuilders held a 54-7 shot advantage, peppering Mt. Blue goaltender John Andrews, who made 12 saves. Morse controlled the face-off dot to the tune of 19-6, while Mace gobbled up a game-high 10 groundballs.
On the rare occasions when the Cougars crossed the midfield line, the defense of Max Rawson, Jay Saunders, Max Unkenholz, Codi Fitzgerald and Alex Crosby knocked the ball away and scooped up the groundball.
“Our defense has really picked it up, and that is a key for us,” said Hershey, who finished with five goals and two assists. “We wanted to build some momentum, and this streak has really picked us up. Now, we have to continue this against a good St. Dom’s team. I think we can do it if we can just play together.”
Alexander Paulus had a big day, scoring five goals and dishing out four assists for nine points. Mace and Oliver Kruze both finished with a hat trick, while Matt Buczkowski picked up a goal and handed out three helpers. Dylan Crowell, Saunders and Rawson chipped in a goal each, with Beverage and Crowell adding an assist to their totals.
In goal, starter Alex Small turned away two shots, including Mt. Blue’s best chance midway through the fourth quarter when Casey Taylor fired a shot from point-blank range that Small deflected over his goal.
Morse 21, Mt. Blue 0
At Hyde School
Mt.Blue — 0 0 0 0 — 0
Morse — 5 8 4 4 — 21
Goals — (Mo) Alexander Paulus 5, Schuyler Mace 3, Alec Beverage, Zach Hershey 5, Matt Buczkowski, Dylan Crowell, Jay Saunders, Oliver Kruze 3, Max Rawson.
Assists — (Mo) Dylan Crowell, Matt Buczkowski 3, Zach Hershey 2, Alec Beverage, Alexander Paulus 4.
Shots — Morse, 54-7.
Saves — (MB) John Andrews 12; (Mo) Alex Small 2, Kevin Thibodeau 0.
Face-offs — Morse, 19-6.
Man-up opportunities — Mt. Blue 0-2, Morse 2-3.
Record — Morse 5-4, Mt. Blue 0-9.
Next for the Shipbuilders — Monday at home against St. Dom’s, 4 p.m.
sports@timesrecord.com
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