Though Mother Nature tried to put the hard work on hold after dumping two feet or more of snow Friday night and into Saturday, the Dragons and Red Eddies got their contest in at Sidney J. Watson Arena, with Brunswick’s 5-2 victory giving the Dragons a good outlook on the postseason.
The win gets Brunswick, which entered the contest in the seventh spot in the Maine Principals’ Association Heal Point Standings, back to the .500 mark (7-7-1), while EL dropped to 4-9-2 and maintains the eighth and final playoff position in Eastern A. Brunswick visits Maranacook/ Hall-Dale/Winthrop on Wednesday, the first of three road contests to end the regular season.
Brunswick jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead and never looked back.
“This was as good as we could anticipate,” said Routhier, after his Dragons ended a three-game winless streak (0-2-1). “After our game against Gorham (a 4-3 loss on Feb. 2) and two hard practices this week, it was a bounce back game for us. We just wanted to get a win, and we really hadn’t had a good win. Even though Edward Little is below us in the standings, I classify this as a good win. We just want to get going in the right direction.”
Out quick
Brunswick fired the first six shots out of the gates, and took a 1-0 lead when Ryan Maciejewski took a lead pass from Matt Brooks and slid the puck under the leg pad of EL goaltender Zach Gosselin at 4:45 of the opening frame.
Linemate Kyle Woodruff, with Cam Heatley and Tyler Sullivan assisting, made it 2-0 just 47 seconds later, and a Heatley blast from the point on the power play was assisted by Woodruff with 1:10 left in the first for the three-goal edge.
The line of Brooks, Maciejewski and Woodruff accounted for four of Brunswick’s goals, with Brooks scoring late in the middle frame for a 4-1 lead after EL had cut the Dragons lead to two on a power-play marker by Sedrick Simons.
“When they go, we go, and with any good team in the state that is the way it goes,” said Routhier of his top line. “They were running on all cylinders and moving the puck well.”
“We came out good, and I received a great break-out pass and had Matt behind me in case it didn’t go in,” said Maciejewski of his opening goal that set the tone. “Our line was really good tonight, talking, passing well and just clicking. This is a big win. It should bring us up a little bit more. But, we can always improve.”
Nursing a 4-1 lead in the third period, Brunswick put this one away when Jacob McGowan skated out from behind the Red Eddies net and beat Gosselin at 7:34 to make it a four-goal game.
EL’s Chris Poisson finished the scoring, tapping in a pass from behind the net from teammate Matt Grenier with 6:27 left.
Brunswick netminder Joe Coulombe made 13 saves for the win, while Gosselin was busy, making 34 saves as the Dragons outshot the Red Eddies 39-15.
Sullivan had two assists for Brunswick, with Heatley, Brooks and Woodruff picking up one goal and a helper each. Defensively, Heatley, Nate Granholm, Sullivan, Rudy Dumont and Andrew Auclair were solid.
Brunswick 5,
Edward Little 2
At Sidney J. Watson Arena
EL— 011—2
Brunswick—311—5
First period — 1. (B) Ryan Maciejewski (Matt Brooks), 4:45; 2. (B) Kyle
Woodruff (Cam Heatley, Tyler Sullivan),
5:32; 3. (B) Cam Heatley (Kyle
Woodruff), pp, 13:50. Penalties — (B)
Tyler Sullivan, tripping, 8:52; (EL) Liam
Benson, hooking, 13:21.
Second period — 4. (EL) Sedrick
Simons (Liam Benson, Branden Dyer),
pp, 7:34; 5. (B) Matt Brooks (Tyler Sullivan), 11:36. Penalties — (B) Dwayne
Palmer, hit to head, :59; (EL) Cade
Chapman, hooking, 2:29; (B) Josh
Thibeault, tripping, 5:35; (EL) Matt
Berube, roughing, 13:02; (EL) Cade
Chapman, high sticking, 14:14.
Third period — 6. (B) Jacob
McGowan, 7:34; 7. (EL) Chris Poisson
(Matt Gernier), 8:33. Penalties — (B)
Tyler Sullivan, interference, 4:34; (B)
Dwayne Palmer, unsportsmanlike,
11:44; (EL) Matt Grenier, hooking,
14:58.
Shots on goal — (EL) — 4-5-6—15;
(B) 15-16-8—39.
Saves — (EL) Zach Gosselin 34; (B)
Joe Coulombe 13.
Power play opportunities — (EL) 1-5;
(B) 1-4.
Records — Brunswick 7-7-1, Edward
Little 4-9-2.
Next for the Dragons — Wednesday at
Kents Hill against Maranacook/Hall-
Dale/Winthrop, 4 p.m.
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