BIDDEFORD — It’s amazing what 10 months can do.

Since their matchup in the Class A state championship last March, the Biddeford boys hockey team has continued their winning ways. Their opponents in that game, Waterville, well, is another story.

That point was made painfully obvious on Saturday night, as the Tigers defeated the Panthers 8-0 at the Biddeford Ice Arena.

Biddeford forward Tyler Audie set the pace by scoring a hat trick in the first period, where Biddeford took a quick 5-0 lead, before adding two more goals in the second period and one more goal in the third to seal the win.

With the win, the Tigers continue and undefeated season at 7-0-2.

Biddeford head coach Rich Reissfelder gave credit to Waterville, who were hampered with injuries, with their effort throughout the game.

“They’ve got some injury issues, and that was their backup goalie there,” Reissfelder said. “So that didn’t help them. They’ve got a lot of heart. We said that before the game, that’s a proud program, regardless if they’re hurt or having a down season. They won six straight before coming in here, so we jumped on them early.”

Scott Callahan got the scoring started for the Tigers in the first period. Audie followed suit only two minutes later, on a backhand shot off a pass from Bryan Dallaire for a 2-0 score. Three minutes later, Travis Guay scored on a rebound off Waterville goalie Dakota Gendreau (starting in place of injured goalie Cody Thibodeau)for the 3-0 score. Audie added the final two scores of the period, giving Biddeford a 5-0 lead.

Audie, a senior, said the hat trick was the first of his career.

“That was the first one ever, and it’s ironic that it happened all in the first period,” Audie said. “It was pretty cool. I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

Brady Fleurent kept the scoring up with a goal less than two minutes into the second period. Fleurent, a sophomore, now leads all of Class A hockey in scoring with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) on the season. Two minutes later, Nate Crepeau, a sophomore, scored the first goal of his young career on a backhand from the left point to bring the lead to 7-0.

Audie said it was good for young players such as Crepeau to get minutes in the game.

“It’s a long season and it’s good to get guys reps this early in the season, when it comes playoff time they’ll have their feet under them and they get some experience,” Audie said. “I think that will help come playoff time and, hopefully, when we get to states.”

Tyson Nadeau added the final goal in the third period, on a breakaway after a well-timed pass by Callahan.

Eric Grover led the Tigers with two assists on the night.

Aside from the goals, the Tigers special teams continues to play, well, special. Biddeford was 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, and are 22-for-23 (96 percent) on the season, with the one goal allowed being on a 5-on-3 opportunity in the Jan. 13 game against Falmouth.

The power play hasn’t been bad either, as the Tigers have a 44 percent (8-for-18) success rate.

“On the penalty kill, I think we just take pride in blocking shots, getting in passing lanes, that’s big for us,” Audie said. “We actually keep track of blocked shots, because that’s one of the things we think that wins championships. We joke around about that. I just think we’ve got guys that are smart. We take good angles, we get in front of passing lanes, and we get shots on the outside so [Jon Fields] and [Tyler Morton] can see them.That’s basically all we really do.”

Tyler Morton got the start in goal for Biddeford, and performed well, making 20 saves on the night for the shutout. Both of the Tigers goalies, which includes Jon Fields, have been outstanding so far this season. Morton is 3-0-1 with a 0.75 goals against average, while Fields is 2-0-1 with a 1.33 GAA.

“We’re going with a pretty standard alternating format [between Morton and Fields],” Reissfelder said. “Each one gets one, and the next guy gets the next one. And they’re doing fine. They’re both doing well, they practice hard, they’re good goalies. So we’ll keep it going for now, see if someone can pull away.”

While the Tigers remain perfect, Reissfelder said there’s still aspects where the Tigers can improve.

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting the puck out of our zone,” Reissfelder said. “We’re just chipping it up and chipping it up. Sometimes you have no choice, but when the options are there and they’re open, you’ve got to find them, and make a good pass, so there’s a lot of elements there where we can get better.”

The Tigers aren’t perfect yet, but they’re well on their way.

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318.