Story from Anthony DelMonaco
In the second game of the hockey double header at the Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer, the 4th seed and home team Hampden Academy Broncos took on the 5th seed, Houlton/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Katahdin Blackhawks.
Second year coach Eric MacDonald’s team took an early 1-0 lead with a goal from senior defenseman Joey McLain with freshman Cooper Leland on the assist.
45 seconds before heading to the locker room for the first intermission, Cooper Leland would collect his second point of the night tallying the unassisted goal to push the Broncos lead to 2-0.
Hampden Academy senior captain Marc Thibodeau sealed the scoring late in the second period with a pass from Sam Economy to put the Broncos up 3-0.
The Blackhawks created some chances in the second, but couldn’t generate many scoring opportunities on senior goalie Cole Benner. When they did get a shot on, Benner turned it away easily. Benner, one of the top goalies in the state for Class B regular season save percentage of .932 was second to Brewer’s Drew Baker at .933 in Northern Maine.
Coach MacDonald’s Broncos, coming off a major turnaround from last season get to face the top seeded Waterville who had a quarterfinal bye on Thursday at Colby College in Waterville.
For the Blackhawks, they end their season with a 9-9-1 record.
