BANGOR, Maine — Bangor was without its leading scorer again on Friday night.
With Trevor DeLaite attending his brother’s wedding in Florida, Owen Trundy moved up from his usual defense spot up to the Rams’ first line.
The senior responded by scoring two goals, including the eventual game-winner in the second period, to lead Bangor to a 4-1 boys hockey victory over Cheverus of Portland at Sawyer Arena.
“It’s nice. It’s fun playing with my two best friends,” Trundy said of senior linemates Derek Fournier and Nick Graham. “We’ve been playing together since we were little.”
Coach Quinn Paradis’ Bangor squad (7-2) overcome a hard-charging early surge by the Stags (6-2) in each of the first two periods and scored twice in the third period to finally gain the upper hand.
Cheverus overwhelmed the Rams for extended periods, but the hosts survived the pressure and held the Stags in check.
“They outplayed us most of the game at the offensive end,” Paradis said, “but goaltending was the difference. Our goaltender played great and he gives us a chance to win every time.”
Sophomore Derek Fournier piled up 29 saves on 30 shots to pick up the win.
“My defense does a great job of letting me see the puck all the way,” Derek Fournier said.
Jake Fournier and senior defenseman Brennan Lane tallied the other goals for Bangor, while Graham and junior Ben Crichton each provided an assist.
Senior Kyle Severance was not nearly as busy for the Stags and finished with 15 saves on 19 shots.
Senior left winger Alex Libby scored the only goal for Cheverus.
Cheverus used its speed and intensity to set up shop in the Bangor end. The Stags uncorked eight shots in the first 10:03 of the game, including Libby’s tally.
He alertly swooped and hacked the puck into the net at the far post after Cam Dube’s slap shot from the left point tricked through Derek Fournier’s pads 7:57 into the contest.
Bangor did not muster its first shot on goal until Lane’s shot from the right point with 8:10 remaining in the first period, but the Rams got on the board shortly thereafter.
Bangor managed some sustained pressure and got off a couple of point-blank shots from the slot that were blocked by Severance. However, Fournier pounced on the loose puck and fired it into the goal at the 7:33 mark.
“We’ve got good speed. We thought we could keep the pressure on them and create some scoring chances,” said Cheverus coach Dan Lucas. “We had some pretty good rebounds that we didn’t put away.”
Cheverus gained a power play 12 seconds into the second period, but managed only one shot. The visitors didn’t allow one by the Rams until only 4:23 remained.
Bangor again proved opportunistic during a 4-on-4 in the final minute. Jake Fournier fired a hard shot from low in the right circle that was saved by Severance, but the rebound squirted over to Trundy, who buried the puck into the open net to give the Rams a 2-1 lead with 33 seconds left.
The Rams wasted no time extending their advantage while on the power play during the first minute of the third period. Only seconds after Derek Fournier thwarted a shorthanded bid by a Cheverus player, Trundy carried the puck through center ice and into the offensive zone, sneaking a shot past Severance only 44 seconds in.
“In the third period we came out and played the first five minutes and it was the difference in the game,” Paradis said. “The first shot on the power play went in and gave us momentum from there.”
“I just shot through the defenseman, used him as a screen,” Trundy said.
Bangor added an insurance goal with 5:16 to play when Lane rifled a rising slapshot from the right point over Severance’s glove.