LEWISTON, Maine — Early on, it looked like it could be another earlier-than-anticipated exit in the Class A North semifinals for Bangor.
Then, senior goalie Derek Fournier settled into the game, allowing just one goal on 25 shots in a 2-1 victory over Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth at the Colisee.
“I try to keep the same mindset for every game, but I knew for a fact when we played them up north, the score didn’t reflect the [game],” Fournier said. “It was like a 1-0 overtime win. I knew it was going to be a close game.”
Bangor will take on No. 1 Lewiston in the championship game at the Colisee at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
It didn’t look good early for senior all-star goalie Fournier and his squad. Just 21 seconds into the game, Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale’s Cam Wilson found the back of the net to give the No. 3-seeded Rams a 1-0 lead. Nathan Foye set Wilson up on the tally.
“The funny thing is, the same thing happened when we played them at home,” Bangor coach Quinn Paradis said. “Then, us having a 12-to-13-day layoff since our last game has been tough. We have been practicing and going through the emotions, but we came out and got caught flat-footed. I had a deep-down feeling, the way we have been playing this year, that it’s very common for us. The first five minutes isn’t some of our best five minutes.”
Dalton Bowie saw some action early in Cony/Hall-Dale/ Monmouth’s net, making back-to-back saves a couple times in the first five minutes.
Fournier also had to make some back-to-back saves during that stretch.
“Sometimes, I like to top the other goalie,” Fournier said. “He’s making big saves at the other end, I try to top it and match it at least. Whenever the other goalie is playing well at the other end, it fires me up.”
Bangor continued to put pressure on, though, and was rewarded exactly seven minutes after Wilson’s goal.
Kodi Legassie found the back of the net with Josh Sherwood and Jacob Munroe earning assists.
In the second, with a fresh sheet of ice, Bangor (12-7-0) scored the most important goal of the contest — the final one.
Nick Boudreau found Nick Cowperthwaite at the top of the slot and the senior captain fired it past Bowie to give Bangor its first lead of the game 50 seconds into the frame.
Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale had its chances, too, in the second, but couldn’t solve Fournier.
“We had chances, the chances we wanted where we were going to the net pretty well.” Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale coach Chad Foye said. “We were getting shots the way we wanted, but [Fournier] is good. He came up with a couple second, third saves that make you wonder a bit.”
Bangor started the third period with a two-minute power play after a late-second period infraction on Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale, but was unable to connect on that chance, nor on two more later in the frame.
Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth (14-6-0) earned a power play with 1:08 remaining in the game, and pulled Bowie for the extra skater to create a 6-on-4 opportunity, could not get a solid scoring chance to tie the game.