BIDDEFORD ”“ One tough opponent is difficult enough to vanquish, much less two of them.
Especially when that second foe shows up in the mirror.
Still, that was the sentiment voiced by Thornton Academy coach Shawn Rousseau, following Saturday’s 5-4 loss to St. Dominic, at Biddeford Ice Arena.
“Four out of the five goals were the result of defensive zone turnovers,” said Thorton’s third year bench boss. “You’ll never win a game if you do that.”
Alex Parker netted the game winner for the Saints (2-0) at 9:36 of the final stanza, his shot coming from the left circle.
It was the final twist of a contest full of winding turns.
“It was a very interesting game,” said St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette. “A great game. There’s obviously been a lot of hype about Thornton, and they’re deep up front. Nobody’s been talking about us, and we kind of like it like that.”
Matters started off well enough for the Golden Trojans (2-2).
Thornton sniper C.J. Maksut struck 29 seconds into the game, threading in a 10 footer under the cross bar.
The Saints replied later in the first with a pair of goals, including the first of three by Dakota Keene.
However, by the end of the period, Seth Prior and Sam Canales tallied to restore the Thornton lead, 3-2.
Matters see sawed from there.
The Trojans took their last lead, 4-3, at 4:07 the second, when Jon Pate pounced on his own rebound and chopped it past Saints sophomore goalie Austin Christopher.
“It did feel like a shootout there for two periods,” said Rousseau. “But it was all very much in our control. We can’t turn the puck over as much as we did, or take five penalties. When you go in the box that much and depend on your penalty killers that much, you can only do it for so long.
“To be honest, I went into the third period feeling very confident.”
Confidence turned to urgency after Parker netted what proved to be the game winner.
Pate nearly tied the game in the waning moments when he swooped in from the left wing, but was turned away by Christopher.
“We lost,” said Rousseau. “This does not feel good. I don’t think we played well. We made very, very poor decisions against a team that will always capitalize.”
The Trojans will wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule, Wednesday (8 p.m.), when they’ll host South Portland at BIA.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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