Trail Blazers hockey ends season with win on late-game goal

By Matt Pascarella

The Windham/Bonny Eagle/Westbrook Trail Blazers hockey team shut down Marshwood after Windham sophomore Matt Cote scored a goal late in the third period at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham on Thursday, Feb. 19. The Trail Blazers ended their season with a 4-3 win over the Hawks.

Sophomore Matt Cote of Windham High School scores the
tie-breaking and game-winning goal for the Trail Blazers
during the final game of the regular boys' hockey season
at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham on
Thursday, Feb. 19. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

It was Senior Night and Bonny Eagle’s Mason Caron and Colby Haskell, managers Wyatt Turgeon and Ben Gammon were presented with a gift, as they and their parents were thanked for their time and dedication to the program.

“Last game of the season, we wanted to go out there and (win) for our seniors, I knew I had to go out there and try my best,” said Cote. “I was fortunate enough to get a very good play by our teammates Josh (Arbour) and Braeden (Greeley) and I was able to ... get a goal there. It felt amazing; I really just wanted to get this win for my team and our seniors. Our two seniors have been amazing for this organization ... (it felt good to go) out there and get this one.”

The Trail Blazers took the ice with intensity. They moved the puck well and had several shots on goal. They gave the Marshwood goalie a workout.

Defense minimized Marshwood’s scoring opportunities, but they did score once in the first period. With eight seconds left, Haskell scored on a power play and tied the game 1-1 after one period.

In the second period, the Trail Blazers went hard after the puck and Haskell scored again.

Marshwood scored twice to take a 3-2 lead after the second period.

“I couldn’t have had more fun with any other team,” said Haskell. “It’s our Senior Night, so stakes were a little higher than usual. Our team just agreed we were going to work (hard) until we had no more juice left. We had a shooter’s mentality, we shot the puck every chance we had, and our passing was more dialed than it was in previous games.”

It all came down to the last three minutes of the third period. Bonny Eagle freshman Alden McGivney scored on a power play and tied the game 3-3. As the clock was winding down, the Trail Blazers worked to break the tie.

Roughly a minute remained when Cote slipped the puck by the goalie. Trail Blazers defense held the Hawks off to end the game.

Greeley said it feels nice to end this season with a win. He said their all-out effort the first period really did it for them this game. In the last (minute), they needed to keep this win going, for their seniors and the team.

“I’ve been with these seniors since they were 5 years old,” said Trail Blazers coach Ben Haskell. “Every year they just get better and better; they are good people they play hard; they play with their heart on their sleeve. It’s meant the world and how proud I am of the people and players they’ve become.

“We knew it was the last game; we wanted to have a strong result for our seniors. Leave it all on the ice and have fun. Moving the puck quicker (went well) ... get shots on net. (In the final minute) our plan was to get the pucks in our offensive zone, keep the puck down there and take a shot if we have the opportunity. It feels great (to end on a win). It was a great learning experience (this season) for our younger players ... we’ll learn and grow and move on.”

The Trail Blazers did not make the playoffs this year. <