Jr. B Ends Season With Tie Against Hebron

The Jr. B hockey team took the ice for the final time this season against Hebron Academy's B hockey team. While Bridgton came in with their confidence high, Hebron was the first to score a few minutes into the game. Ethan Charny (Chicago, IL) tied up the game shortly after as he beat the goalie over his shoulder with assists from Brian McKeown (Scarborough, ME) and Johnny Sheil (Narragansett, RI). While McKeown netted the go ahead goal in the second period with help from Sheil and Matt Pagano (Cranston, RI), Hebron answered back to tie up the game one more time. Both teams kept the intensity up as they entered into the third period.Steve Trychon (Sterling, MA) and Zach Pettingill (Scarborough, ME) set up Danny MacInnes (Plymough, MA) to beat Hebron's goalie one more time to take the lead. After a few missed shots and big saves by Bridgton goalie John Busa (Billerica, MA), Hebron got a lucky break as they tied up the game for a third time. Bridgton had a few chances to take the lead, but as time ran out on the clock, the team's took the ice for a five minute overtime. At the end of OT, the score remained tied at 3-3 for Bridgton's final game of the season. Busa was solid in net stopping 32 of 35 shots.

Jr. B Secures Win Over Middlesex Community College

As the Jr. B hockey team took their home ice against Middlesex Community College (MCC) it did not take long for the Wolverines to take the lead, and hold onto it for the remainder of the game. Zach Pettingill (Scarborough, ME) scored five minutes into the game with an assist from Billy Smith (Boston, MA). Middlesex has a close shot bouncing off the post, which BA collected and took down the ice. Brian McKeown (Scarborough, ME) took a shot, which bounced over the goalie to take a 2-0 lead. Of the next face-off McKeown extended the lead as he scored with help from Evan Gray (Norwell, MA). As MCC took a penalty shortly after, Ethan Charny (Chicago, IL) worked the puck in front of the net for a well-placed wrist shot. A few minutes later Matt Driscoll (Dedham, MA) took a shot from the point, which Steve Trychon (Sterling, MA) tipped in for Bridgton’s next goal. MCC finally netted a goal to get on the scoreboard, followed by Charny’s second goal of the night assisted by Johnny Sheil (Narragansett, RI). At the end of the first period, BA held onto a 6-1 lead.

In the second, Craig Standish (New York, NY) finished a feed from Pettingill for a 7-1 lead. MCC had a run of unanswered goals in an attempt at a comeback. With the gap lessened to 7-4, Pettingill put an end to their scoring with a goal of his own with assists from Trychon and Gray.

Bridgton held the lead for the remainder of the game as McKeown fed the puck to Driscoll who scored off a shot from the point. Standish netted his second goal of the night on a power play with an assist to Bryson Weberg (Parksville, BC). Charny then scored his third and the final goal of the night unassisted. MCC was able to sneak one last shot past goaltender John Busa (Billerica, MA) but it was not enough as Bridgton took the 11-5 win. In the game, Busa stopped 35 of the 40 shots that came his way.

Coach Meserve was happy with the game commenting “We had a great first and third periods. We used our systems well and put a lot of pucks on the net. Guys like Evan Gray and Steve Trychon did an outstanding job getting the pucks down low.”

Jr. A Overtakes NE Wolves

The Jr. A hockey team traveled to Waterville Valley, NH to take on the NE Wolves for a third time this season. After an hour long delay for a hard hit by Bridgton that broke a pane of glass, the game resumed. After a hard fought game, Bridgton finally earned a win against the Wolves with a score of 5-3. Check back later for the full story.

Jr. B Beats SNHU on the Road

On Saturday the Jr. B hockey team traveled to Manchester, NH to take on Southern New Hampshire University’s club hockey team and took a 4-3 win. Billy Smith (Boston, MA) netted the first goal for Bridgton with assists from Ethan Charny (Chicago, IL) and Steve Trychon (Sterling, MA). Zach Pettingill was next to score with assists from Bryson Weberg (Parksville, BC) and Matt Pagano (Cranston, RI). Trychon then netted his own goal with assists from Smith and Pettingill. Smith then scored his second for the game-winning goal with assists from Pagano and Cory Durkin (Narragansett, RI). John Busa played in net saving 37 of the 49 shots he saw.

Coach Meserve commented after the game, “We started slow and finished strong. In this game we had a great second and third period. We put a lot of traffic in front of their goalie and put the pucks on net.”

Jr. A Earns Hard Fought Win Over NSA

The Jr. A team took the ice for what promised to be a close, hard fought game against the National Sports Academy (NSA). For the first period, play was evenly matched, remaining scoreless until the last two minutes of the period. With NSA in the penalty box, Jimmy Magrath (Medfield, MA) and Colin Edwards (Winchester, MA) exchanged passes in front of the net before Edwards tallied the first goal of the game for BA.

The second period was played in a similar style to the first. The play was back and forth and it seemed as if BA would hold their 1-0 lead heading into the third. With one minute on the board, NSA snuck a goal past BA goaltender Jordi Vaan Gaal (RyMenam, Belgium) to tie things up. BA was still looking to hold the lead at the end of the second, as Dylan Larrow (Ludlow, MA) netted a rebound off a shot from the point taken by Cam Kennedy (Lynn, MA).

NSA was looking for a comeback early in the third period as they score the game tying goal right away. It looked as if the game would enter into overtime, until Ryan Connors (Marshfield, MA) finished a pass from Magrath on another power play to take the lead. While NSA pulled their goalie for a man up advantage, Sam Scannell (Glastonbury, CT) buried a pass from Connors with just under a second left in the game.

Bridgton Steals Last Minute 6-4 Win

This past week Bridgton took the ice against prep school rival Kents Hill. Kents Hill was first on the board with a goal early in the game. Ryan Connors (Marshfield, MA) answered back with Bridgton's first goal assisted by Jimmy Magrath (Medfeld, MA) and Colin Edwards (Winchester, MA). With the score all tied up at the end of the first period, Kents Hill took the momentum going into the second frame. With three goals unanswered, it appeared as if they had secured the win going into the third period with a 4-1 lead. Mike Marchianda (Hyde Park, MA) collected a feed from Steve Bellew (Hingham, MA) for a power play goal. In the same shift, Marchianda brought the puck around the net and put up a fight with the help of Sam Scannell (Glastonbury, CT) to score his second goal of the game, Bridgton's third. With under two minutes left in the game, Alex Pompeo (Hingham, MA) fired a shot on net and Magrath collected the rebound to score the game tying goal. Bridgton them kept the momentum up as Edwards carried the puck down the ice and beat the goalie over his left shoulder with just over a minute left in the game to take a 5-4 lead. Kents Hill pulled their goalie with thirty seconds on the clock in an attempt to take the game into over time. Pompeo cleared the puck to Kevin Seeley (Berkely, MA) who netted a cross ice, empty net goal to secure the 6-4 win for Bridgton Academy.

Photos on Shutterfly

Click this link to see photos from this weekend's games against Rothesay Netherwood!

Bridgton Sweeps Rothesay Netherwood

Bridgton Academy took to the ice for a pair of games against Rothesay Netherwood this weekend. Right away in game one, Bridgton came out on fire. In the first period, Tommy Graham (Medfield, MA) capitalized on a power play with a well placed wrist shot to beat the goalie on the side and take a 1-0 lead. Later in the first period, Colin Edwards (Winchester, MA) took his time to move the puck in front of the goalie and fire a shot for Bridgton's second goal of the game with assists from John Sartell (Wakefield, MA) and Graham. Marco Spisso (Highland Falls, NY) extended the lead before the end of the period as Barry O'Neil (Falmouth, MA) fed Spisso a pass for a shorthanded breakaway. Spisso beat the goalie to score and take a 3-0 lead going into the second period. Jimmy Magrath (Medfield, MA) did not waste any time in the second period before scoring the fourth and final goal for Bridgton Academy as the puck trickled over the line to secure the win. Rothesay never gave up scoring two goals on power plays, but was not able to secure a comeback as Bridgton took the 4-2 win.

In the second game, Bridgton was the first to score again. Billy Boudreau (Newburyport, MA) capitalized on a feed from Edwards to take a 1-0 lead. It was not long however, before Rothesay answered back to tie things up. On Bridgon's next rush down the ice it seemed as if Bridgton would take back the lead as Mike Marchionda (Hyde Park, MA) ripped a shot that hit the cross bar. Just a few minuted later Silas Rainville (Franklin, MA) set up Marchionda to score a shorthanded goal, this time taking a 2-1 lead. Edwards netted another goal to increase the lead with an assist from Magrath. After taking a penalty, Rothesay was prepared to take advantage of Bridgton's man down disadvantage. Kevin Seeley (Berkely, MA) broke the puck out of the defensive zone to set up Rainville who scored the fourth goal of the game for Bridgton. Rothesay was able to net one more goal, and down 4-2 with under a minute left in the game they pulled their goalie in an attempt to tie up the game. Rothesay attempted to break the puck out of the zone, but Edwards collected the puck and put away an empty netter to secure the 5-2 win.

Spisso Plays 100th Game For Bridgton Academy

Congratulations to Marco Spisso (Highland Falls, NY) who played in his 100th hockey game for Bridgton Academy this weekend! Spisso had a great game scoring a shorthanded goal to increase BA's lead early in the 4-2 win over Rothesay Netherwood.

Player Profile: Billy Smith

HOMETOWN: Boston, MA
HIGH SCHOOL: Brookline High School
IN HIGH SCHOOL: I was lazy, I was the funny guy, I procrastinated a lot, and I had too much freedom
HEARD ABOUT BA: From Brookline High School’s JV Hockey Coach, Chris Piatelli
GOALS AT BA: I want to get better grades, improve my SAT scores, get into college, and get better at hockey
BA IS DIFFERENT THAN HIGH SCHOOL: It’s a much smaller school with a different structure
BEST THING ABOUT BA: I get to hang out with my friends all the time without feeling the need to impress everyone. We also have access to the ice and the gym whenever we want.
WORST THING ABOUT BA: dry land workouts with the hills
ACTIVITIES AT BA: Hockey, lifelong games
OUTSIDE OF BA: I hangout with friends and make sandwiches
ROLE MODEL: My dad
FAVORITE BOOK: All Souls- Michael Patrick MacDonald
FAVORITE MOVIES: The Town, billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Hall Pass, Hangover 1 and 2, Wedding Crashers, Old School, Jay and Silent Bob, Slap Shot, Role Models
FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Boston Bruins
FAVORITE ATHLETE: Brad Marchand
FAVORITE MUSIC: Rap
FAVORITE MEAL: Chicken Parm, mashed potatoes, and canned
corn
FAVORITE QUOTE: "You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take"-
Wayne Gretzky
MY FRIENDS WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW: I was prom king
BA PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW: If you don’t work hard, you won’t be successful

Jr. B Captures OT Win

The Jr. B hockey team traveled to North Yarmouth Academy this weekend and secured a 4-3 OT win.

After initially going down 1-0, Brian McKeown (Scarborough, ME) tied up the score with a power play goal. Johnny Sheil (Narragansett, RI) and Dusty Burke (Sherborn, MA) worked the puck down low to McKeown who circled out and beat the goalie with a well placed wrist shot. NYA came back strong with two more goals to take a 3-1 lead.

Cory Durkin (Narragansett, RI) lessened the gap to one with another BA power play goal. Matt Pagano (Cranston, RI) fed a pass to Durkin who beat NYA's goaltender with a wrist shot. It didn't take long for Durkin to net his second goal of the game and tie things up. Steve Trychon (Sterling, MA) and Bryson Weberg (Parksville, BC) worked the puck to the net where Durkin was able to capitalize and bury it deep.

With the score tied at 3-3, the game went into overtime. Burke scored the game winning goal just 16 seconds into overtime with assists from Durkin and Sheil. Sheil was able to move the puck to Durkin who fired a low wrist shot on goal. Burke was able to collect the rebound to put it away to win the game.

John Busa (Billerica, MA) was strong in net saving 27 of 30 shots in the game.

Coach Meserve was happy after the game commenting, "We had a great team win
tonight. We had low numbers and the 13 guys we had played like warriors. I couldn't of been anymore proud of the team tonight."

Up next, the team will travel to Manchester, NH where they will take on Southern New Hampshire University's club team on February 18th at 7:30 P.M.