BA LIKES LAKE PLACID

NJ Hitmen U-19 team looked to play the spoilers Saturday afternoon. Bridgton Academy's matchup vs the Hitmen was a very physical battle and proved Bridgton has grown by showing maturity and restraint during this hard hitting energetic affair.
BA needed this win to reach Sunday's winners bracket. Both BA and the Hitmen came out flying. Each team looked to punish the others along the boards, in front of the goal and anywhere else each could find an opponent.

Quinn Junta(Reading, MA) opened the Wolverine scoring with a shot from the point. The Hitmen answered right back with a goal of their own. However, Fred Hein (North Reading, MA) took a feed from defenseman Kyle Campana (Boxboro, MA/Walpole Express)gained the zone and beat the Hitmen goalie with a snipe to the upper right hand corner. Even with a 2-1 lead, BA was outshot 16-12 in the first period. "Mike (Pearless) (Framingham, MA) was forced to make save after save to keep us in the game, We had some defensive zone breakdowns and left Mike on his own a few times" said Assistant Coach Mike Meserve.

A good offense is sometimes the best defense and BA must of had that in mind when they took the ice in the second period. Fred Hein scored the with another perfect shot depositing the puck in the upper left hand corner. The Wolverines continued to pressure NJ putting the game out of reach with goals from Tom Paine(Superior, WI/Duluth Marshall HS) and Captain Sean Travis(Scituate, MA/Bridgton Academy). Mike Pearless finished with 22 saves, definately helped by BA's strong and physical defense. "Lots of guys stepped up this game. Chris Smith(Salem HS) and blueline newcomer Allan Fessette(Beekmanstown HS, Platsburgh, NY) battled each and every shift" said Assistant Coach Jason Leveille. BA used a combination of speed, toughness and intelligence to win the game.

Even with a perfect 3-0 record, Bridgton will need to play a mini-game versus Wyoming Seminary. Both teams were 3-0 in their bracket and will play a 15 minute game Sunday 8am. If the game is tied after 15 minutes, each team plays 3-3 for 5 minutes then 2-2 until someone scores. The winner of the game will advance to the semi-finals at 9am.