Photo by Mark Graffam

STATE CHAMPIONS!

Eagles end Sabers run with 4-0 shut-out

The Kennett Eagles are State Champions!  Sunday, at the Verizon Wireless Arena, the Eagles ended the Souhegan Sabers run of three straight titles with a 4-0 win in front of over 2000 fans.  The Championship is the first for the Eagles.  “I couldn’t be happier,” said Eagles head coach Michael Lane.  “These kids really deserve this,  They have worked so hard.  I am at a loss for words.”  The Eagles scored single goals in the first and second, and added two more in the third while Ricky Gaudreau made 34 saves for the shut-out, his 8^th of the season.  Gaudreau finishes the season with incredible numbers, a 1.22 GAA and a save percentage of .947.  “Ricky had an incredible season, and was never better then he was today -  he was just phenomenal.  He shut down the best offense in the league.  You could tell it was getting to their forwards as the game wore on.”

The re-match of last years championship (3-2 Souhegan win in overtime) took a different look quickly on Sunday when the Eagles were the first team to jump on the board.  3:50 into the opening frame, with the Sabers first line still on their first shift, the Eagles cycled the puck down low. Chuckie Smith found George Weigold who made a nifty pass to the side of the net to fellow senior captain Justin Clements.  Clements snapped a quick shot off short side to make it 1-0.  The Eagles faithful in the stands erupted, giving the Eagles an immediate boost.  “That goal was a big confidence boost for the kids; to jump out early was big. ” From there, the game was back and forth for much of the period.  The closest that the Sabers would come to scoring all day came with four minutes to play in the first.  Adam Mendenhall ripped a snap shot which Gaudreau got a piece of.  The puck got past Gaudreau, but defensemen Joey Murphy gloved the puck out of the air and knocked it to the corner.  “There were so many plays like that in this game - so many kids doing their job.  That was a great play by Murph.”  The period would end 1-0.         

The Eagles came out in the second and began to establish their game plan, which was simple and, to many peoples surprise, had nothing to do with Paul Caso.  “We realized, after the last game, that shadowing Paul was useless.  Tonight, we wanted to force their first line to come back into the defensive zone.  We wanted our offense to be from the hash to the end wall with the hope to force  their forwards to go 200 feet and tire them for later in the game.”  The game was played at a frantic pace through much of the second, with few whistles and lots of scoring chances on both sides.  The hard work low paid off with 2:51 to play.  Bryan Lamontagne pinched at the blue line, putting the puck to the corner.  Taylor Cyr, who was battling terrible sickness (bronchitis) and a badly sprained ankle, which he suffered in the first period, slid the puck to Derek North picked up the puck and came hard off the wall on a stuff shot.  Nate Downer made a save, but Smith picked up the rebound and pumped it home to make it 2-0.  “That goal was huge, but I knew Souhegan was going to come with everything in the final minutes of the period.” And pressure they did, a move coach Lane countered with by putting his “do it all” as he calls it captain Weigold on defense.  Weigold made Coach Lane look very smart in the final minute when the Sabers raced down the ice on a 3 on 1 with the puck on Caso’s stick.  Weigold not only broke up the play by knocking down a cross ice pass, but controlled the puck and calmly cleared.  “Georgie does everything for this team.  Every situation - he just works so hard - I’m gonna miss watching him play.”  The two teams went to the dressing room with the shots almost even, but the Eagles up 2-0.

In the dressing room between periods Coach Lane didn’t stress back off or sitting on the lead.  “I just told the kids we needed to score quick in the third, force them into panic mode where they had no choice but to keep that first line on the ice.  If you try and sit on a lead against a team like Souhegan they will eat you alive.  You have to do what got you the lead.”

The Eagles did just that in the third.   At just 1:34 , off a Weigold shot, Smith took the rebound, slid it to Clements.  Clements reached around Downer and slid it home for a 3-0 lead.  “J (Clements) is such a talented kid.  He has great hands in traffic around the net. He led like a captain all season.”  With the score 3-0 many thought the Eagles may sit back and protect the lead, but they just kept coming.  At 5:19 Smith picked up his 4^th point of the night when he took a centering pass from North and fired a shot home to make it 4-0.  Weigold picked up the second assist on the play.  “I told Chuckie, before the game, I had a feeling he was going to score two.  He did.  He did a great job.”  From there, the rest of the way, it was the Ricky Gaudreau show.  The talented junior had the Sabers shaking their heads.  And, in front of Ricky, was the best defense in the division, according to Coach Lane.  “Logan, Muncky, Bryan and Murph played a great game. They didn’t give up the blue line.  They didn’t fear their forwards.  I am very proud of the way they played,”  As the clock wound down, the Eagles fans asked the Sabers fans, “Why so quiet?”  It was so quiet because the Eagles were about to end the Sabers run and capture their first State Championship.  As the horn sounded, the Eagles raced onto the ice, piling onto Gaudreau.  “I am so proud of this team.  They set their goals high.  After last season, they wanted to get back.  They wanted another shot at Souhegan . They got that chance and took care of it.  They all sacrificed so much - I mean - Taylor had no business playing with that injury today, but he wasn’t coming off the ice.  Georgie must have played 35 minutes today, I could go on and on,  I am just so proud of this team.” Coach Lane also praised the Sabers on not only their run on top, but the class in which they handled losing.  “Class act across the board,” said Lane.  “That starts at the top with their coaching staff and captains.  They are a great team.   We really respect what they did.”

Ricky Gaudreau

  Shuts Out Souhegan in Championship Game

The Eagles will lose five seniors from the championship squad, none of which will be easy to replace.  “They are all great kids who bring different things to the table.  I am just so happy they got to go out on top.”  That is something no Eagles player could ever say, these five can!

BOX SCORE

Goals by Period

                                                1          2          3          F

(2) Kennett (17-4-0)                1          1          2          4

(1) Souhegan (17-4-0)             0          0          0          0

Shots by Period

                                                1          2          3          F

(2) Kennett (17-4-0)                9          10        7          26

(1) Souhegan (17-4-0)             8          11        16        34

Scoring Summary

1^st        KHS                3:50                 G-Clements                 A-Weigold & Smith

2^nd        KHS                12:09               G-Smith                      A-Cyr & North

3^rd        KHS                1:34                 G-Clements                 A-Weigold & Smith

3^rd        KHS                5:19                 G-Smith                      A-North & Weigold

Photo by Josh Spaulding

Chuckie Smith

Photo by Josh Spaulding

The Verizon Center

Photo by Mark Graffam

Bob Cyr - Live Play by Play on WMWV Radio

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Josh Spaulding

Photo by Josh Spaulding

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam