HALLOWELL — Much like the season itself, it was a slow start with a strong finish for the Lawrence/Skowhegan co-op boys hockey team in its game Thursday afternoon against Cony/Monmouth.
The Bandits (6-5-1) fell behind just 25 seconds into the contest but dictated play from that point forward to grab a 5-1 win over the Rams (3-7-0) in an Eastern A game at the Bank of Maine Ice Vault.
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“It was a slow start, no excuse. They came out firing,” Bandits coach Ted Fabian said. “It has been the theme of the year so far but I think we responded well and we played hard all game.
“We’re playing pretty well right now. There’s still room for improvement always, but we’ve put together a good stretch and we’ve got to carry the momentum going forward.”
Lawrence/Skowhegan’s top line of Cody Martin, Trey Michonski and Andrew Carpenter — along with top defensive pairing Sam Haver and Adam Littlefield — led the way for the visitors, accounting for all five of the team’s goals. The Bandits have now won five straight games and have played some of their best hockey of the season in the process.
“Definitely the best,” Littlefield said. “We started off rough with a couple tough losses and a tie, but this has been a good stretch for our team.”
While Lawrence/Skowhegan may be playing well overall, it was nonetheless a rough start for it Thursday as Cony/Monmouth’s Drew Keithley scored just 25 seconds into the contest off assists from Logan Leadbetter and Cam Wilson.
“We played pretty well to start, and then we just stopped doing what was getting us shots and getting us opportunities,” Rams coach Chad Foye said. “We started out winning battles to the pucks and hustling, then we just let up a little bit. You don’t need to let up much for it to show.”
The Bandits took advantage of the opportunity with 8:11 left in the opening period, as Michonski — who was ultimately credited with the goal — and Carpenter crashed the net after an initial shot on net by Martin. A little over 3 minutes later Martin put Lawrence/Skowhegan ahead for good when he was the benificiary of a three-on-two break in transition.
“Consistently any time they’re on the ice they’re a threat,” Fabian said of his top line. “They feed off each other. Individually they can do it but together they’re pretty dynamic.”
In the second period the Bandits made sure to shut the door on any potential Cony/Monmouth comeback as they got goals from Haver and Martin to build a commanding 4-1 advantage. Carpenter added another goal early in the third to round out the game’s scoring.
“It’s just been working through practice and developing our breakouts and defensive zone work,” Littlefield said of the team’s recent success. “We’ve just been working hard in practice and it’s been paying off in the game.”
Evan Crawley — 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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