HALLOWELL — It’s new to the hockey vernacular this year, but Camden Hills considers itself a second-half team.
The Windjammers scored three second-half goals, including two from Levi Guay, then held off Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth/Erskine through some late penalty troubles to post a 4-3 win in their opening-round game of the “Covid Cup” tournament Monday night at the Camden National Bank Ice Vault.
Guay finished with a hat trick, while William Gardner, playing in place of injured starter Jackson Bernier, made 15 saves to backstop the victory in goal.
Whereas traditional hockey games are three periods, this season’s COVID-19 protocols have seen all high school games divided into two 23-minute periods.
“We started off kind of slow, but the second period has always been our period,” Guay said. “Once it comes to the second, we’re flying compared to the other team. We stepped it up and had that click that we always seem to have.”
The Rams finished their central Maine tournament with an 0-2 record in the Eastern Division, while Camden Hills will play Kennebec on Wednesday. The winner will advance to Friday’s tournament championship game.
Cony took a 2-1 lead into the intermission, sandwiching Jacob Godbout and Tyrell Sousa goals around Guay’s first of the night.
Guay knotted things at 2-2 early in the second half, before Charlie Griebel stepped into a Cony turnover just inside the blue line to blast a one-timer past Matty Shea (29 saves) for a 3-2 lead at the 10:29 mark.
Camden Hills’ Cam Powell, bottom, crashes into the boards against Cony’s Dominic Trott, center, during a central Maine hockey tournament game Monday at the Camden Bank Ice Vault in Hallowell. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel Buy this Photo
Cony wasn’t quite done, with Sousa getting his second at 14:13, with the two teams skating four aside.
Guay netted the game-winner just 52 seconds later.
“You just have to be puck hungry, get first to the puck, skate hard and go 110 percent to the puck,” Guay said of Camden’s response to Cony’s equalizer. “You can’t force plays
It proved to be the goal that pushed Camden Hills into the Eastern Division showdown with Kennebec.
“We’ll be ready,” Guay said. “We just have to play our game — play hard and play hungry and chase the puck.”
Griebel earned a five-minute major for a boarding penalty with 3:50 remaining, and through a rash of late penalties Cony ended up wth a 4-on-3 power play over the final two minutes of regulation.
The equalizer never materialized, and Camden skated away with the victory.
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