AUGUSTA — Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth hockey coach Chad Foye liked what he saw from his team as the regular season grinded to a lose last week.
“You can always tell when kids just aren’t into it anymore,” he said. “They get tired, sluggish. You can just tell. But these guys here, they’re still working hard. They don’t want this thing to end right now.”
The No. 3 Rams (13-5-0) will get a chance to extend its season when they host No. 6 Edward Little (5-13-0) in a Class A North quarterfinal game Tuesday night at 6:20 at the Bank of Maine Ice Vault.
The victor will head to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston on Saturday for a regional semifinal against No. 2 Bangor (11-7-0).
Cony needed some late-game heroics to edge EL 2-1 in overtime on Feb. 1 at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.
The Rams trailed 1-0 before Cam Wilson converted a rebound past EL freshman goalie Ben Feldman with 2:07 left in regulation.
Reed Hopkins then won it for Cony when he popped in a rebound near the left post off a Riley Dowe shot with 1:43 left in overtime.
“It’s always tough when you play EL,” Foye said. “They are a good team and they play hard. We are going to have to be ready. They are pretty similar to us in that they run the same amount of lines and so forth. This one is a bit of a tossup.”
The Rams come into the game having won their three previous games y a combined 25-3 margin. They have won of their last nine games, as well.
“We’re playing as well as we have all season,” Foye said. “We’re moving the puck better, creating more opportunities. I am really happy with our decision making, too. We are not forcing a lot of pucks like we used. We’re just playing a lot better as a team. I like where we’re at.”
Foye said he plans to continue to skate all three lines, including the all-freshman one comprised of Zach Whitney, Noah King and Sam MacFarlane.
Of course, how the game plays out will dictate if or whether he will shorten the bench.
“We’ll see how the game goes,” Foye said. “We’ll see how the pace of the game goes. I like to get that line out there because it keeps them in the game as well. They have been playing well as a line all year, too. They have been out scrapping all year.”
Cam Wilson centers one of the team’s top lines between Avery Pomerleau and Cole Lockhart.
Hopkins, Dowe and Michael Boivin also have played well of late.
“We have a little more balance now, which is good,” Foye said. “That line has a lot more confidence that they can be counted on.”
Defensively, the Rams will look for steady games from Nate Foye, Logan Leadbetter, Tyler Dostie and Thomas Arps behind the blue line. Goalie Dalton Bowie has enjoyed a strong season as well.
“This should be a pretty good game,” Foye said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Bill Stewart — 621-5618
bstewart@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @billstewartMTM
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