Eagles improve to 9-0, ice another foe

The Kennett High ice hockey team continued its winning ways last week to improve to 9-0 in Division III and remain the lone unbeaten high school boys hockey team in the Granite State. The Eagles didn't play their best hockey Saturday afternoon, but still had enough to get the job done, winning 6-2 over Hollis-Brookline. Earlier in the week, KHS topped Portsmouth 9-2 on the road."Saturday was probably our worst game of the year," Mike Lane, Eagles' head coach, said. "It wasn't as if the kids weren't trying, but it was one of those nights where the puck didn't bounce our way. The nice thing was we played a great third period and were able to pull away for the win."Michael Skelton opened the scoring a minute into the contest when he converted a feed from Brad Hauser and Taylor Cyr. KHS extended the margin to 2-0 midway through the period when Justin Clements hit pay-dirt with assists from Griffin Meador and Derek North.Hollis-Brookline scored a goal late in the first period to make it 2-1 and drew level with three minutes remaining in the second period.Kennett regained the lead for good 45 seconds later. "The Red Line gave us a huge momentum swing," Lane said, referring to Clements and Meador who found North on a breakaway pass and he made no mistake from close range to put the Eagles in front 3-2.KHS controlled play in the third period and was rewarded with three goals. Junior Sam Shackford scored his first goal of the season on a slapshot with assists from Frank and Jesse Hayes. Skelton scored his second on the night from Cyr and Hauser while it was Cyr who made it 6-2 scoring from Skelton and Hauser.Ricky Gaudreau picked up the win in goal with 25 saves and continues to lead Division III in goals against average and save percentage. Lane spoke highly of his net-minder and also praised the play of a defenseman."Bryan Lamontagne had a phenomenal game on defense," Lane said. "He really stepped up and was so solid all night." The Eagles dominated Portsmouth on Wednesday and set what is believed to be a school record for the fastest goal to start a game. Just eight seconds into the contest North scored from Clements and Meador. "Just before the start of the game I called Derek over to the bench and told him to set the tone for us," Lane said, laughing. "I didn't know he'd set the tone that quickly. A lot of the kids didn't even see the goal as some of them were still sitting down when we scored.Five minutes into the period Logan Spoor scored his first goal of the campaign on a slapshot from the point with Meador getting the assist.Skelton scored 6:48 into the period with an unassisted effort. Less than two minutes later North made it 4-0 from Clements. With 3:40 left in the first, Skelton scored on a powerplay pass from George Weigold to make it 5-0. Jesse Hayes scored three minutes into the second period on slapshot to extend the lead to 6-1. Five minutes later Skelton netted his hat-trick with an unassisted bid. A minute later he scored his fourth on a shot from North. Hayes closed out the scoring midway through the third period with his second tally of the evening.Freshman Nick Kevlin picked up the win between the pipes, recording nine saves.Kennett hosted winless John Stark Monday night (results not known as of press time). The team plays at Pembroke this Wednesday.At 9-0, the Eagles are chasing the best season by a KHS hockey team. The 2002-03 Eagles went 13-0-1 during he regular season and went on to finish second in the Division III playoffs. "Todd Frechette (a junior on that team) said we're almost in his neighborhood, but we're not on his street yet," Lane said, laughing. "Hopefully, we can end up on their street, but the most important thing right now is to be playing our best going into the post-season."