Ice Cats shut down Maranacook

By Charlie Tryder

The Fryeburg Academy/Lake Region Ice Cats continued to cruise along with an 8 2 win over Maranacook at Bridgton Ice Arena on Monday to run their record to 10-1. Five different players figured in the scoring for the Cats, who once again showed their power and balance.The intense pace of the game led to many early scoring opportunities. At 3:49, Dalton Hinckley connected with Tavish Leland who opened the scoring for the Cats. Ted Skarbinski added to the lead less than a minute later as he converted a pass from Nick Marshall and linemate Richard Miller with 3:04 left in the period. Maranacook played a man up the rest of the period, but Cat netminder Drew Payne prevented any damage to the 2-0 lead.The Ice Cats hurt themselves with penalties in the second period, and although Payne shut the Bears down, eventually Maranacook got on the board at the 9:46 mark of the second on a power play goal. The Black Bears dominated the Ice Cats for most of the period, but Payne proved invaluable with multiple saves. While playing short handed, the Ice Cats gained a 3-1 lead when Nick Marshall took advantage of a Maranacook turnover and slipped the puck under the Black Bear goalie. Less than 40 seconds later, Marshall struck again on another shorthanded goal, this one on a laser beam from the top of the circle to give the Ice Cats a 4 1 lead going into the second intermission. The Ice Cats added four more goals in the third period. Jon Norris rushed the puck up the left side and drilled a shot that the Maranacook goalie had a hard time handling. Richard Miller pounced on the loose puck to put the Cats up 5-1. Marshall scored two consecutive goals to pad the lead. One Marshall goal was unassisted and Miller assisted again on the other. Cody Leland, fed by Ryan Ahern, of the net with four minutes left to go in the game. Maranacook added a closing goal, but Drew Payne shut the door for the rest of the game. Payne faced 17 shots while the Marancook goalie faced 21.The Ice Cats are looking to fill BIA on Friday night with crazy Laker and Raider fans for a 7:20 game. The teams asks you to come out and show your support for this exciting new team.