WATERVILLE — The Kennebec RiverHawks got two things they were looking for, and they got them in bunches Wednesday night.
A fast start and plenty of secondary scoring, including the first career hat trick from sophomore Brandon Mason, led Kennebec to a 7-1 thumping of Cony/Hall-Dale/Monmouth in a crossover game at Alfond Rink. Nate Newgard added a pair of goals in a three-point night as Kennebec (8-2-0) scored three times in the game’s first 4:11 to all but put it away before it had really even started.
Cony dropped to 3-7-0 with its third straight loss.
“We were moving the puck really well and just clicking,” Mason said. “I got some shots off and they went in. It was nice.”
Mason scored twice 18 seconds apart as the RiverHawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the 3:09 mark of the first period, and Tom Tibbetts made it 3-0 62 seconds later.
“You love to see that,” Kennebec senior goalie Ben Grenier said. “Brandon goes out and busts his butt every practice and he goes as hard as he can. He’s a good energy guy for a young kid, and he’s going to have a bright future.”
If there was any negative to the proceedings as far as the RiverHawks were concerned, it was a lull after opening up such a big early advantage. The Rams controlled the second-half of the first period, holding Kennebec without a shot for nearly seven minutes after the Tibbetts goal.
“Sometimes when you score those three early goals, they thought it was going to be a cakewalk,” Kennebec coach Jon Hart said. “To Cony’s credit, they dominated the last half of that period. They made it really tough on us, and we got out of sorts.”
But those Kennebec concerns were laid to rest almost immediately upon returning to the ice from the second period. Brock Jolicoeur and Newgard potted goals behind Matty Shea (13 saves) 24 seconds apart to make it 5-0 at the 2:24 mark.
Mason wrapped up his hat trick at 9:34, whacking home a Newgard feed that made it 6-0.
“We had a lot of energy going into all the periods, and that really helped,” Mason said. “The last couple of games we’ve gotten down a couple of goals, and tonight we came right out. We were pretty pumped before the game and came out strong.”
“He’s producing, especially the last eight games,” Hart said of Mason. “Last year, he was just a snakebit freshman with some talent who was struggling to get that goal. Now that he’s got some flow, and he’s a very talented player. That’s the nice thing — we’ve got guys on all three lines that can score. That’s the difference right now for us.”
After having been so good for stretches in the first period, Cony went quiet over the final 30 minutes. The Rams managed just two second-period shots on Grenier, who came within 2:21 of his third shutout of the season before Collin Osborne finally struck.
“Our defense was keeping the plays out of the front really well, so it was a lot easier to see the shots,” Grenier said. “I feel pretty confident if I can see the shot, I’m going to make that first save. … It’s a lot easier to play between the pipes when you’re playing with a quick lead. For me, the pressure was off early.”
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
Send questions/comments to the editors.
