WINSLOW — The Lawrence/Skowhegan co-op boys hockey team has sought a signature win all season.

Saturday night the Bandits (4-5-1) finally got their resume-boosting victory, scoring five goals in the final period in a decisive 8-4 win over Brunswick (8-4-0) — one of Eastern A’s top teams — at Sukee Arena.

“This was a huge win for us,” senior Andrew Carpenter, who scored three goals and added two assists all in the final period, said. “It was probably one of the most important games as far as points go. We’re going to be right in there with them when it comes to playoff time so this was a huge win.

“It’s such a relief. We’ve just been letting it go and it’s been killing us. We get these leads and we think we have it, and then we just kind of let it go.”

Earlier this season the Bandits nearly knocked off Cheverus (8-2-1 Western A) before settling for a 3-3 tie, while on Jan. 7 Lawrence/Skowhegan squandered a 3-0 lead in a 4-3 loss to Bangor (8-2-0 Eastern A).

The Bandits seemed to be heading down the same path Saturday night, as they gave up three goals in the second period — two to Jared Parent and another to T.J. Sullivan — to go from up 3-1 to down 4-3 heading into the final period.

“We just got way too overconfident,” Cody Martin, who led the Bandits with four goals and an assist, said. “We came into the locker room and really chilled out, didn’t really come out firing in the second period.”

Martin made sure in the third period, however, that the Bandits would not repeat the same mistakes the team has made in the past. The senior tied the game up 42 seconds into the third and just 42 seconds after that he found Carpenter for the first of his three third-period goals to give Lawrence/Skowhegan the lead back.

Carpenter’s second goal 5:50 into the third provided the breathing room the Bandits needed, as he perfectly read a cleared puck off the boards from Michonski and raced in for a breakaway goal.

“You can see it,” Carpenter said. “It’s all about angles and knowing where the puck is going to go. I was fluid with the puck, I was able to just get it and go down and put a puck in the net.”

From there it was all Bandits, as Martin and Carpenter each scored once more to put an exclamation point on the win.

“We were feeling a little flat to begin with,” Brunswick coach Bill Bodwell said. “(Then we) had a one-goal lead and then you give up a couple of goals like that and we just kind of lost our confidence.”

While happy to get the win, Lawrence/Skowhegan coach Ted Fabian still saw room for improvement — particularly when it comes to stringing three complete periods together.

“We’re a one- or two-period team and we get complacent with a lead,” Fabian said. “We’re improving but at the same token we’re still not there yet.

“… If we ever have aspirations to be at the top of the league then we’re going to have to put three periods together all the time.”

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley

Copy the Story Link