Berwick battles from behind twice to earn tie

CONCORD, NH –As far as the records show, this was the first matchup between these programs in over fifteen years, and maybe more. It turned out to be a good one. Berwick goalie Rafe Gaughan (Somersworth, NH) would have liked the first period back, but he came through in the clutch. Despite outshooting St. Paul’s 11 to 8 in the first, the good guys found themselves down 3-1. A spectacular individual effort by Tucker Smith (South Berwick, ME) got Berwick on the board. Smith collected the puck in the neutral zone, deked by a SPS defender onto his forehand, and beat the goalie near side and high for his third goal of the year.

 

The second period was all St. Paul’s, as they peppered Gaughan with 22 shots. He stopped every one. Midway through the period, Berwick earned a powerplay and Jackson Sidford (Newburyport, MA) cashed in on assists from Ryan Gaulin (Kingston, NH) and Tanner Derby (Newburyport, MA). Six minutes into the third, Zander Lizotte (Scarborough, ME) collected a neutral zone turnover and burst down the left wing before peppering the SPS goalie with a low shot. The rebound squirted right out to Brady Desjardins (Westbrook, ME) who slotted it right under the bar for the tying goal. St. Paul’s got it right back three minutes later, but Berwick was not done.

 

After a timeout, Berwick lined up for the draw in its own zone with a minute remaining. They got the puck out immediately and Rafe Gaughan came to the bench. The puck came out to Tanner Derby who slid it to his defense partner Ryan Gaulin. Gaulin sent a wrister through traffic and off the SPS goalie’s pad, leaving a juicy rebound in front for Greg Stohrer to tap in for the tying goal. Gaughan got the last laugh with three clutch saves in the overtime frame. It was a key performance for the senior as he kept the Bulldogs’ slim playoff hopes alive. Berwick hosts Hebron this Friday at 4:15 p.m.