ROCHESTER - It started with how the Somersworth/Coe-Brown boys hockey team approached Wednesday night's Division II showdown with undefeated Spaulding at Rochester Ice Arena, with Bearcats' goalie Maddox Messier describing the scene.
"I think a big part of our game is the mental preparation beforehand, and I think we did a really good job," Messier said. "In the locker room, before the game, we were all focusing on hockey; we weren't talking about useless stuff; it was all hockey."
The focus worked.
Messier allowed a goal 4 minutes into the game, but Somersworth/Coe-Brown responded with five unanswered goals and handed Spaulding its first loss of the season, 5-1.
"It was a big win, definitely," Messier said. "Spaulding is one of the top teams in the division for sure. I think we knew that coming into the game, and I think that helped prepare us mentally."
Somersworth/Coe-Brown improved to 5-2 on the season, while Spaulding is now 6-1.
"It was just a hard-earned victory," Somersworth/Coe-Brown senior forward Patrick Norris said. "We played until the very end."
After Spaulding's Riley Kondroski's goal early in the first period, Maddox Young and Norris scored within 2 minutes of each other and the Bearcats took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Norris, who recorded a hat trick, scored two goals in the second period - nine seconds apart for a 4-1 lead, and just 14 seconds later, Dylan Clark scored to push the lead to 5-1 with 4:13 left in the second.
"I thought we had a good start to the game, but after that, they came to play," Spaulding head coach Jamie Ferullo said. "(Somersworth/Coe-Brown) outworked us, outmuscled us and just played a more team game. They played together as a group, and credit to them. We definitely didn't play our game tonight, and they definitely had something to do with that, and I think we did some of it to ourselves as well."
Messier recorded 34 saves for Somersworth-Coe-Brown, with Spaulding goalie Collin McIntyre had 16 saves.
"Today's win was a good win; the kids worked really hard," Somersworth/Coe-Brown head coach Fred Strum said. "They put in a lot of effort during the week; they worked (hard) today; they competed and I'm super proud of them."
Norris leads Somersworth/Coe-Brown's offensive flurry
The Bearcats' offense did a 180-degree turn from last Saturday's 5-1 loss to Oyster River.
"We have goal scorers," Norris said. "Offense was on fire tonight. We had a really, really good night."
Norris said the team tried to keep the intensity up, and "not let off the gas pedal," which led to the five goals scored in the first two periods.
"I think it's just a momentum thing," Strum said. "You get fired up ... you get one, you get two, you get three and they were fired up. They worked really hard, and I'm just really proud of them. Really proud of the boys today."
Messier leads the way in net for Bearcats
Strum said Messier’s performance was “one of the best games of his life.”
“Maddox was unbelievable,” Strum said. “He’s taken an opportunity and he’s ran with it. He’s worked very hard for that opportunity and he’s taken advantage of him, and I’m very proud of him.”
Messier had seven saves in the first period, 13 in the second and 14 in the third.
“I think after that first goal, I really picked it up,” he said. “I like to think I made some big saves; holding them to one goal through three 15-minute periods is good.”
“Maddox is a great goaltender and he played excellent,” Norris said. “He played terrific.”
Spaulding looks to take lesson from season's first loss
The Red Raiders hadn't played since a 1-0 win over Bow on Jan. 7, and Ferullo said the team will have to work to get back into a flow.
"I think a loss like this can kind of jumpstart you, but it's about how our guys react to it," Ferullo said. "That's the biggest thing; how are we going to react? Are we going to hang our heads or are we going to get better the next day?"
Somersworth/Coe-Brown hosts Alvirne-Milford pn Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m., while Spaulding hosts St. Thomas Aquinas (4-2) at 7 p.m.,