FALMOUTH – If Brady Blackman could have used a player’s stick instead of his oversized goaltending paddle, he probably would have had a chance to score a goal Saturday night.
“I would have tried if they’d let me,” Blackman said.
As it was, Blackman did just about everything else he could to try and lift St. Dom’s to a win over Falmouth at the Family Ice Center, including stopping all 27 shots he saw in the third period.
Falmouth sophomore Cam Hart rendered Blackman’s heroics moot, though, finally finding a hole in the senior netminder’s armor 1:05 into overtime to lift the Yachtsmen to a 2-1 win over the Saints in a key Western Class A hockey showdown.
“When he came across and James (Tolan) passed it across I was just right there,” said Hart. “I got lucky a little bit. I went to my backhand, and it just trickled in.”
“We kept talking and I kept showing them the board,” said Falmouth coach Scott Rousseau. “He’s such a big goaltender and we don’t see men of that size in our league. He was up at the top of his crease, so we kept trying to find the player on the weak side.”
Blackman himself was still in a zone following the game, saying he didn’t remember much of the specifics of the third, just seeing a lot of rubber.
“It was just all high intensity,” said Blackman. “I was just in a zone. Every shot I was seeing, I reacted well to them.”
While Blackman excelled, the rest of the Saints seemed to break down after taking an early first period lead.
“Brady did an outstanding job,” said Pleau. “To me, he’s the best goalie in the state. I feel bad for him tonight, because the team let him down. He did everything he could to win this one.
“We regressed five years from last Wednesday’s game,” continued Pleau. “We were lucky to even be in the game at all the way we played. The simple things we did at practice all week, couldn’t get executed in the game. It was a mental meltdown.”
Codie Keene potted the Saints’ lone goal at 2:31 of the first, when he banged home a rebound of an Alex Pleau wraparound attempt, but the Yachtsmen dominated the rest of the period.
“The kids came in the room and they were frustrated,” said Rousseau. “They were asking, We’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing, why aren’t we winning, coach?’ I just had to keep telling them it’s a long game, we have to be patient.”
In the second, the tables turned. despite most of the action revolving around the Falmouth zone, the Yachtsmen got their only goal of regulation from Mike Chase 17 seconds in to knot the score at one.
In the third, Falmouth outshot St. Dom’s 27-3, including 18-0 through the first 10 minutes.
“He was great. What can you say,” said Rousseau. “We all saw it. The kid was phenomenal, and we just kind of trying to tell our kids persistence is one of the finest qualities of the human endeavor and we can’t get frustrated, just keep going and we’re bound to get a break.”
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