Boys’ hockey: Pembroke-Campbell scores twice in third advance to semifinals with 4-2 win over Kennett

By DAN ATTORRI

Monitor staff

Published: 03-05-2023 2:38 AM

The Pembroke Academy-Campbell boys’ hockey team had already beaten Kennett twice this season. With a spot in the Division III semifinals on the line, PAC wasn’t about to break that streak.

Sophomore forward Casey Fuller (goal, assist) scored the game-winning midway through the third period, juniors Cameron Plumb (two goals, assist) and Logan Daigle (goal, assist) also had multiple points, and Liam Cripps made 24 saves to lift No. 3 Pembroke-Campbell (15-4-0) to a 4-2 victory over the No. 6 Kennett Eagles (9-9-1) at Everett Arena in Saturday’s quarterfinal.

PAC won the first meeting between the two teams, 2-1, at home on Jan. 11 and then won in overtime, 4-3, on the road on Feb. 11.

“We battled those guys all year long,” PAC head coach Marc Noel said. “We beat them twice …  It was an up and down game for both of these teams. They’re becoming rivals. I’m happy we came out on the winning side of the coin tonight.”

PAC went up 1-0 when Plumb went five-hole on Kennett goalie Zach Moore (29 saves) during a power play with 5:35 on the scoreboard. 

Robbie Murphy tied the game for the Eagles before the period was over, firing a puck towards the goalie that was redirected off a PAC defender an into the net for a 1-1 tie.

Daigle scored a power-play goal just 47 seconds into the period to make it 2-1 PAC, but Jack Robinson tied it up for Kennett again in the middle of period when he threw a shot on net that Cripps initially saved, but the puck squirted his pads and over the line to make it 2-2.

Fuller’s turnaround shot from the high slot while falling to the ground gave PAC a 3-2 lead with 7:09 to go and Plumb’s empty netter with 14.2 seconds left sealed the deal. Declan Sullivan and Trevor Lemaire also assisted on PAC goals.

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The game got chippy in the second and third periods, with PAC getting 13 penalty minutes and Kennett getting slapped with eight. PAC went 2-for-4 on the power play and killed off four of five penalties faced (including a five minute major).

“We’ve been working on the special teams quite a bit,” Noel said. “(Kennett did a good job) staying out of the box. They did a good job. Our guys on the other hand…not so much. We’ve gotta get down on them a little bit so they understand. Some of the penalties they took I wasn’t a huge fan of.”

While there are still things to clean up, such as bad penalties, PAC did enough to advance to the semifinals after ending the last two seasons in the quarterfinals. At this point, it’s all about execution and focus.

“There’s not a lot (to change) this time of year,” Noel said. “(During intermission and timeouts) we just told them to stay positive and get to the net. At that point, it was 2-2, it’s anyone’s game. It’s a puck bounce. So just staying positive and plugging away (will be key).”

PAC will take on the winner of No. 2 Berlin-Gorham vs. No. 7 Sanborn-Epping in Wednesday’s semifinal at Plymouth State.

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