Carter Richardson continues to be a dominant force in the crease for the Maine Nordiques.
The 18-year-old goalie defeated the top-seeded Maryland Black Bears 2-0 in Game 1 of the North American Hockey League East Finals on Friday night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena in Odenton, Maryland. He pitched a shutout and made 36 saves. .
“His break save in the second period and his play in the first period, moments like that gave us a chance to win the game,” Maine Nordiques coach Nick Skerik said. “Obviously, less than three goals scored. I enjoyed watching it. He made all the saves he had to make. Thanks to our (defense) and our center, we had a lot of success in the second period. And life got a lot easier for him in the third period, except for his breakaway on the penalty kill there.”
Richardson is 4-1-1 in the postseason with a 1.74 goals-against average and .950 save percentage.
Skerik said he knew in early March that Richardson would be the No. 1 goaltender in the playoffs.
“Probably in February, we saw his game improve,” Skerik said. “On March 1st or 2nd, we told both goaltenders, 'No matter who has the hot hand, we're going to start riding towards the end and into the playoffs.'” …Thomas, if necessary. -We know Heaney can step in there and deliver a win as well. ”
Black Bears goaltender Owen Lepak stopped 28 of 30 shots in Maryland's first loss of the postseason.
Maine scored from its bottom six forwards, starting with Ryan Panico's second playoff goal midway through the second period to take a 1-0 lead.
“It's scary how similar the goal he scored against Rochester was,” Skerik said. “It was a weird chance for Tomek Haula to get a shot. Nick Bernardo coming in and diving for the puck saved the whole play.”
St. Lawrence's Cole Hipkin scored his first goal since March 2 as an insurance marker in the third period for the Nordiques.
“Cole Hipkin, we're definitely not going to take away credit from him, but we've heard rumors that Liam Gilmartin might take credit for the goal,” Skerik said. “Anyway, credit goes to Cole Hipkin for that goal. … When the most defensive and reliable player scores a goal in an important game, from that moment on, I felt like the Nordiques all night long. That goal. And then with six minutes left, we took the penalty, but we don't know if they crossed the red line until the last 30 or 40 seconds.”
Maine and Maryland will meet in Game 2 of a best-of-five series Saturday in Odenton at 6:30 p.m.
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