by Team Reporter Nate Gordon ’16
Scoring three goals in the third period, Winchendon (11-12-2) piled on its goaltender to celebrate its comeback victory, one that very likely ended the Wildcats (12-11-2) playoff pursuit.
The Wildcats held a 2-0 lead after the second period. Controlling the puck, Williston kept play in its offensive zone for the first thirty-six minutes.
This was the second time in two games that Williston lost by one goal—losing 6-5 to Albany on Wednesday. In both games, the Wildcats held a two goal lead at one point.
In this game on Friday, February 27th, the Wapitis scored all three goals within seven minutes during the third period. The first goal was scored less than four minutes into the period, with the last coming with 9:23 to play.
This was the Wildcats third straight loss, three games the team needed to win to secure a playoff spot.
In the locker room after the game, the coaches reminded the Wildcats that they had to put the game into perspective.
Williston Head Coach Mr. Derek Cunha, “We were what, 1-5 to start the season? We clawed our way back to being relevant. Did we burn out? Maybe. Did we peak too soon? Maybe.” He added, “Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose. There were a couple games this year where I felt we were the better team, [but] we didn’t play well. This last stretch of games, you haven’t played badly. The margin of error is so thin to win games.”
Senior Brandon Bork scored the first goal for the Wildcats in the first period while senior Jared Karas added the team’s second before the midpoint of the second period.
On Saturday, February 28th , Williston will play its final game of the regular season at home against Promfret (7-17-0). This game will celebrate the careers of ten seniors for whom this will be the last home game they play in a Williston uniform.
A win in this game would give the Wildcats a 12-10-2 record against New England teams. This would tie the record of Williston’s 2013-14 New England record, one that had the Wildcats missing the playoffs by .004 of a percentage point.