DOVER — They felt they deserved a better result.
Had all their players been on the ice more, the Portsmouth/Newmarket hockey team probably would have gotten one on Friday night against Oyster River.
Instead, sophomore Liam Spurling got to be the hero, poking a rebound across the goal line with 5.5 seconds left to finish off a 5-4 come-from-behind win for the Bobcats at Dover Ice Arena.
Ben Caron had tied the game for Oyster River with 2:17 left to play, one of three power-play goals his team would score on the night.
“The boys did everything we asked,” said Portsmouth/Newmarket coach Bill Widi, whose team fell to 3-7 in Division II. “They won the majority of one-on-one battles. I thought when we played a 5-on-5 hockey game we were the better team.”
Fred Holmes and Jack Suhesky each had a goal and an assist for the Clipper Mules, who also got goals from David Blodgett and Will Perry, and two assists from Andrew Weeks.
Spurling had two helpers in a penalty-filled game before his late game-winner. Caron, Declan Daubney and Shane O’Connell each had a goal and an assist for the Bobcats, who improved to 5-2.
“That game didn’t go the way we drew it up at all,” said OR coach Peter Harwood. “Majors on both sides. We felt we had chances throughout but their goalie played a phenomenal game.”
Brad Weit was credited with 43 stops for the Clipper Mules, nearly half of them in the final period. Both teams were assessed a pair of five-minute major penalties, with the Bobcats cashing in twice and the Clipper Mules once.
“I’ve coached a thousand hockey games,” said Widi. “I’ve never seen four five-minute majors in a game before.”
Down 1-0 early, the Clipper Mules scored twice before the first period was up. The second was started by a rush up the ice by Weeks, who dished off to Blodgett on his right and he beat goalie Nick Milano (16 saves).
Perry made it 3-1 midway through the second when he sailed a shot from the right point through traffic and in. But two major penalties later in the period, taken just 69 seconds apart, gave the Bobcats a chance to swing the game and they made sure they did.
Daubney scored with 20 seconds left in the period to make it 3-2, flinging a wrister from the point that bulged the net high. Still skating on a 5-on-3 in the opening minute of the third, Ethan Keslar redirected a Caron shot from the point to tie the game 3-3.
Portsmouth/Newmarket took a 4-3 lead when Suhesky cleaned up the rebound of a Jack Squire breakaway midway through the period, but their team didn’t have the discipline to close it out.
The Clipper Mules were whistled for concurrent minor penalties that set up Caron’s game-tying goal.
Then, with the seconds all but ticked off, a flurry in front of Weit left a loose puck that Spurling reached first and tucked away to win the game.
“We just kept telling the kids, ‘Don’t give up, don’t give up, and see if you can create a chance,” said Harwood, “and at the end we did.”
With just six results under its belt entering Friday, Oyster River shared the honor of having played the fewest games in Division II. The game against Portsmouth/Newmarket began a stretch of 12 games in 25 days.
“We’re still trying to figure where we are as a team,” said Harwood. “We’re trying to find our identity and a win like this will help.”
Widi took away some positives, if not the points in the standings. He felt it was the best game the Clipper Mules have played in their last three or four, and with a rival in Winnacunnet next on the schedule, isn’t concerned about this one lingering.
“In my three years coaching here, every time we play Winnacunnet we’ve played a good game,” he said. “As far as a hangover, I’m not concerned at all.”