FRANKLIN — In the consolation game of the Bellingham Holiday Tournament, the Lancers traded blows with Diman during a wild third period but couldn’t get the equalizer in dropping their second straight game.
Diman built a 3-2 lead in the third period then withstood a Norton counter-punch, eventually sealing the game with an empty-netter with only 18 seconds left in the game.
“The second period I thought we outplayed them and had a lot of chances, but their goalie came up big,” said Norton coach Kyle Heagney. “I’m very proud of the way our team played, at no point were we out of it.”
Troy Parker’s slapshot goal from Justin Goldstein tied things for Norton at 1-all. It was career goal No. 1 for the Lancer senior. After Diman popped in two more goals, Bobby Trudeau scored from Matt Loranger to make it a 3-2 game, Loranger chipping the puck up the boards, Trudeau going in on a partial break after toe-dragging past a defenseman and scoring low to the stick side.
The Lancers had their share of chances to tie things up over the final 30 minutes but “just couldn’t bury the puck,” added Heagney, who also noted the solid play of eighth-grader John Giguere, the line of Jake Palin, Jack Loranger and Chris Towne, as well as the defensive corps of Parker, Loranger, Cam Trudeau and Clint Gallagher.
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