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MANCHESTER - Ultimately, the St. Thomas Aquinas boys hockey team got the job done, and earned the Division II state championship, but it was a little harder than the Saints may have thought it would be when they held a three-goal lead midway through the final period.
AJ Kozlowski’s goal with just over 7 minutes left gave the third-seeded Saints a 3-0 lead and all the momentum against No. 6 Merrimack/Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield on Saturday at SNHU Arena.
However, the Warhawks, who beat top-seeded Spaulding in the semifinals, didn’t quit and struck for two goals in the next 3 minutes, 34 seconds, quickly putting a scare into the Saints with just 3:28 left to play.
The Saints regrouped, got back to their “defense-first” game plan, and freshman Finn Perry added an empty-net goal with 36.4 seconds left as the Saints eventually threw their sticks, gloves and helmets high in the air to celebrate a 4-2 win.
“We made a couple of mistakes, and (Merrimack) capitalized,” St. Thomas Aquinas first-year head coach Chris Plummer said. “But that’s going to happen in playoff hockey. We were able to weather that storm and got back to our game plan. We took a deep breath, settled in our defense, and everything fell into place.”
It is the third outright state championship for the Saints, who also won Division II crowns in 2019 and 2022. St. Thomas Aquinas and Keene were declared co-champions in 2020.
“I am honestly at a loss for words,” said senior captain Jackson Estes, who helped the Saints win the 2022 championship as a freshman against Portsmouth/Newmarket. “This is what we prepared and pushed for since day one. I am at a loss for words; this is out of this world.”
Estes, who put the Saints on the board with 5:28 left in the first period, wasn’t all concerned when STA’s three-goal lead quickly become a one-goal advantage.
“We just needed to play our game and run our systems,” the forward said. “We knew if we ran our systems, (Merrimack) wasn’t getting another (goal), and that’s what we did.”
"Our team played amazing at the end of the game," said Kozlowski, a junior forward. "We locked down defensively and got the win."
Kozlowski's goal, assisted by Jack Kelly, gave St. Thomas Aquinas a 3-0 lead with 7:02 left. Merrimack/Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield answered less than a minute later on Jackson Woods' goal, assisted by Ben Hazard and Colin Hamlin, with 6:05 left.
Two minutes later, a tripping penalty called on Kozlowski put Merrimack on a power-play with 3:45 left. Alex May, assisted by Woods and Alex Gertz, struck 17 seconds later, getting the Warhawks to within one, 3-2, with 3:28 left.
“It got a little iffy there in the third period, but we stayed calm and got through it,” said STA junior goalie Zack Pattow. “We knew (Merrimack) wasn’t going to give up and they were going to battle.”
Pattow had 19 saves through the second period, and finished with 26.
“Obviously, playing in a state championship, there’s a lot of pressure on you, especially as a goalie,” Plummer said. “(Pattow) handled the pressure well, and made big stops when we needed them. I am sure he felt a little extra pressure at the end, but everyone did. He handled it great.”
The Saints, who lost to Merrimack, 5-2 in the regular season, jumped on the board with 5:28 in the first period as Estes buried a rebound in front of the goal. Perry and Cam Aceto were credited with the assists.
“(Estes) has been an unbelievable leader for us all year, just an unbelievable athlete,” Plummer said. “He really picked us up in these playoffs, and carried the team. He buried the puck when we needed it there, and got the team going out on the ice.”
Estes’ goal came just 14 seconds after Pattow made a glove save on a breakaway on his left from Merrimack’s Will Farrell.
“(Pattow) did an incredible job all season,” Plummer said. “He was really untested coming into the season, and really exceeded expectations. His attitude and work ethic got to us where we are.”
The Saints increased their lead to 2-0 on Aiden Tibbetts’ power-play goal with 1:12 left in the second period. Garrett Aceto got the puck just inside the blue line, fired a shot from the top of the zone. The shot was tipped by Estes, and Tibbetts gathered the loose puck, and found the back of the net.
May was called for tripping with 2:49 left in the period, and there were 24 seconds left on the power-play when Tibbetts scored.
“This championship really means a lot,” said Tibbetts, who scored the game-winning overtime goal in Wednesday’s semifinal against second-seeded Oyster River. “We’ve been pushing hard all year, and I think it was a well-deserved win for us (today).”
St. Thomas finished the season with a record of 17-4, beating No. 6 Alvirne/Milford (8-2) in the quarterfinals, Oyster River (6-5) in the semifinals.
Merrimack finished at 14-6-2, beating No. 4 Goffstown (3-2) in the quarterfinals, and top-seeded Spaulding (5-1) in the semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: St. Thomas Aquinas boys hockey beats Merrimack in D2 championship
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AJ Kozlowski’s goal with just over 7 minutes left gave the third-seeded Saints a 3-0 lead and all the momentum against No. 6 Merrimack/Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield on Saturday at SNHU Arena.
However, the Warhawks, who beat top-seeded Spaulding in the semifinals, didn’t quit and struck for two goals in the next 3 minutes, 34 seconds, quickly putting a scare into the Saints with just 3:28 left to play.
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The Saints regrouped, got back to their “defense-first” game plan, and freshman Finn Perry added an empty-net goal with 36.4 seconds left as the Saints eventually threw their sticks, gloves and helmets high in the air to celebrate a 4-2 win.
“We made a couple of mistakes, and (Merrimack) capitalized,” St. Thomas Aquinas first-year head coach Chris Plummer said. “But that’s going to happen in playoff hockey. We were able to weather that storm and got back to our game plan. We took a deep breath, settled in our defense, and everything fell into place.”
St. Thomas Aquinas wins third outright state title; fourth overall
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It is the third outright state championship for the Saints, who also won Division II crowns in 2019 and 2022. St. Thomas Aquinas and Keene were declared co-champions in 2020.
“I am honestly at a loss for words,” said senior captain Jackson Estes, who helped the Saints win the 2022 championship as a freshman against Portsmouth/Newmarket. “This is what we prepared and pushed for since day one. I am at a loss for words; this is out of this world.”
Estes, who put the Saints on the board with 5:28 left in the first period, wasn’t all concerned when STA’s three-goal lead quickly become a one-goal advantage.
“We just needed to play our game and run our systems,” the forward said. “We knew if we ran our systems, (Merrimack) wasn’t getting another (goal), and that’s what we did.”
"Our team played amazing at the end of the game," said Kozlowski, a junior forward. "We locked down defensively and got the win."
Kozlowski gives STA a 3-0 lead midway through the third
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Kozlowski's goal, assisted by Jack Kelly, gave St. Thomas Aquinas a 3-0 lead with 7:02 left. Merrimack/Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield answered less than a minute later on Jackson Woods' goal, assisted by Ben Hazard and Colin Hamlin, with 6:05 left.
Two minutes later, a tripping penalty called on Kozlowski put Merrimack on a power-play with 3:45 left. Alex May, assisted by Woods and Alex Gertz, struck 17 seconds later, getting the Warhawks to within one, 3-2, with 3:28 left.
“It got a little iffy there in the third period, but we stayed calm and got through it,” said STA junior goalie Zack Pattow. “We knew (Merrimack) wasn’t going to give up and they were going to battle.”
Pattow had 19 saves through the second period, and finished with 26.
“Obviously, playing in a state championship, there’s a lot of pressure on you, especially as a goalie,” Plummer said. “(Pattow) handled the pressure well, and made big stops when we needed them. I am sure he felt a little extra pressure at the end, but everyone did. He handled it great.”
St. Thomas Aquinas takes 2-0 lead into final 15 minutes
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The Saints, who lost to Merrimack, 5-2 in the regular season, jumped on the board with 5:28 in the first period as Estes buried a rebound in front of the goal. Perry and Cam Aceto were credited with the assists.
“(Estes) has been an unbelievable leader for us all year, just an unbelievable athlete,” Plummer said. “He really picked us up in these playoffs, and carried the team. He buried the puck when we needed it there, and got the team going out on the ice.”
Estes’ goal came just 14 seconds after Pattow made a glove save on a breakaway on his left from Merrimack’s Will Farrell.
“(Pattow) did an incredible job all season,” Plummer said. “He was really untested coming into the season, and really exceeded expectations. His attitude and work ethic got to us where we are.”
The Saints increased their lead to 2-0 on Aiden Tibbetts’ power-play goal with 1:12 left in the second period. Garrett Aceto got the puck just inside the blue line, fired a shot from the top of the zone. The shot was tipped by Estes, and Tibbetts gathered the loose puck, and found the back of the net.
May was called for tripping with 2:49 left in the period, and there were 24 seconds left on the power-play when Tibbetts scored.
“This championship really means a lot,” said Tibbetts, who scored the game-winning overtime goal in Wednesday’s semifinal against second-seeded Oyster River. “We’ve been pushing hard all year, and I think it was a well-deserved win for us (today).”
How the teams got here
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St. Thomas finished the season with a record of 17-4, beating No. 6 Alvirne/Milford (8-2) in the quarterfinals, Oyster River (6-5) in the semifinals.
Merrimack finished at 14-6-2, beating No. 4 Goffstown (3-2) in the quarterfinals, and top-seeded Spaulding (5-1) in the semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: St. Thomas Aquinas boys hockey beats Merrimack in D2 championship
Continue reading...
