Division I boys hockey: Bedford beats Concord in OT, advances to final against Bishop Guertin
Mar. 8—MANCHESTER — Bedford High School boys hockey coach Jon Garrity said his team felt that its chances would come in its NHIAA Division I semifinal against Concord on Wednesday night at JFK Coliseum.
When they did, Bedford cashed in.
The Bulldogs made the most of their limited opportunities and defeated Concord, 3-2, in overtime to make their second straight final appearance.
Fourth-seeded Bedford (14-6) will play third-seeded Bishop Guertin in Saturday's championship game at SNHU Arena in Manchester. BG beat seventh-seeded Londonderry 5-3 in Wednesday's late semifinal.
Top-seeded Concord, which won the past two D-I titles and shared it with Bedford in 2020, went undefeated last year and was 19-0 with two wins over the Bulldogs this season entering Wednesday.
Bedford senior forward Javin Manfield scored the game-winning goal 2:36 into the extra frame, finishing a two-on-two rush alongside Ryan O'Connor, who notched the assist.
"They're a hard hockey team to prepare for," Garrity said of the Crimson Tide, "but we found a way five-on-five. It just comes down to heart and effort and our guys just have that."
Concord, which struck early in each of the first two periods to build a 2-0 advantage, outshot Bedford, 20-9, over the first two periods, 36-14, in regulation and 36-16 overall.
Bulldogs forward Nick Hadley scored his second goal of the game 5:02 into the third period to knot the score at 2-2. The senior scored in front via a centering pass from junior Dom Tagliaferro.
"We didn't build on the lead and then they tied it and then it's anybody's game," Crimson Tide coach Dunc Walsh said.
Concord junior defenseman Alex Pelletier opened the game's scoring 2:45 into the first period, giving the Crimson Tide a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. Freshman center Carter Doherty doubled Concord's lead with his 12th goal of the season, which came 2:10 into the second frame and just after a Crimson Tide power play expired.
Pelletier scored on a wrister from the right point. The puck bounced off Bedford senior goaltender Evan Johnston's stick and into the net. Doherty put home a back-door, rebound goal after Cam Chandonnet redirected a Joey Tarbell blast at Johnston (34 saves).
Bedford pulled within one on Hadley's power-play goal 6:45 into the second period. The senior forward scored a back-door goal after he and two fellow Bulldogs formed a triangle around Concord senior goaltender Kalan Gaudreault (13 saves) and Tarbell.
Johnston made 26 saves and his fellow Bulldogs blocked numerous more Concord shots over the second and third periods. Concord began the second with 1:07 remaining on a late first-period power play and had another man advantage midway through the frame.
Garrity said Bedford used its three goalies throughout the regular season before Johnston became the starter with about five regular-season games left.
"He doesn't take himself out of the play, he stays focused and stays centered to the puck so well and traps rebounds so well," Garrity said of Johnston. "He just has so much drive."
The Bulldogs held Concord's top line of senior center Brooks Craigue and junior wings Dawson Fancher and A.J. Dow off the scoresheet.
Craigue set Concord's single-season points record (66 on 30 goals and 36 assists) with a hat trick in the team's quarterfinal 4-1 win over Keene and is the defending Division I player of the year. Dow logged 12 goals and 25 assists while Fancher had 16 goals and 18 assists on the season.
Garrity said Bulldogs senior defenseman Maddox Muir was assigned to defend Craigue.
Bishop Guertin 5, Londonderry 3: The Cardinals advanced to meet Bedford in the D-I final behind a senior-led three-goal third-period barrage.
Bishop Guertin senior forwards John Mantone and Stephen Toom scored 33 seconds apart to turn a 2-2 tie into a two-goal Cardinals lead 5:21 into the final frame.
Senior defenseman Jackson Levasseur built a 5-2 BG advantage on his goal from the left point that came with 4:15 remaining.
The Lancers (12-9) capped the game's scoring with 3:28 left, when Ben Padykula fired a top-shelf shot by Cardinals junior goaltender Brayden King (30 saves).
Londonderry, which advanced to the semifinal with tournament wins over 10th-seeded Hanover and No. 2 seed Windham, pulled senior goaltender Aidan Cardosi (25 saves) for the extra skater with about 1:30 remaining.
Bishop Guertin led, 2-1, after the opening period behind goals from Mantone, who also assisted on Levasseur's tally, and classmate Tim Kiely.
Senior Logan Vogel sprung Mantone for his breakaway goal that came with 2:56 left in the first frame that broke a 1-1 deadlock.
The Lancers knotted the score at 2-2 with 4:43 left in the second period on a power-play rebound goal from Matt Boyon. The junior forward's game-tying tally came seven seconds after King made a pad save on Londonderry junior Michael Maloney's penalty shot.
Londonderry junior Brandon Morin opened the game's scoring 14 seconds into the first period.
The Cardinals last reached the D-I championship game in 2016, when they lost, 4-3, to Bedford.
The Bulldogs and Bishop Guertin split their two regular-season meetings, both winning on their home ice.
