RMT wins D-II hockey championship and Newport County bragging rights. How they did it
PROVIDENCE — Matt O’Hagan notched the power play goal that tied the score, Keaton O’Shea registered the game-winning goal and Johnny Lopes assured the No. 2 seed Rogers/Middletown/Tiverton co-op hockey team would claim its first-ever Division II championship with an empty-net goal, as the Hurricanes skated past No. 1 seed Portsmouth 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Schneider Arena.
“I can’t even believe this. There’s no words that can describe this,” Lopes said. “I’ve been waiting three, now four long years for this (to happen). I am just so excited for this team and everyone, especially for our coaches for all the hard work they put in all year for us.”
RMT finished the season with nine straight wins and on a 14-0-2 run. The Hurricanes last league setback came last year on Dec. 17.
“This will stay with me forever,” O’Shea said. “It’s a culmination of all the effort I’ve put in. I’ve had 15, 16 years of my life playing hockey. It’s great to finally get some recognition and a trophy to bring home for the team. I love it.”
Portsmouth’s Temple opens the scoring
Portsmouth scored first when Shane Temple shed a pair of defenders, got control of the puck and wristed it past RMT goalie Max Braun from the left faceoff circle 10 minutes into the game. Joe Levreault and Steve Madden assisted as Patriots fans roared.
“The first goal was a quick one,” Braun said. “I had only had (faced) one shot before that maybe. I wasn’t really settled in.
“Once that happened, I was like, ‘Alright, I’m in a game here. I’ve been here before. And I’ve just got to save the next one.’ It was all good from there.”
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Noah Leys nearly tied the score two minutes after Temple netted his goal but Portsmouth goalie Steve Dutra flashed his glove and snared Leys's shot from the left point.
“Our goalie made a save, a quick glove save,” Portsmouth coach Greg Cunningham said. “We’ve been blessed to see him make some pretty awesome saves all season. When he made that save the bench just erupted. What a shot of confidence. He’s been a rock all year.”
Both goaltenders excelled throughout the game
Braun finished with 27 saves while Dutra made 20 saves on the 22 shots he faced. Each goalie had 31 saves in the regular-season 1-1 draw between the teams.
“Dutra deserves a ton of credit. He was awesome,” RMT coach Johnny Sheil said. “I think he’s another one that’s extremely underrated. He doesn’t get the props that he deserves. But he plays awesome.
“Then Max Braun, I‘ve bit my tongue all year and I don’t want to jinx anything, but that kid’s all-state. He’s got all-state written all over him. He’s got a .099 goals-against average. That’s just big time.”
Hurricanes take advantage of Patriots penalty
The Hurricanes couldn’t make Portsmouth pay for its first two penalties but did so when given a man advantage for the third time. O’Hagan skated with the puck left to right through the low slot and picked the left corner to tie the score 1-1 four minutes into the second period. Christian Berluti and Leys had the assists.
“These kids, they don’t panic,” Sheil said. “I knew when we were down one, we were still in a good spot with a lot of time left. We can score quickly too.”
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The teams went to the locker room tied 1-1 after two periods and the two goalies came out and matched saves for nearly nine minutes in the tense, taut third period. O’Shea broke the scoreless streak as he collected a flip pass from Leys, skated around a defender at the blue line and managed to slide the puck under Dutra one-on-one.
RMT puts game away in the final period
“I knew what I was trying to do. And I kind of did what I was aiming to do,” O’Shea said. “My goal was to bring it back and slide it through his five-hole.
“And I whiffed on the shot but it still went through his five-hole. But I mean, the puck goes in the net, I’m not going to complain.”
Dutra was pulled from the goal for an extra skater with 90 seconds remaining but Lopes foiled the plan as he escaped down the left wing and sent the puck into the open net from near center ice.
“I had a lot going through my head right there,” Lopes said. “I was just hoping I did not miss the net. I would have never lived that one down.”
Portsmouth suffers first on-ice loss of season
The loss was the first on-ice setback for Portsmouth all season. The Patriots agreed to forfeit a pair of games after a well-publicized locker room incident that made the rounds on social media. Portsmouth had won six straight games and entered the title clash with a 16-2-1 record.
“It’s been extremely challenging, extremely challenging for a number of reasons,” Cunningham said. “At the moment I am so disappointed for these kids. They worked so hard.
“And even in the midst of all the craziness that was going on, we had leadership on the team that stood up day in and day out. They just kept practicing, they showed up, they worked hard constantly.”
The Hurricanes knew who they were up against but they were the more determined team on Saturday.
“They’re good competitors," O'Shea said of the Patriots. "They gave us a run for our money. I’ve played with those guys my whole life. But like I said before, we can’t let that slide, we’ve got to win.”
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: RI high school hockey: RMT defeats Portsmouth for D-II championship
