Bishop Brady falls in hockey final for second straight season

Bow Editor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:08:00 GMT

The puck from the Division I boys ice hockey championship ended up where it spent a great deal of the game – with Bishop Guertin goalkeeper Dave O’Brien.

O’Brien notched his eighth shutout of the year to lead his team to a 3-0 victory over Bishop Brady, stopping 23 shots as the Cardinals won their second straight title.

After the game on Sunday, March 9, O’Brien stood in the corridors of the Verizon Wireless Arena – the championship plaque clutched in one hand, his glove on the other.

“Here, you kept it out of the net all game,” said a Guertin assistant coach, dropping the puck in his glove. “You deserve it.”

After a scoreless first period, the Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead when Eric Harries received the puck from Kyle Curry and worked it past Bishop Brady goalie Tyler Ingerson.

With 7:35 remaining in the second period, Harries returned the favor, setting Curry up for a goal to put Bishop Guertin ahead by two goals.

That lead was nearly cut in half late in the second period. With 37 seconds remaining in the period and O’Brien out of position, Bishop Brady’s Brooks Herrington had an open shot at the right side of the net, but O’Brien dove across the crease and made the glove save.

“I went down too early and just had to sprawl out for it, and it ended up in my glove,” said O’Brien. “Bishop Brady has a lot of great players up front, and my defense made it really easy for me.”

Bishop Guertin head coach Gary Bishop said he was as shocked as the rest of the raucous crowd in attendance to see the puck land in O’Brien’s glove.

“I saw the light, and then I thought what everyone else was thinking: how did he do that?” he said. “It’s really nothing new.”

Harries added his second goal of the game with 5:54 remaining to cap the scoring.

Bishop Guertin also defeated the Green Giant squad last year to earn the championship.

“Being in the title game back to back years is the upside, although obviously you don’t want to lose two in a row,” said Bishop Brady head coach Clint Edinger. “We’re still searching for that championship, but the future is bright, and we’re going to continue to get better.”

Bishop was at least as specific with his wish list for 2009.

“Another win would be alright,” he said with a smile.

Fledging Concord team skates to fast start

Bow Editor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:56:00 GMT

BY JERRY LIPTAK

If the cliche, “Practice makes perfect,” retains even a bit of truth, foes of Concord High’s girls ice hockey beware.

When CHS took the ice on Tuesday, Jan. 8, it marked the Crimson Tide’s first practice session in roughly one month, said coach Tom Ackerson, who acknowledged persistent snows and consistent scheduling conflicts as roadblocks to the usual Tuesday and Thursday practices at St. Paul’s School.

Yet the Concord girls are 3-1- 0 heading into a matchup with another strong Division I crew – St. Thomas Aquinas of Dover – on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Everett Arena in Concord.

“Their effort,” said Ackerson, “has been awesome, but they don’t have the experience yet.”

Still, Concord produced a 3-1 win over a solid Lebanon team in New Hampshire’s first varsity girls ice hockey match, then followed that Dec. 8 victory with an 8-0 shutout of host Exeter three days later.

The team’s most recent contest, a 5-0 triumph against visiting Bishop Guertin on Jan. 2, showcased the Crimson Tide’s exceptional goaltending and team depth.

Julia Coffin, a senior, turned aside each of the 13 shots she faced in net, and Ackerson said Concord is blessed with a feeder program that should ensure a continued supply of stingy backstops. Meanwhile, five different players scored, and four others earned assists.

Senior Grace Hirshon tallied first, taking a pass from sophomore Melissa Lehtinen 1 minute, 14 seconds into the contest. Senior Erica Simpson extended the lead 5:45 into the second period, depositing a short-handed goal on an assist from sophomore Paige Hansen. Nineteen seconds later, Lehtinen’s short-handed score, assisted by classmate Meridith Foote and junior Hilary Kane, made it 3-0.

Two more tallies in the third – one from sophomore Jackolyn Haydon, off a feed from freshman Brittany Premo, and another from sophomore Ashley Liotti, assisted by Foote – capped the scoring. That’s at least one point from every class – the vast majority from underclassmen.

“I think we can compete (this year),” said Ackerson, who added Hanover, an 8-1 winner over Concord on Dec. 18, has played against and beaten Vermont challengers for years and is clearly the class of New Hampshire’s Division I girls hockey scene. “We want to do well this year, but we’re also looking to set ourselves up for the future.”

Ackerson pointed to those to-date elusive practices as an opportunity to improve in certain areas, including proper positional hockey, consistency and conditioning; though Concord outshot BG in the final period, 11-1, Ackerson said his team suffered too many defensive breakdowns.

“Right now they’re mostly good athletes,” said Ackerson, who expects to witness the program’s transformation from largely a group of fine athletes playing hockey to a group of hockey players who happen to be good athletes.

“Going (to) varsity (status) means so much. It keeps the (middle- school) girls motivated to represent their high school.”

Concord News : hockey

Bishop Brady falls in hockey final for second straight season

Fledging Concord team skates to fast start