3/2/08
Championship Sunday:
Avon Old Farms, in OT, Wins Seventh Div. I Title
Salem, NH – A rebound goal off the stick of senior forward Ricky Longobardi at 5:24 of overtime lifted Avon Old Farms to a 3-2 win over St. Paul’s in front of a packed house at the Icenter this afternoon.
The win gave Avon, and coach John Gardner, its seventh Div. I crown, and fourth in the last five years. And if that isn’t a dynasty, what is?
Avon, which finishes the season 27-1-0, walked through a veritable minefield in the playoffs, starting with an OT win over Berkshire, continuing on with a wild, tight game with Belmont Hill that could have gotten away from them, and finishing with today’s heart-stopping OT decision over an excellent St. Paul’s team.
The key to today’s game started last night, with the Avon coaching staff facing a decision over who to start in net. Max Fenkell had been shaky in the quarterfinals against Berkshire and was pulled after one period in favor of Parker Milner, who came through that day, earning the win, but then was very shaky in yesterday’s win over Belmont Hill. Gardner had to decide whether to go back to Fenkell today, or stick with Milner.
“At the hotel,” Gardner said, “everyone was asking me about it. Eventually, I decided that the best thing to do was sleep on it. This morning I talked to my captains and said, ‘What do you think I should do?’ They were unanimous about it – play Milner. Their point was simple: he got the job done twice, let him do it again. I think he played pretty well.”
In the first, Milner had it easy, stopping just five shots as St. Paul's had difficulty getting the puck down low and putting any kind of pressure at all on the Avon defense. Meanwhile, Avon’s forward did everything but finish, keeping St. Paul’s pinned in their end for long stretches, and just peppering senior Andrew Peabody, who was outstanding. Avon had one early power play and a 4x4 situation that, for all practical purposes, looked like a Winged Beavers' power play. St. Paul’s escaped the first with a 0-0 tie.
Avon struck early in the second on a great effort off a faceoff by Chris Wieland who, from his knees, and all twisted around, sent a backhander skidding along the ice past Peabody to give the Winged Beavers a 1-0 lead. Right after that, though, the game began to turn as St. Paul's, refusing to cave under the pressure, came back nicely, skating harder, forechecking harder, getting in on the Avon d-men quicker, and stretching the ice. St. Paul's, aided by a couple of power plays (to one for Avon), had a definite territorial edge for the remainder of the period. You could see their confidence building from the top down once the impressive #1 line of Ben Albertson-Jason Bourgea-Alex Davidson and the top defense pairing of Mike Daly and Cheyne Rocha began neatly moving the puck. As for Avon, they were missing the mark on a lot of passes. Even so, they were still getting their opportunities. Brad Peltz hit a post after a rare defensive zone turnover by Daly. Peabody was forced to make a great save on continuously dangerous Cam Atkinson. And, at the other end, Milner was called on to stone Davidson on a clean breakaway.
Just like on Saturday, the third period was a thriller -- different than the previous day, not quite as wild, but no less gripping.
Again, Avon scored early, just 2:06 in, when the Winged Beavers, using hard, short passes to work the puck down low, got Peabody moving, then finished the sequence with an emphatic flourish as Mike DiMare sent a pass back across the top of the crease to Peltz, who had plenty of net to shoot at. Now with a 2-0 lead, Avon continued to apply pressure.
A key point came at the 4:18 mark when DiMare was called for a hook – it was more of a trip, really -- and St. Paul's went on the power play. A little less than a minute later, following a flurry of shots, Albertson, with an assist from Bourgea, banged one inside the near post to cut Avon's lead to 2-1. St. Paul's, smelling blood, went on another power play when Paul Lee was called for roughing after going hard to the net and bowling over Peabody, but couldn't convert on the ensuing man advantage.Finally, with 2:22 remaining in regulation, Albertson hit Bourgea with a pass and Bourgea buried it low glove side to make it 2-2.
Neither team was playing to get the game to OT. The action was fast and furious for the final two minutes, and both teams had great opportunities as the play careened up and down the ice.
In overtime, the refs made a dubious call on Avon’s Chris Wieland just 1:27 in, whistling him for a hook, which was borderline at best – the St. Paul’s player took a dive on it, or at least milked it for all it was worth. Just 28 seconds later, in a makeup call that was worse than the original call, Rocha was called for a trip.
Play continued fast and furious. After Peabody made a great save on Lee, coming down on a scary 2-on-1 with Atkinson. After the 5x4 advantage turned into a 4x4, defenseman Lee Moffie clanged one off the post. Seconds later DiMare who, along with linemates Peltz and Wieland, has been on fire all weekend, clanged one off the same post.
It looked like the game might go to whichever team got the lucky break.
At about the same time, though, St. Paul's was beginning to look gassed while Avon, skating four lines, had a bit more jump. The Winged Beavers had that look, that fire in their eyes, like they knew this was their house and it was time to settle the issue. When the end came, it came quickly. Off a faceoff won by James Chamness, the puck wound up on Longobardi’s stick – and he buried it to set off the on-ice celebration.
“I'm really proud of my team,” said Gardner afterward. “They didn’t play a perfect game but in the end they persevered and I thought it was great that Ricky Longobardi scored the game-winner. He’s one of our hardest-working kids and he’s been here for three years, just a wonderful kid.”
Gardner was asked about the St. Paul’s comeback in the third. “We were up 2-0 and we started to throw the puck around a bit, making some bad decisions.”
As for overtime, said Gardner, “We hit two posts, and I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to happen for us.”
It did, of course, but it wasn't easy. “This year," Gardner said, "we really had to battle. Every one of these games has been a battle.”
Down the hall, St. Paul’s head coach Tim Pratt, said: “We have a great group and they just stayed with Avon all the way. I thought they showed a lot of character coming back. And when you get into OT anything can happen.”
“Peabody had an unbelievable tournament – he’s a big-time goalie. And the Albertson-Bourgea-Davidson line is the best line I’ve ever coached. They were something else. I have not seen defensmen who can handle them.”
Pratt was impressed with Avon, not just the obvious things, but the little things too. “One thing they did very well,” he said, “was put sticks in lanes and block passes, especially on the penalty kill.”
“This was certainly one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of," he added. "Our guys will be able to look back and appreciate what they’ve accomplished… it might take some time, though.”
Pratt didn’t mention, and we couldn’t enumerate, every scoring opportunity that St. Paul’s had. There were some golden opportunities, right from the opening minute when a puck rebounded out in front of the Avon net, sliding tantalizingly across the blue paint of the crease while a St. Paul’s forward swooped down on it. But Avon defenseman Brendan Rempel got his stick in there and pulled the puck out of harm’s way. It could have been 1-0 St. Paul’s right at the start, but it wasn’t.
Did Avon have luck on its side? Oh, yes, and then some. But, as Branch Rickey said, luck is the residue of design, and Avon, like all powerhouse hockey teams, has players that, if they are not highly skilled and fundamentally sound, are at least the latter. In other words, they don’t beat themselves. You may catch them with their guard a little down and stick a dagger in them quickly, as Kent did in handing them their only loss of the season back in mid-December. But when the game's on the line and it's getting late, they cash in their opportunties.
Ask the Tabor defenseman who, four years ago to the day, overskated a puck that had become stuck in an ice puddle, and watched helplessly as Augie DiMarzo swept in, scooped it up and buried it to give Avon a 3-2 overtime win in the 2004 prep championship game. That was the first of current skein of four titles in five years. The mojo has been been working ever since, though this year the Winged Beavers really had to sweat for it.
It’s a little hard to envision right now, but someday Avon will hit a bad patch and some other team will have their day in the sun, but right now watching the Winged Beavers do their thing is a lot of fun. And when a team like this year’s St. Paul’s team comes along and is able to take them to sudden death… well, let’s just say that the fans who forked over $5 for admission today got an awful lot for their entertainment dollar.
***
Haliskoe Goal Lifts Kents Hill to Div. II Championship
Greg Haliskoe's power play goal at 3:08 of the second period broke a 1-1 tie and senior goaltender Brian Fleming held off New Hampton the rest of the way to lead Kents Hill to a 2-1 win and the school's first NEPSIHA Div. II title here today.
Kents Hill played a very poised, controlled game, moved the puck well, and took advantage of their opportunities. New Hampton came out hard, took a lead a couple minutes in, and controlled play early, and played with a lot of emotion. However, down by just one goal in the late stages of the game, that same emotion got the better of them as some players lost their cool, and took dumb penalties that diminished New Hampton's chances of tying the game up.
Still, they almost did tie it up, as Casey Shaughnessy had a golden opportunity at the buzzer, but couldn't bury it.
In the first period, New Hampton opened the scoring, getting its only goal of the day when Patt Shortt fired one short side at the 2:20 mark. Assists went to Sam Demerling and George Jenkins. In the second, Kents Hill came back. Ben St. Germain scored just 53 seconds in, just by driving to the net -- through the net really -- with the puck crossing the line before the cage came off its moorings. Assists on the goal went to Trevor Crevatin and Greg Haliskoe. Kents Hill then got what would turn out to be the game winner when, on the power play, Haliskoe, a senior from Newtown, Conn., rifled one from about eight feet out at the 3:08 mark. Assists to Josh Goellner and Crevatin. New Hampton put heavy pressure on Kents Hill goalie Brian Fleming to end the second, but came up empty.
In the third, New Hampton had an early power play but couldn't convert. At even strength, Kents Hill did a nice job keeping New Hampton from setting up in their end and stringing much in the way of passes together. Then, over the last five plus minutes, New Hampton had to kill off two penalties (plus a misconduct), which seriously diminished their chances of getting that tying goal. Still, at the buzzer they came very, very close.
Kents Hill coach Larry Cockrell said, "New Hampton is fast and they were taking it to us early, and we weren't breaking it out well. But we stayed with out game plan. We talked about getting the puck deep and getting in on the forecheck. Once we settled down a bit and the D started looking for their partners we played well. And Brian Fleming played a very strong game -- that was key for us."
"Eighty percent of the team are seniors who have been here three or four years, since my first year," Cockrell added. "But we have a nice core coming back. There'll be a lot of rebuilding ahead but we'll take it from here."
As for New Hampton, they may have lost the game, but, under young coach Mike Levine, had a great year as well. While New Hampton had a strong hockey program back in the day, it had since been let go, pretty much abandoned. However, a few years ago, head coach Mike Levine, virtually right out of college, asked the school's AD if he could try and resurrect the program. And bring it back he did, right to the brink of a title.
"I thought," Levine said afterward, "that we came out strong in the first, but got complacent as the game went on. I'm disappointed, but my hat's off to Kents Hill. They are extremely well coached, and they work hard. Both teams worked hard."
Today's Results:
Div. II Championship Game:
Div. I Championship Game:
Avon Old Farms 3, St. Paul's 2 (OT)
Saturday's Results:
Div. I
St. Paul’s 4, South Kent 0
Avon Old Farms 6, Belmont Hill 4
Div. II:
Kents Hill 4, Hebron 3
New Hampton 2, Roxbury Latin 1
3/3/08
All New England Prep School Team
2007-2008
Division I
Player of the Year
Erin Barley-Maloney, Senior forward, Taft
Forwards
Kelly Foley, Senior, Tabor Academy
Aleca Hughes, Senior, Hotchkiss School
Brooke Fernandez, Junior, Loomis Chaffee
Defense
Jenna Hobeika, Senior, Hotchkiss School
Kailey Nash, Senior, Taft School
Goalie
Kayla Lessard, Senior, Westminster School
Division II
Player of the Year
Celia Colman-McGraw, Senior forward, Kingswood-Oxford
Forwards
Vika Mykolenko, Senior, Proctor Academy
Ali Greenberg, Senior, Kents Hill School
Steph Blasnik, Senior, Gunnery School
Defense
Katherine Pujol, Senior, Greenwich Academy
Sacha Gouchie, Senior, Holderness School
Goalie
Kristen Gresko, Senior, Vermont Academy
3/1/08 Updated
Today's Semifinals: Updates from Southfield
Div. II semis:
#5 Middlesex 2, Rivers 1 (final)
1st period:
No scoring.
2nd period:
Middlesex: Anna Garbier (Haley MacKeen) 2:19
3rd period:
Rivers: Abby Landry (Caitlin Walsh) 8:08
Middlesex: Caroline Corbett (Bevin Landry) .28.3 of the 3rd.
Governors 3, Greenwich 0 (Final)
Govs: Alanna McDonough (Alex Carpenter, Kelly Lavallee) 12:47 of the 1st
Govs: Alex Carpenter (Kate Leary) 13:39 of the 3rd
Govs: Rebecca Lindmark (Alex Carpenter, Alanna McDonough) 4:58 of the 3rd
Div. I Semis:
Nobles 1, Tabor 0 (Final)
Nobles: Julianne Bishop (Kaitlin Spurling, Corey Stearns)
Hotchkiss 2, Choate 1 (Final)
Hotchkiss: Aleca Hughes (Diana Bennett) 12:49 1st
Hotchkiss: Kim Ton-That (unassisted) 4:16 3rd
Choate: Christine Valente (Kelly McDonough) .48.4 -- 6 X 5
Championship Sunday
10:30 am Division II Final:
Middlesex vs. Governors
12:30 pm Division I Final:
Nobles vs. Hotchkiss
3/2/08
Championship Sunday:
Nobles Wins Div. I Crown, 2-1, in Double Overtime
Kaitin Spurling Nets Game-winner; Named Tournament MVP
Nobles 2, Hotchkiss 1 (OT):
Hotchkiss: Alex Kinney (Aleca Hughes) @ 4:09 of the 1st.
Nobles: Denna Laing (Alexandra Piersiak Karoline Perdios)
Nobles: Kaitlin Spurling (Kelley Cooke) @ 14:19 of OT
***
Governor's Wins Div. II Title, 3-2, in Double Overtime
Kate Leary Nets Game Winner
Alexa Carpenter of Governor's Named Tournament MVP
Governors 3, Middlesex 2 (2 OT):
Middlesex: Heather Landry, @ 12:39 of the 1st
Governors: Alex Carpenter (Alanna McDonough) @ 1:15 of the 1st
Middlesex: Heather Landry (Haley MacKeen) @ 8:46 of the 2nd
Governors: Alex Carpenter (Kate Leary) @ 8:30 of the 2nd
No scoring in the first 15-minute OT
2nd OT:
Governors: Kate Leary (Haley MacKeen, Alex Carpenter) @ 10:58 of the 2nd OT.
10:30 am Division II Final:
Governor's 3, Middlesex 2 (2 OT)
12:30 pm Division I Final:
Nobles 2, Hotchkiss 1 (OT)
