Flynn’s OT goal lifts Kings past Bulldogs, 3-2

MANCHESTER, NH — Owen Flynn’s second goal of the game came just 14 seconds into overtime, lifting Manchester over Bedford, 3-2, Saturday evening at the JFK Coliseum.

The game-winner was set up by Cam Provencher, who chased the puck to the sideboard in the attack zone, pivoted and snapped it toward the net. Meanwhile, Flynn crashed the front of the net and got just enough of his stick on the puck to redirect it past Bedford goalie Savo Ftorek.

”Getting after the puck in the corner and firing it toward the net to try and make something happen is something we work on a lot,” said Manchester head coach Jeremy Baker. “So is crashing the net. It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another to get them to buy into it, to do it in a game.”

It was the first win of the season for Manchester (1-2-0) which has dropped its first two games of the regular season before losing all three games it played in the holiday tournament.

The ending of the game was almost as shocking as the circumstances of Flynn’s first goal, which tied the game, 2-2, late in the third period.

Trailing 2-1, with less than five minutes to play, Manchester found itself short handed, when the Kings’ Cade Tripp took an ill-advised roughing penalty. Tripp got two minutes for shoving Bedford’s Brendan Traupp to the ice after the whistle had blown.

Tripp claimed Traupp had slashed him but, as is often the case, the referees caught the retaliation but not the original offense.

“(Tripp) said the kid slashed him and I told him I didn’t care,” said Baker. “I told him it was a selfish penalty. He was thinking of himself, not the team. It’s not something you do in a 2-1 game.”

Bedford (1-2-0) immediately pressed the attack, looking for an insurance goal. At one point, goalie Cam Roberge made three consecutive saves and as the puck lay dangerously in the crease, Provencher fell on it.

The referee blew the play dead but awarded Bedford a penalty shot due to Provencher illegally covering the puck.

Bedford’s Parker O’Toole took the penalty shot but was unable to capitalize, firing the puck wide.

Moments later, with Bedford still on the power play, the Bulldogs got caught pinching at the blue line too aggressively. So when Manchester flipped the puck up to the neutral zone, the Kings suddenly found themselves with a 3-on-1 breakaway.

Ftorek was able to stop the initial bid by Max Valcanas but Flynn was right on the doorstep to poke home the rebound with a backhand to tie the game, 2-2, with 3:48 left in regulation.

”I’m really proud of how our kids battled back,” said Baker. “They could have just been hanging their heads after the penalty but they kept playing hard and they took advantage when they got the 3-on-1.”

The storyline for the game was almost about missed opportunities. Manchester dominated the first period, peppering Ftorek with 20 shots on Ftorek (36 saves) helped by three Bedford penalties.

In fact, Manchester enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage for a full minute in one stretch. But the Kings squander the opportunities, often having difficulty moving the puck in the offensive zone.

Instead, it was Bedford taking a 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal by O’Toole, 5:40 into the game.

It stayed that way until early in the second period, when Manchester’s Frank Tessier took a feed from Valcanas and snapped off a wrist shot in the a lot, beating Ftorek cleanly to tie the game.

Bedford reclaimed the lead just under five minutes into the third period. The Kings gave away the puck in their own zone, leading to Evan Maslanka walking in alone and beating Roberge (31 saves) between the pads.