Kings skate past Pinkerton, into quarters

MANCHESTER, NH – Entering the third period knotted at two in Wednesday’s playoff opener at JFK Colosseum, it was the Manchester co-op boys ice hockey team that found the decisive goal to earn a trip to the Division-I quarterfinals.

And with an empty-netter in the closing seconds, the eight-seeded Kings (9-8-1) skated away with a 4-2 triumph over ninth-ranked Pinkerton (8-10-1).

The win was bittersweet for Manchester head coach Jeremy Baker, who avenged a first-round home loss to Pinkerton in last year’s playoffs, but in doing so defeated his son, Astros defenseman and assistant captain Zach Baker, who assisted on his team’s second goal, a John Barbarossa power-play tally just over a minute into the second period.

“It’s a lot of mixed feelings,” said the elder Baker. “I’m a competitor, so obviously I want to win. I want my team to win. That’s my job, but there’s a part of me that feels awful for him, that this is the end of his high school career.”

The Barbarossa goal put the Astros ahead, 2-1, before Manchester senior Jake Lessard found the back of the net on a rebound with 3:41 remaining in the second period to knot the contest at two heading into the final frame.

There, 3:31 into the third period, it was Luke Vattes, after collecting a loose puck off a face-off, who scored his first high school goal at the most opportune time to put the Kings ahead for good.

“It’s amazing when you tell them, off the draw, if there’s a scrum, wingers come in and help out, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Baker. “The puck went behind center, he came through, and like I’ve been telling him all year long, had a wide-open shot and, instead of playing with it, he fired it. I’ve been preaching that all year long, which is frustrating. Get pucks to the net.”

No time like the present.

“Getting that third goal kind of changed everything,” said Baker. “I kept telling the kids, you know, the next goal, chances are you’re going to come out of here with the win, and once they got that goal, you could see their energy level pop up.”

Tyler Cantin then capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 6.8 seconds remaining in the contest.

Earlier in the game, it was Pinkerton’s Daniel Richards who kicked off the game’s scoring on an assist from Mikey McGaffigan and Michael Saab with 4:10 left in the first period before Manchester’s Frank Tessier responded on a Cade Tripp helper a little more than a minute later.

The back-and-forth affair was no surprise to Pinkerton head coach Jonathan Chabot.

“(Our) bench was a little short. My guys worked hard. It was a bounce here or there, you know, changes the game,” he said. “I thought we were pretty even, but they’ve got a competitive squad.”

The Kings will need to channel every ounce of competitiveness for their next contest, a quarterfinal clash at Concord (16-2) Saturday night, which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday night at 6:30 at the Everett Ice Arena.

“We’re a big underdog. That’s pretty obvious,” said Baker. “We’re going to have to play a perfect game to stay with them and have a chance to win, but I want the kids to enjoy this. It’s been a long time since this program has won a playoff game, especially at home.”