Manchester suffers power outage, falls to Windham, 2-1, in OT

MANCHESTER, NH — Sam Kramer scored a shorthanded goal with 2:05 remaining in overtime to lift Windham High past Manchester, 2-1, Wednesday afternoon at JFK Arena.

It was a disappointing ending to a disappointing performance by the Kings (7-8-2), who were 5-2-2 in their previous nine games and had been hoping to leapfrog the Jaguars (9-8-0) in the Division I standings.

”It was a winnable game. We didn’t have our best effort, obviously,” said Manchester Head Coach Jeremy Baker. “We had some kids just take the night off, in my opinion. And I just told them (in the lockerroom), we’re not built to just come out here and play the game. If we’re not working hard, if you don’t understand that, we’ve got big problems.”

Manchester is solidly entrenched in eighth place and has already clinched a tournament berth. The Kings close out the regular season against Nashua North-Souhegan on Saturday. Baker is hoping to see a higher compete level and a more consistent performance, to give the team some momentum heading into the playoffs.

Wednesday’s loss was a story of squandered chances. Manchester was 0-for-4 on the power play, including 0-for-2 in the 8-minute overtime.

Windham had a pair of short-handed bids on Manchester’s first man advantage, but the Kings were bailed out by goalie Cam Roberge.

Later, with Windham down a man again, Jaguars’ winger Josh Trudel broke from his own zone and made a rush down the middle. He was met just inside the blue line and ridden off by defenseman Tyler Cantin but flipped a drop pass to Kramer, who was trailing the play.

Kramer avoided a back-checking Ryan Marden and snapped off a wrist shot that beat Roberge to the glove side.

Despite the loss, Roberge played a spectacular game in net. He finished with 32 saves, including 18 in the third period and overtime.

“Cam was great. I mean, he’s been great these last 10 games,” said Baker. “He’s the reason we’re where we are right now.”

At the other end of the ice, Windham goalie Roberto Robles was equally stellar, finishing with 35 saves. He had 12 saves in a first period that saw Manchester with the Lion’s share of the scoring chances.

The game remained scoreless deep into the second period, until Trudel broke the ice for Windham at 8:12, off a sensational feed from behind the net by Ricky Barker.

Manchester got the equalizer with just under a minute to play in the second period. Jake Lessard made a strong rush through the neutral zone and looked to try and set up Jonny Nassoura in the left circle.

But the puck pinballed back to Lessard, who slid it across to the right slot and onto the stick of Marden, who found the back of the net before Robles could adjust.

That set the stage for a wide open third period, with both teams enjoying prime scoring opportunities and both goalies showing off their skills.