Warhawks stun top seed Spaulding, 5-1, advance to D-II state final
Goalie James Brew turned aside 20 shots to lead MHBDS to a 5-1 upset win over top-seeded Spaulding in the Division II State semifinals, Wednesday evening at Everett Arena.
CONCORD, NH — Goalie James Brew turned aside 20 shots to lead Merrimack-Hollis Brookline-Derryfield [MHBDS] to a 5-1 upset win over top-seeded Spaulding in the Division II State semifinals, Wednesday evening at Everett Arena.
The win propels the fifth-seeded Warhawks (13-5-2) into the D-II title game, Saturday at SNHU (time TBA) against No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas.
MHBDS is in its first year as a co-op program. The squad is a merger of Merrimack High and the existing co-op Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield School.
MHBDS’s semifinal victory was nearly flawless. Not only did it hold Spaulding (16-4-0) to its lowest offensive output of the season, the Warhawks’ five goals were the most given up by the Warriors in a game this year.
MHBDS managed to flip the script completely from its only regular season matchup with Spaulding, a 4-0 win for the Warriors.
”We wanted to get out there and play our game, that’s for sure,” said Warhawks’ Head Coach Dan Belliveau. “(Spaulding) also had a backup goalie in, it’s a tough situation, and we took advantage of it.”
With starting goalie Collin McIntyre unavailable, Spaulding was forced to turn to freshman Cash Mayo (16 saves). The rookie held his own but the Warhawks gradually wore him down.
Mayo’s inexperience came into play 1:43 into the second period, when he made a save on the Warhawks’ Will Farrell but had trouble controlling the rebound. Alex Gertz was there to knock it home to give MHBDS a 2-0 lead.
Late in the period, Caleb May scored on a shot through a screen from just inside the blue line, pushing the lead to 3-0 after two periods.
While the Warhawk offense was making the most of its scoring chances, the defense was locking down a dangerous Spaulding offense, limiting the Warriors to just 10 shots on goal through the first two periods.
“As far as I’m concerned, we have some of the best defense in the league,” said Belliveau. “With Caleb May, Blake Beaulieau, Tyler Allen, Josh Carr, those are four solid defensemen, some of the best in the league and we shut them down.”
The defensive corps was supported by some terrific backchecking from the MHBDS forwards, which helped slow the speedy Spaulding forwards.
The Warhawks appeared to put the game on ice early in the third period, with a power play goal by May, off a feed from Jackson Hatfield.
But Spaulding had some fight left, answering with a power play goal of its own by sophomore Jack Vitas just 16 seconds later, cutting the lead to 4-1 with 13:22 left to play.
MHBDS would have to kill off two more Spaulding power plays over the next 10 minutes, as emotions began running hot.
Hatfield finally put an exclamation point on the win with a power play goal with 7:02 remaining.
St. Thomas Aquinas punched its ticket for the title game with a 6-5 overtime win over No. 2 Oyster River.
The Warhawks and Saints met just once during the regular season, with the Warhawks earning a 5-2 win.