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MANCHESTER, NH. — Pinkerton’s run at a second-straight Division I state hockey title crashed during a 4-minute stretch of the second period in last night’s semifinals.

The second-seeded Astros squandered a two-goal lead as third-seeded Exeter rallied for a 3-2 victory before about 500 at the JFK Arena.

SALEM, N.H. — With Timberlane out to defend its first state hockey title in program history, Zach Fox once again proved why he is possibly the area’s most feared with the puck on his stick.

SALEM, N.H. — With Timberlane out to defend its first state hockey title in program history, Zach Fox once again proved why he is possibly the area’s most feared player with the puck on his stick.

HOOKSETT, N.H. — After exploding for four second-period goals, second-seeded Pinkerton almost squandered a three-goal lead in the final two minutes. The Astros rallied from a two-goal deficit then survived a furious St. Thomas Aquinas comeback for a 5-4 victory over the seventh-seeded Saints yesterday before approximately 250 fans at the Ice Den. Pinkerton (16-5-1) will play third-seeded Exeter at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the JFK Rink in Manchester in the Division 1 semifinals. “We just try to make things interesting,” said Pinkerton senior Jake Dion, who contributed on all five scores (2 goals, 3 assists), including a pair of goals in the crucial second period. Pinkerton, which split a pair of one-goal decisions against St. Thomas during the regular season, watched the Saints (11-7-1) grab a 2-0 lead early in the second. But the defending state champion Astros converted on four power-play opportunities in a span of 4:37 to take a commanding 4-2 lead into the final period. “We were getting down on the bench,” Dion said. “But coach told us to keep positive. Negativity brings teams down. It’s all about the attitude.” Dion put the Astros on the board with 8:11 left in the second, scoring on a nice centering pass from Eric Clark. The senior winger got his second goal 77 seconds later, deflecting a slap shot by John Cebula past St. Thomas goalie Adam Houle. Teddy McCarran, who has a team-high 19 goals, gave Pinkerton the lead for good 22 seconds after St. Thomas’ third penalty with a nifty move and tough wrist shot in the slot with 4:04 left in the second. The Saints were penalized again only 30 seconds later, and this time the Astros needed only 12 seconds to increase their advantage to 4-2 on a wrister by Andrew Stefanelli. “We didn’t take advantage of some odd-man rushes in the first period, but we had chances to score,” Pinkerton coach Casey Kesselring said. “We’ve been really good in the second period all year. We told them we had to stay with it and be composed. “It just wasn’t going our way, but then (the Saints) kind of shot themselves in the foot, and it really hurt them. The power play was the big difference in the game.” Pinkerton scored an apparent knock-out goal with 3:31 left in the third after Dion dumped in the puck which goalie Shayne Forsley was unable to cover up, allowing McCarran an easy goal. But two goals 52 seconds apart brought St. Thomas back to within one goal with 1:30 left. A tripping penalty with 35 seconds remaining put Pinkerton down a man, but Astros’ goalie J.J. Solloway survived the six-on-four onslaught to preserve the victory. “Basically it’s life or death,” St. Thomas coach Chris Plummer said. “You have to put everything on the net and crash the net ... We talked in the pregame that against a good team if you make mistakes, they’re going to put the puck in the net, and that’s what happened in that second period.” Pinkerton 5, St. Thomas Aquinas 4 Division 1 Quarterfinals St. Thomas Aquinas (11-7-1 Division 1):    1 1 2 — 4 Pinkerton (16-5-1, 15-4 Division 1):    0 4 1 — 5 Goals: STA — Tommy Williams, Ian Rodden, Dan St. Pierre, Kenny Grade; P — Jake Dion 2, Teddy McCarran 2, Andrew Stefanelli. Assists: STA — Joe Arcieri 2, Eddie Conroy 2, Rodden, Williams; P — Dion 3, John Cebula 2, Eric Clark, McCarran. Saves: STA — Adam Houle 11, Shayne Forsley 10; P — J.J. Solloway 21

BILLERICA — Central Catholic fell victim to seven tough minutes.

“I don’t know if it was nerves, but we came out flat,” said Raiders head coach Mike Jankowski. “It took us a while to get in the groove, and in the end we just couldn’t recover.”

Arlington Catholic netted two power play goals to take a 2-0 lead after the first period of their D1 North semifinal game and held on for a 3-1 win over Central Catholic.

No. 2 Central, which lost the Super 8 play-in game, ends up at 15-5-3. No. 6 AC improves to 13-7-4 and will play the winner of the St. Mary's-Burlington game for the North title.

WOBURN, Mass. — If critics still wondered if Central Catholic could bounce back after being eliminated from the Super 8 tourney, the Raiders have answered those questions.

“We were disappointed,” said senior tri-captain Steve Balsamo. “But a state championship is a state championship and we are out to get it.”

STONEHAM — One thrilled fan could be heard loudly capturing the thoughts of every Central Catholic supporter last night.

“It’s about time,” he shouted with joy.

Casey Shea potted the game-winner for Woburn in overtime to give Andover a heart-breaking 2-1 defeat to end its season in the Division 1 North first round.

The Golden Warriors scored with just 3.5 seconds left in regulation when Joe Kuta won a faceoff to Matt Swett, who tied the score.

North Andover stayed close, but simply could not net that last goal.

The No. 8 Scarlet Knights allowed a goal with seven minutes remaining in the game, and could not match it and fell to No. 9 Lincoln-Sudbury 2-1 in the Division 2 North first round last night.