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Astros fall in double-OT in semis

Sunday, March, 29 By David Willis

MANCHESTER, N.H. — As the opportunities mounted, it seemed only a matter of time until Pinkerton would lock down its berth in the state title game.

There was the Astros goal that was waved off by the referees after the net came dislodged. There was the shot that beat the goalie, but rang loudly off the post, and the puck that was slammed into the goal, but the refs ruled the goalie had covered up the puck.

And all of those chances were just in the first overtime, as Pinkerton dominated the pace of play. 

But the fortunes simply were not on the Astros' side, as No. 3 Concord was able to slip a goal home with 1:50 remaining in double overtime to beat devastated No. 2 Pinkerton in the New Hampshire Division 1 semifinal on Wednesday night at the JFK Rink in Manchester.

"This is a tough one to swallow," said Pinkerton head coach Joey Lee. "It is tough to see my seniors and rest of the team struggle after playing such an amazing game. We almost outshot them 2-to-1, but the bounce went their way in the end."

The victory sends Concord to the Division 1 state title game, while it marked the second straight loss in the semifinals.

"Pinkerton gave us an absolutely terrific game," said Concord coach Dunc Walsh. "They gave us everything we could handle. What a performance on both sides." 

The Astros seemed to spend nearly the entire game peppering Crimson Tide goalie Ben Nelson with shots. But the sophomore netminder was up to the task, making 49 often spectacular saves. He repeatedly robbed the Astros in overtime.

"Nelson was just fantastic," said Lee. "We had some golden opportunities and he came up huge. To have almost 50 saves in one hockey game is amazing."

Concord held a 8:06 remaining in regulation, but that was when Pinkerton was able to solve Nelson for the first time. As he was being dragged to the ice, Astro freshman Tyler Poole was able to flip the pick over the goalie's shoulder to make the score 1-1.

The Astros then grabbed the lead 3:58 later, when Ethan Landry fired a pass to Tim Cronin who deked a defender and scored.

But that advantage would last all of 43 seconds, as Concord responded to tie it at 2-2.

From there, the two teams engaged in a goaltender duo. Pinkerton fired shot after shot at Nelson, but he somehow continued to turn them away. 

On the other end, Pinkerton goalie Jordan Puzzo also came up huge (29 saves), and when one did get past him defenseman Shamus Doherty was able to swat a puck away with his glove.

"Jordan came up with some huge saves, no doubt," said Lee. "It felt like we played two games, on the edge the entire time in front of a packed house. He had to stay sharp."

Pinkerton briefly seemed to send the crowd home happy with a goal 3:42 into the first overtime, but the referees imminently called it no goal due to the net coming loose.

Just as the game neared the three-hour mark, however, Concord would end the marathon. After Puzzo made a big save, the rebound came loose and the Tide's  Alex Orcutt hammered it home.

"That was an amazing game, even thought we don't like the outcome," said Lee. "It was two very similar teams, with similar records and similar styles going at it. It was great, it is just a shame it ended that way,"