There’s an ages-old adage which many folks use when two sports teams both play tremendously well in a game and both deserve to collect the victory.
“It’s a shame somebody has to lose this one,” they’ll say. And perhaps no recent Division I ice hockey game required the use of that adage more than the Londonderry High Lancers’ 5-4 overtime loss to the rival Pinkerton Academy Astros at the Tri-Town Arena in Hooksett last Friday, Jan. 13.
The rivals battled like their seasons were on the line from the opening face-off until the climactic finish, and it truly was a shame that one side had to absorb the defeat. But it was the home-standing Lancers who had to do so when the Astros busted a 4-4 tie with just 1:16 remaining in the eight-minute overtime stanza.
Veteran coach Peter Bedford’s LHS bunch rebounded from a 2-0 deficit after one period to claim a one-goal lead with just 5:07 gone in the second period. But the contest ended up being tied up at 4-4 after regulation time had been completed, and despite out-shooting the 4-1 Astros by a 7-2 tally in overtime the Lancers wound up suffering the defeat in what certainly could have passed for a Division I tournament game based on intensity, physicality, and emotion.
“Both teams certainly gave great efforts and showed their strengths and weaknesses,” said Bedford. “The game ebbed and flowed, but both teams showed they were in it for the long run. I’m disappointed with the loss, but not disappointed with our effort.”
The now 5-1 Pinkerton crew sprinted out to the aforementioned 2-0 lead during the first 12 minutes of the first period, with the second coming on a power-play. The visiting side also enjoyed a 7-4 advantage in shots in net during those 15 minutes, and the hits laid on players by opponents got to the point of being tooth-rattling.
The intensity remained high as the second period began, and just 20 seconds in Londonderry trimmed its deficit back to 2-1 when senior forward Troy Muldoon potted an unassisted goal.
But that was just the first of three consecutive LHS tallies, with Merrill Neiman knotting the score on a power-play goal (assists from Dom Federico and Muldoon) with 13:09 to go in the period and Patrick McKinnon giving his Lancers their first lead of the game three minutes later on a slap-shot from the right face-off circle in the Pinkerton zone. Nick Pitarys and Muldoon had the helpers.
But the Astros got the score knotted back up a little more than two minutes later and 3-3 was where the count stood at the completion of two periods.
Londonderry reclaimed the lead just 2:45 into the third period when Sean Cotter scored unassisted, but Pinkerton potted the equalizer a mere 29 seconds later to knot the score at 4-4.
Both LHS goalie Cody Baldwin and PA keeper Dakota Robinson made huge stops on great scoring opportunities by opposing players during the final 11:46 of regulation time, and both the Astros and Lancers hit posts during that span as well. But when the buzzer sounded the score was still deadlocked and overtime was required.
During that extra period, Londonderry had seven of the first eight shots on net and a winning goal looked far more likely for the hosts than their guests. But Pinkerton put the lie to that line of thinking with 1:16 left when veteran forward Chris Gile went one-one-one against a Lancer defenseman in the LHS zone. The defender slipped and fell to his knees, and Gile was able to zing a whistling wrist shot from the right side of the slot into the upper-left corner of the LHS net. Seconds later, the Astros and their fans flew into celebration mode.
Lancers’ net-minder Baldwin finished the contest with 21 saves, and he and his teammates stepped into this week looking at a short bus trip to their former home rink at the Salem Icenter to play the host Salem Blue Devils on Wednesday the 18th in a battle which occurred after Londonderry Times press time.