HOOKSETT – The cross-town rivalry between Concord and Bishop Brady goes back decades, but a new chapter began Saturday night as the teams faced off in a venue outside the Concord city limits for the first time ever in a regular-season game.
It was the Tide that came out on the on top of the historic evening.
The Concord boys climbed out of a 2-0 hole, scored four times in the third period and beat the Giants, 5-2, at Tri-Town Ice Arena in Hooksett.
Alex Marceau, a senior forward, scored the tying and go-ahead goals to open the third period while dealing with a leg injury suffered during practice Tuesday.
Liam O’Brien got Concord going in the second period with its first goal before Marceau took over in the third.
“We came out really slow, so that wasn’t very good for us,” Marceau said. “We needed someone to step up and bury a few goals to get us back in the game. I thought Liam’s goal gave us the momentum we needed.”
Marceau was cleared to play Saturday and delivered the scoring touch to give the Tide its fourth straight win. Bishop Brady dropped to 1-3, taking its third consecutive loss.
“That (first) line, we rely on them heavily,” Concord Coach DuncWalsh said. “They’re our scoring line. Alex is a scorer … he’s good around the net and he can finish. That’s what he does.”
Concord (4-1) almost doubled Brady’s total shots on goal through 45 minutes, 41-22. But it took nearly 28 minutes before the Tide could get on the board.
The Tide sprayed Brady netminder Matthew Strickland with 18 shots in the second period, and O’Brien was the one to finally break through and get Concord on the board. O’Brien and Andrew Cole worked together on a back-and-forth pass in front of the net that shook off Strickland and gave O’Brien an open look.
“When it went 2-0, (the) guys were like ‘We’re in trouble here,’ ” Walsh said. “From that point on we played pretty well.”
Still down by one entering the third, Marceau buried the tying goal 5:56 into the period with Drew Livingston picking up the assist.
Less than three minutes later, Marceau hit again. A shot from the point deflected to Strickland’s left. Marceau gathered the puck, circled back around the goal and tapped it into an open net for a 3-2 lead.
“It was a bit of an open-net, fluke goal, but whatever it takes to get on the board,” Marceau said.
Livingston added another point to his night with a goal that gave Concord a 4-2 lead with 4:27 left in the game. Colin Kastle took the puck the behind the Brady net and threw it out to the slot onto Livingston’s forehand. Livingston didn’t hesitate and beat Strickland’s glove with ease.
Brady got out to a 2-0 lead after Keagan Vincent scored in the first period on a power play and then helped Max Lamora score in the second. Vincent and Lamora made the best of a two-on-one situation as Vincent set up Lamora with a one-timer that beat Concord goalie Spencer Burgess (20 saves).
But the Giants wouldn’t be able to score another as they watched Concord score five unanswered. Cole finished it off for Concord with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
“Totally different feel going into the third period,” Brady Coach Brian Saucier said. “We have a short bench so they’re getting tired and Concord came out strong in the third and we couldn’t match the energy. That simple.”
Brady and Concord will not meet again in the regular season. Brady’s next game is against Exeter on Wednesday, and Concord plays Trinity on Thursday.
As for the new location, Saucier and Walsh agreed things felt a bit different but the competition was the same.
“It’s a different vibe, no doubt about it,” Saucier said. “I feel like the fans here are much more on top of the ice and more part of the play, which is good until Concord scored of course.”
“It was really different, it felt different,” Walsh said. “We’ve played for 40 years at Everett Arena. We’re just happy to get out of here with a win.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)