MANCHESTER – Spencer Burgess got a breath of fresh air in the second period of Wednesday’s Division I semifinal, even if he didn’t want it.
The Concord netminder lost his helmet in a scrum by the left post. As his headgear rolled away, the puck skidded across the crease and Burgess lunged to protect the Tide’s one-goal lead.
“I figured I might as well go for it,” he said. “This is the time to go for it.”
He made the stop, stood up after the whistle blew and readjusted his helmet while blocking out some heckling from the Salem fans behind him – not uncommon in hockey when a goalie loses his cage.
But Burgess had no problem ignoring the noise. He let his play do the talking.
Burgess turned away all 21 shots the Blue Devils threw at him while his teammates took care at the other end of the rink as No. 2 Concord shut out No. 3 Salem, 4-0, sending the Tide to back to the title game after missing it last season.
Concord will face top seed Bedford for the state championship at SNHU Arena on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The Bulldogs beat Bishop Guertin, 5-0, in the second semifinal game Wednesday night.
Burgess, a junior, played behind first team all-state selection Ben Nelson last season and split time with Griffin Gilbert this year. Concord Coach Dunc Walsh gave Burgess the nod against Londonderry in the quarterfinals, a 7-1 win, and put him back on the ice against Salem
“There were a little nerves obviously, being in the playoffs and playing Salem … they’re a great program,” Burgess said. “That’s one of those things you’ve got to kind of block out and play your game, control what you can control.”
Forward Andrew Cole scored on Concord’s first power play with 4:39 left in the opening period for a 1-0 Tide lead. Defenseman Matthew Chorlian threw a shot from the right circle toward the net. The puck deflected up and left where Colin Kastle batted it down back toward the net and Cole scored on a rebound.
Concord limited Salem to two shots in the first period. Burgess didn’t need to handle a puck until about seven minutes into the game. The Blue Devils returned to the ice in the second with more fire power, but couldn’t find the net despite two power play chances.
Aidan Breen gave Salem its best scoring chance in the second. Breen deked through two layers of Concord skaters for a one-on-one chance with Burgess, who dropped into a butterfly for a routine save.
“There were some scary moments in our end in the second period and he kept us right in there,” Walsh said of Burgess.
Tide sophomore Cam LaRiviere scored his second goal of playoffs with 4:29 left in the middle period extending Concord’s lead to 2-0. Matthew Hauschild and Andrew Paquette were credited with assists on the rebound goal by LaRiviere.
It was the second goal produced by Concord’s third line of forwards in as many games. LaRiviere also scored in the Tide’s second-period, six-goal flurry against Londonderry in the quarterfinals.
“We put them out there not expecting to score but just don’t give one up, and two games in a row they’ve scored for us,” Walsh said.
The third line made the most of limited ice time on Wednesday. Once Salem fell behind two goals, Coach Mark McGinn rotated mostly his top two lines of forwards and Concord deployed matching personnel.
Trevor Bickford gave Concord a 3-0 lift about two minutes after LaRiviere’s goal with Cole and Dan LeBell assisting.
The Tide cruised through the third period while limiting Salem’s puck possession. LeBell was sent to the box for cross-checking with 7:15 left, but the Blue Devils struggled to set up their power play and find a path to the net.
“They’re a better team,” McGinn said of the Concord squad. “We spent a lot of time in our zone and by the time we got it out, our kids were gassed.”
Concord held the puck for the majority of the final three minutes while using the two thirds of the rink to keep the puck away from the pressing Blue Devils.
Alex Marceau made it 4-0 on a goal set up by LeBell and Livingston with 1:16 on the clock.
Burgess lifted his arms and was swarmed by teammates at the final buzzer. Four goals is usually enough, but a zero on the other side of the scoreboard is as good as any goalie can do.
“Having a calm mind, getting locked in and finding a quiet mind, I don’t know how else to put it,” Burgess said. “You’re just doing you’re job no matter what others are doing.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)
D-II BOYS’ BASKETBALL
No. 7 John Stark 43,
No. 10 Bishop Brady 39
Key players: John Stark – Drew McQuarrie (17 points, 13 rebounds), Cooper Gorski (10 points, defense), Parker McQuarrie (12 rebounds), Isaiah Lovering (guard play). Bishop Brady – Bryce Johnson (15 points), Josh Leclaire (8 points).
Highlights/key moments: The Generals held on down the stretch to clinch a quarterfinals showdown against second-seeded Milford on Saturday.
Coach’s quote: “I think we can play with anybody, but we’ve got to do a better job executing offensively.” – John Stark’s Mike Smith
Records: John Stark 11-8; Bishop Brady 9-10
No. 3 Coe-Brown 78,
No. 14 Kingswood 46
Key players: Coe-Brown – Sam Lupinacci (18 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds), Brody Ashley (14 points, 7 assists), Scott Spenard (14 points), Dylan Andrews (9 points), Shawn Spenard (7 points, 5 rebounds), Jacob Snow (5 blocks, 5 rebounds), Ben Watson (4 points), Mitchell Wade (4 points), Mike Mulligan (4 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears locked down on defense limiting Kingswood to less than 50 points while scoring at the other end. Coe-Brown will host No. 6 Pelham in the quarterfinals.
Coach’s quote: “We still have time to get better and we need to because we’re going to face some good teams.” – Coe-Brown’s David Smith
Records: Coe-Brown 16-3; Kingswood 7-13
No. 4 Hollis-Brookline 64,
No. 13 Merrimack Valley 37
Key players: MV – Caleb Laclair (10 points), James Shattuck (10 points)
Highlights/key moments: The Pride kept it close in the first half, trailing 34-27 at halftime. The Cavaliers dominated the second half, eliminating MV from the playoffs in the first round.
Coach’s quote: “In the second half we struggled to score. That was our downfall.” – MV’s Tim Mucher
Records: Hollis-Brookline 14-5; MV 8-11
No. 5 Man. West 67,
No. 12 Pembroke 42
Highlights/key moments: The Spartans fell in the first round of the playoffs as the Blue Knights cruised to a comfortable win.
Records: Man. West 13-6; Pembroke 8-11