In the longest boys hockey final, Arndt's goal gives Concord the Division I title

Mar. 16—MANCHESTER — The longer the game went, the more the tide turned in Concord's favor, and boy was this game long.

Saturday's NHIAA Division I boys hockey championship at SNHU Arena was the longest state title game ever, ending in a 2-1, quadruple-overtime win for No. 1 Concord and a crushing loss for No. 2 Bishop Guertin, which had been 33.7 seconds away from victory near the end of the third period.

The late-game heroics started with the Crimson Tide's Cameron Roy taking a pass from Trevor Craigue on a 2-on-1 and slipping the puck between the legs of BG goalie Luke Bettencourt after Concord pulled its goalie for an extra attacker with 1:05 left.

The 91-minute, 29-second marathon ended when the Tide's Rowan Arndt poked the puck through the legs of BG's James Mantone during an early faceoff in the fourth overtime, snuck around Mantone and beat Bettencourt before four BG defenders could stop him.

"All season, my faceoff play is to go forward. And I just thought, 'We're trying to get out of here. So, I might as well try it.' And it paid off," said Arndt, a senior, on the goal that gave Concord its fourth championship in six years and 12th state title overall.

Roy gave credit to Craigue for setting up the dramatic last-minute tying goal in the third.

"I kept swinging in the neutral zone, and then Trevor just had a burst of speed. I was wide open back door. Was an awesome play by him," Roy said.

Both goals were indicative of the persistence, depth and fury that fueled Concord as the game kept going. The Tide had 31 shots on goal in overtime, including 15 in the second extra period.

"As the overtimes went on, we got better," Concord coach Dunc Walsh said. "I thought during the regulation, they outplayed us, but we just wore them down with our three lines."

Only two boys hockey state finals — in all divisions — have made it as far as two overtimes. The last final to go two OTs was in 1993, when Hanover beat Concord, 3-2

On Saturday, BG dominated the early play along the boards and in the corners and no one stood taller than the Cardinals' 6-foot-4 netminder Bettencourt, who finished with 64 saves.

"He was near perfect," BG coach Gary Bishop said of Bettencourt. "He ranks as good as anyone we've had."

Concord goalie Carter Heise, at just 5-foot-9 and 14 years old, stopped 45 shots.

"I thought we were going to lose. I had like 30 seconds left and Cam Roy came up big for us. And I think that just gave our team so much momentum," Heise said. "We just kept on going. ... I obviously don't want to let my boys down on my team, and I just tried to play my best."

BG senior forward Noah Cordeiro broke the scoreless tie 5:21 into the third period to beat Heise stick side with fellow seniors Mike Ponto and Jordan Delude assisting.

The game marked the seventh time Concord (19-2) and BG (17-4) have played in the final, with the Tide defeating the Cardinals for the fifth time.

dpierce@unionleader.com

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In the longest boys hockey final, Arndt's goal gives Concord the Division I title

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