KEENE, N.H. — Co-captain Ben Brown redirected a center-point shot for the game-winning goal 80 seconds into overtime as top-ranked Keene ended No. 8 Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal’s boys hockey season with a 5-4 win in an NHIAA Division II quarterfinal at Keene Ice on Saturday night.
The Raiders (8-12-1 overall, 8-10-1) erased 1-0 and 3-1 deficits and had a 4-3 third-period advantage nullifed before the Blackbirds (13-3-2) prevailed. Lebanon beat Keene, 5-0, at Campion Rink on Feb. 26 just to qualify for the nine-team D-II tournament.
“To have a must win against the No. 1 seed just to get in, to win 3-2 against the No. 9 seed in the play-in and then take the No. 1 seed to overtime just a week and a half later, they did a nice job at the end,” Lebanon coach Jim Damren said in a phone interview on Sunday. “They did a great job at the end.”
The Raiders scored in the closing seconds of the first two periods to keep Keene in sight.
Jon Cloud netted his first goal of the game with 21 seconds left in the opening stanza for a 1-1 draw through 15 minutes. Keene went up, 3-1, by scoring twice in the middle period with the Raiders’ Andrew Duany sitting out a five-minute major penalty for charging.
The junior forward helped Lebanon get back to 3-2 by joining Griffin Auch in setting up a Mason Adams goal 35 seconds from the second intermission.
Adams tied the contest early in the third period, and Cloud gave Lebanon its only lead with 5:51 to go in regulation. Keene needed just 70 seconds to equalize, and Brown ended the upset bid at the 1:20 mark of overtime.
The Raiders had their backs to the wall for much of the regular season. A 3-8-0 start to divisional play begat a 4-2-1 finish that secured a postseason berth.
Damren credited that to character and a team-first mentality that Cloud, Lebanon’s captain, fostered throughout the campaign.
“Where it resonated with me was that after the loss, the team could have been fragmented and had the locker room down,” Damren said. “The guys stayed together in the locker room until they were all ready to walk out as a team.
“It was that the team stayed together. You have kids from three different high schools, but the chemistry was really, really good. There was unity, there was character, and the result was outstanding.”
Toby Cromwell finished with 33 saves for the Raiders, who were outshot, 38-25.
Brown and Jerred Tattersall, Keene’s co-captains, both had two-goal, one-assist evenings.
Duany recorded three assists with Auch, Jake Kriplin and Tristan Ouellette all having one. The Raiders graduate Cloud, Adams, Ouellette, Brian Daly and Will Forman.