WEST LEBANON — Cesar Salcedo saw his shot sail into the net Saturday night at Campion Rink, but the Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal hockey forward somehow wasn’t sure what it meant until his eyes darted across the ice to the leaping, screaming mass that comprised the Raiders student section.
“Time slowed down once the puck went in,” said the senior, whose overtime goal lifted fourth-seeded LSMR to a 4-3 victory over fifth-seeded Pembroke-Campbell in the NHIAA Division III quarterfinals. “It didn’t click in my head that I’d scored until I saw the crowd going crazy.
“The cross-crease pass from Liam (Ouellette) was wide open and there was no one around me and I was tapping my stick and screaming for the puck. He finally passed it and I just put it in.”
Salcedo’s heroics rescued the Raiders from what could have been a disheartening loss. The hosts took a 1-0 lead on Will McGee’s rebound goal two minutes prior to the first intermission before a second stanza during which they surrendered three goals.
The first Pembroke-Campbell tally was a pitchforked backhander from the left circle that went in off the crossbar. LSMR defenseman Andrew Dannehy was then penalized twice in four minutes; the visitors capitalized second foul for a 2-1 lead.
The Raiders’ Hunter Christian then sent a passing foe flying with a neutral-zone hold, resulting in a power-play goal for Pembroke-Campbell (10-8-1) that put it up, 3-1.
Raiders coach Jim Damren didn’t hold back during intermission and his troops responded.
“We had to be gritty and show character,” Salcedo said. “A few of us had our heads down and were getting down on ourselves, but we came around because we wanted it bad. At even strength we were the better team.”
Said Damren: “Penalties have been the bane of our existence when we don’t play well. We have to maintain discipline and stay out of the box. It was gut check time.”
The comeback began when Christian pushed a defensive-zone faceoff ahead to wing Paddy Mooney, who went coast-to-coast before ripping a wrist shot over goaltender Matthew Dunn three minutes into the third period.
“He’s a sophomore now and he’s starting to get a little more dialed-in,” Damren said. “He’s also got a cannon for a shot.”
Fewer than three minutes later, McGee and Jack Clary worked a nifty give-and-go just inside the offensive blue line, sending the former in alone to tie the game at 3-3.
“Once we got the third period’s first goal, we got momentum,” Damren said. “Once we tied it, you could see (Pembroke-Campbell) deflate. They were feeling good about themselves, but we didn’t let them feel good about themselves for long.”
Ouellette, his team’s biggest player and one of its six seniors, turned in a monster performance that was crowned in overtime. The Mount Royal student first absorbed a crushing hit that resulted in a major penalty a minute into the extra session, then forced a foe to trip him as he broke into the offensive zone two minutes later.
Handed a two-man advantage, the Raiders (14-4-1) ended the game 25 seconds later.
Goaltender Toby Cromwell made 29 saves.
Next up is top-seeded and defending state champion Berlin-Gorham (18-1), which suffered its only loss to Division II Somersworth-Coe Brown, which it then pounded in a rematch. The Mountaineers staged an stunning comeback against LSMR during last season’s semifinals, a loss that left psychic scars.
“We’re going to have to go through Berlin at some point,” said Damren, whose team will get its shot Wednesday night at Plymouth State. “We won’t talk about last year too much, probably, but I know it’s always in the back of the guys’ minds. This is a new year and a new team.”
Said Salcedo: “We know it’s going to be a big game but we can’t let that distract us. It’s doable. We know it’s doable.”
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.