Exeter boys hockey hangs on to beat Bishop Brady in D1 preliminary round

EXETER - The Exeter High School boys hockey team needed all hands on deck in the final minutes but did what it had to do to defeat Bishop Brady 2-1 in the first round of the Division I tournament.

“I thought our kids played hard,” Exeter coach Jim Tufts said. “I thought Brady just battled well all night. We had to do things well at the end and we did.”

The final few minutes were frantic, as the No. 6 Blue Hawks had to kill off a pair of penalties in the final three minutes to secure the victory. Sophomore defenseman Sam Perry had a key shot block with 15 seconds remaining to maintain the lead. Exeter won the ensuing faceoff and cleared the puck down the ice to end the game.

Junior goaltender Jude Rogles had 17 saves for the Blue Hawks.

“I’m not disappointed with anybody,” Tufts said. “I thought every kid played well.”

The Blue Hawks (13-6) dominated the first period, outshooting No. 11 Brady 15-3, and eventually broke through with just under three minutes left in the frame when senior Ryan Huppe took a pass from junior Connor MacLaughlin and scored.

Exeter added another goal nine minutes into the second when junior Brendan Doyle found fellow junior Jake Martin who wristed home a rocket.

“I was getting too close for comfort there, but the boys battled really hard,” Huppe said. “We pulled it off, and we’re heading to Bedford.”

The best though was Bishop Brady goaltender Matthew Strickland. In his last high school game the senior was outstanding with 26 saves to keep the Giants (8-10-1) within striking distance.

He was at his best in the first period. During the early Exeter onslaught, Strickland was nearly flawless and made several highlight-worthy saves.

“I thought the first period both teams started off slow,” Bishop Brady coach Ed Seney said. “I thought our goaltender played excellent. We got better as the game went on. We had a chance to tie at the end. We just couldn’t get a shot on net.”

Exeter advances to Saturday’s quarterfinals where the Blue Hawks will meet third-seeded Bedford. The Bulldogs beat the Blue Hawks 7-4 back in December.

“I think at the beginning of the year there were a lot of egos,” Huppe said. “Lately we’ve been coming together as a team, and that’s been the mentality lately. That’s what it’s going to take to get this thing going.”