Spaulding shocks Merrimack in D2 hockey quarterfinals

MANCHESTER - The Spaulding High School boys hockey team had seen it happen before.

Four times this year, the No. 7 Red Raiders had blown a two-goal lead in the third period. When No. 2 Merrimack tied the game early in the third of Saturday's Division II quarterfinal at West Side Arena, Spaulding coach Paul Gregory saw his team start to get down.

The coaching staff found a way to pick up the players, and the Raiders scored two goal in a span of two minutes, holding on to upset Merrimack 5-3. Spaulding will now face rival No. 3 Dover in the semifinals Wednesday at the Rinks in Exeter.

Spaulding got two goals from Brent Phillips and Zachary Ellis had a goal and an assist, which came on the game-winner by Justin Jewell with 6:59 left in the game.

"We got down (when Merrimack tied it)," Spaulding coach Paul George said. "We had some uptight seniors in particular. We came out and started working and finished the job. We had four games this year where we went into the third with a two-goal lead and hadn't finished it."

Chris Fortin had two goals for the 'Hawks (14-5), including the game-tying goal with 12:17 left in the game, and Bret Glendye made 30 saves, but in the end, Merrimack coach Kurt Mithoefer felt things just didn't go his team’s way.

"We had the opportunities and it wasn’t a lack of effort," Mithoefer said. "The hockey gods were not on our side. Not to take anything away from Spaulding, but things didn't go our way."

Fortin opened the scoring with his first goal 5:33 into the game, but Spaulding answered with two goals in nine seconds late in the first. That lead held through the second as the teams traded chances, but both Glendye and Spaulding goalie Derek Scott came up big.

The 'Hawks tied the game on Fortin's second goal with 12:17 left in the third period. After Fortin tied the game in the third, Merrimack’s Connor Powell had a breakaway chance, but Scott stepped up and made the save. A few minutes later, Jewell put one past Glendye and the Raiders held on.

“They went harder,” Mithoefer said. “We had a phenomenal season. We worked hard and didn’t quit.”

Spaulding and Dover will play in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. No. 1 Bedford and No. 4 Oyster River will meet in the other semifinal.