Bow boys hockey pulls out tournament win over Concord
MANCHESTER – Austin Beaudette thought it would take a bounce or two for someone to win Tuesday night’s game between the Bow and Concord High School boys hockey teams.
Fortunately for the Falcons, Beaudette was the recipient of that bounce.
With the game tied 1-1 late in the third, Beaudette raced into the Concord zone on a two-on-one with teammate Ryan Tobeler. When Tobeler’s shot on goalie Spencer Burgess ricocheted to the other side of the goal, Beaudette was there to bury the rebound to give Bow the lead.
Tobeler added an empty net goal in the final minute and the Falcons held on for a 3-1 win over Concord in the Manchester Monarchs Christmas Hockey Classic at JFK Coliseum.
“I was cutting on the inside hip of the defense, like we work on in practice in every single practice,” Beaudette said. “He took a low, far-side shot and the rebound bounced out to me and I just buried it in the open net. I wasn’t really surprised because we work on it so much in practice, it’s whether we get the right bounce or not and this time it happened. It felt great.”
Doug Champagne also had a goal for Bow, as he gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead with a power play goal with 6:57 left in regulation. Alex Killion and Brendan Ulrich assisted on the goal.
Concord’s Alex Marceau had the lone goal for the Crimson Tide, as he tied the game just 1:23 after Champagne gave Bow the lead.
“I think both teams could have played better, and both teams left chances out there,” Bow coach Tim Walsh said. “We played better (Tuesday) but we still have a lot to improve on. We played a solid game in all three zones. It was one of those games where it could have gone either way.”
Both teams had chances throughout the game, but either couldn’t capitalize or were thwarted by the other team’s goalie. Burgess finished with 17 saves for the Tide, while Bow’s Nate Carrier stopped 24 shots.
“Nate played great,” Walsh said. “He was out, he was aggressive and he was challenging the shooters. When he is back in the crease, he struggles. He was out of the crease (Tuesday) and he was challenging and he saw the puck well. After the first period, we also cleaned up the area in front much better, so that helps.”
The Falcons also found a way to keep pressure on Concord’s defense. The Tide were able to keep the puck in Bow’s zone for extended amounts of time in the first period, but possession was closer to being even in the second and third.
Walsh attributed that improved play to Bow’s focus on not doing more than it needed to do.
“We talked about doing our jobs and not trying to do too much, or not doing enough,” he said. “Every guy has a job to do while they’re out there. I tell the kids all the time you’re not going to hit a five-run home run. It doesn’t happen, so you’ve got to play each shift as it is and do your job.”
It was Champagne’s ability to disguise what he was doing that helped Bow get the game’s first goal.
With the Falcons on a power play – just the second of the game – the senior captain found himself alone in the middle of the Concord defense.
“I knew the goalie wasn’t ready, that he thought I was just going to set it up, so I just fired it at the net and it paid off,” he said. “I guess they were anticipating me to set it up rather than just fire it on net.”
Both teams are back in action at the tournament on Wednesday, with Bow taking on Trinity at 6 p.m. and Concord facing off against Hanover at 8 p.m.
