Concord boys hockey scores late to grab comeback win over Bishop Guertin

TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. – Sometimes all it takes to break out of a scoring slump is a lucky bounce of the puck.

The Concord High School boys hockey team got one Monday against Bishop Guertin, and made the most of it.

A fluky goal by Colin Kastle tied the game at 2 midway through the third period, and the Crimson Tide added two power play goals by Matt Chorlian in the final five minutes to rally for a 4-2 win over the Cardinals at Skate 3 in Tyngsborough.

“Kind of a fluky goal, we threw it on the net and kind of rolled down (goalie Jacob Perrin’s) back, and then we got the two power play goals,” Concord coach Duncan Walsh said. “It’s a good win for us. We’ve been struggling. We weren’t scoring, so for us to come here and get four is big. To come down here and beat these guys is always big.”

And after scoring just three goals in three games during the Manchester Monarchs Christmas Hockey Classic, Concord (2-1 in Division I) scored that many in just 5:48 in the third period.

But Walsh felt momentum start to swing the Tide’s way in the second period, when Concord killed off a two-man advantage for the Cardinals, and then tied the game 1-1 with a power play goal from Drew Livingston with 1:56 left in the period.

“Livingston hadn’t played a game all year,” Walsh said. “He’s good around the net and he gave us a lift and that definitely helps.”

Alex Marceau assisted on all four Concord goals while Livingston also had two assists and goalie Spencer Burgess stopped 23 shots.

Jordan Caito gave Bishop Guertin the lead just 3:32 into the game on the Cardinals’ first shot on goal, and Jacob Rodrigue made it 2-1 with a goal at 2:02 of the third. Ben Peterson assisted on both goals while Rodrigue and Cam Fagan also had assists, and Perrin stopped 26 shots.

But the Cardinals took eight penalties, including two with 2:43 remaining, and Concord scored three power play goals.

“We’ve got to cut down on them,” Bishop Guertin coach Gary Bishop said. “The penalties we’re taking are from a lack of moving your feet, and that’s conditioning. If you’re hitting someone from behind, what are you hitting them from behind for? They’re stupid penalties and they’re lazy penalties.”

The Cardinals led 1-0 in the second period when Concord’s Cormick McGonigle went to the box, but just 20 seconds later, Bishop Guertin’s Chase Blazak was called for an elbow to even things up.

But 40 seconds after that, Concord’s Liam O’Brien was given a five-minute major for a hit from behind, giving the Cardinals a lengthy power play. And when Daniel LeBell took another penalty for the Tide, Bishop Guertin had a five-on-three for almost 90 seconds.

“We’re just trying to tell them to contain and don’t run around,” Walsh said. “Keep everything to the perimeter and let Spencer (Burgess) see the shot. I thought they did a couple good things, blocked a couple of shots, got to the loose puck and cleared it out.”

Concord killed off the rest of O’Brien’s penalty and things evened up when Fagan was sent off with 2:32 left in the period. Livingston scored on the ensuing power play to tie the game going into the third period.

“You’re on the power play and you expect your skill kids to show skill, and they didn’t,” Bishop said. “They showed nerves. We didn’t get shots, and when we did, we’re shooting from outside on the perimeter. You need to get shots on goal, get rebounds, tips, and we didn’t do any of that stuff.”

Despite falling behind on Rodrigue’s goal early in the third, the Tide felt like they had swung momentum enough with the special teams play in the second period.

“That was huge because you’re working like crazy when you’re shorthanded, and I think it gave us a little lift, especially when we got the power play goal at the end of the second,” Walsh said. “We went into the third feeling we survived it. That was the key part of the game.”

As was Kastle’s goal, which came after Bishop Guertin looked like it would clear the zone. Instead, the puck stayed in and Marceau sent it toward the net, where Kastle tipped it up toward Perrin’s shoulder, and the puck carried over and into the net.

“It was a bad bounce,” Bishop said. “We had the puck out of the zone, and it didn’t get out, it got chipped back in and then it bounced up in the air and got in the net. That gave them all the momentum they needed.”

The teams will meet again in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 25, when Bishop Guertin travels to Concord.