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CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY II: BG girls, HBD boys vie for hockey crowns

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Mar 13, 2021

Brooke Yabroudy (5) is one of several core players for the BG girls hockey team seeking a state championship today vs. St. Thomas-Dover at Dover Ice Arena. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The day or night they’ve been dreaming about has arrived.

Two local high school hockey teams, one pretty much expected to be there and another ecstatic to be playing with a second life on its season, both worked overtime this week to make it to their respective championship games.

Yes, the Bishop Guertin girls hockey team looked like a state finalist much of the season, and they go into Saturday’s championship game battle of unbeatens at Dover Ice Arena with the co-op of St.Thomas-Dover brimming with confidence after a 5-4 OT semifinal win over longtime power Hanover. It’s BG’s first appearance in the state finals since 2010.

Meanwhile, the Hollis Brookline-Derryfield Warriors are set to face Berlin-Gorham for the Division III boys title following Wednesday’s thrilling 1-0 overtime semifinal win over Kennett.

Game time at Concord’s Everett Arena is 7:30 p.m.

Here’s a look:

GIRLS FINALS

BG GIRLS VS. ST. THOMAS-DOVER

AT DOVER ICE ARENA, 1:30 P.M.

The Cardinals have been strong all year, and this game will mark the final one for a nucleus that has been the heart and soul of the program for the better part of three seasons.

Playing key roles have been senior mainstays Lindsay Hult, Brooke Yabroudy, goalie Sarah King, Elise Harnisch, OT hero Kate Simpson, etc.

They’ve joined players like steady junior Julie McLaughlin and sophomore Jenna Lynch to form a potent scoring machine that also keeps opponent shots to a minimum. After beating Hanover, the feeling with this group must be that this is their time.

“We’re excited to be in the finals,” Simpson said. “We all just worked as hard as we could.”

Cards coach Scott Ciszek said the talk with the Cardinals has been that “This is their year to take care of business.”

But he knows that the St. Thomas co-op will be tough.

“I think they’re very stingy,” Ciszek said. “I think it’s going to come down to their defense against our offense. We’ve got a real good defense, too, but we probably have the most explosive offense in the league.”

Part of the reason for that is Lynch, who has over 50 points on the season. She’s helped take some of the scoring load off of a linemate like McLaughlin.

But the Cards figure they will need to fire a lot of shots on St. Thomas-Dover standout goalie Diana Pivirotto.

“She’s stingy, really good,” Ciszek said, noting that Pivirotto and Lynch actually play together in the off-season.

But today is the day, and Guertin has been ready for it all year.

“All the girls are on the same page, all supporting each other,” Ciszek said. “We have chemistry, and they all want the same thing.”

DIVISION III BOYS

HOLLIS BROOKLINE VS. BERLIN-GORHAM

AT EVERETT ARENA, 7:30 P.M.

They’ve truly been Warriors this season. They played only four regular season games thanks to a pandemic pause, going 2-1-1. In the tournament, they beat Sanborn, then Pembroke-Campbell, before xxxx’s goal in OT vanquished Kennett.

“It wasn’t a perfect season, but it was a season,” Warriors coach Joel Sanborn said in giving credit to officials from both schools for allowing things to continue “in such a crazy time. … So I say thank you to everyone that made it happen.”

And now he feels he knows what the Warriors need to do to make a championship happen.

“We’re going to have to play a complete 45-minute game in all three zones,” Sanborn said. “Berlin is a team that never quits and we all saw that in the semifinals.”

Meanwhile, Berlin-Gorham – which ironically shared the title last year with Kennett – has played much more hockey, coming in at 13-2-1, its only losses to Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal, losses which they avenged in a 5-3 semifinals win.

“(His players) have had their eye on two teams this year, and Berlin was one of them,” Sanborn said. “The keys to the game for us will be getting off to a quick start, keeping our feet moving and staying disciplined in the defensive zone.”

Also, he noted, beware of the B-G power play; the Warriors will need to stay out of the box. “It’s probably the best in the division,” Sanborn said.

HBD has been paced by the likes of key seniors Sal Vella, Colin MacDonald , Joe Oertjens, Cole Giersch and goalie Rylan Morgan. B-G has only two seniors – 5-6 forward Tyler Rousseau and defenseman Dominick Paradis. But there’s plenty of depth.

Sanborn sees some irony in the road the Warriors took, referring to last year’s declared co-winners.

“It’s not every year you try and defeat the (defending) state champion, twice in one year,” he said.

One down (Kennett), and they hope one to go.

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