The final NHIAA hockey champion of the 2022 tournament season was crowned on Sunday as Berlin-Gorham beat Belmont-Gilford for the Divsion III title at Plymouth State University’s Hanaway Rink.

It’s the Mountaineers’ third straight championship. They took the lead for good with 2:12 left in the second period on a power play goal by Carter Poulin.

Bradley McIntire actually gave Belmont-Gilford a 1-0 lead with 4:36 left in the first period, but Berlin-Gorham tied it on Landyn Croteau’s goal 7:13 into the second. The Mountaineers held Belmont-Gilford without a shot in the middle 15 minutes.

Jamison Walsh’s empty netter with 2.5 seconds left finished the scoring.

It was a meeting of the two programs that ended local favorite Hollis Brookline-Derryfield’s last two seasons. The Mountaineers topped the Warriors in last year’s state title game, and Belmont-Gilford edged HBDS 2-1 in last Wednesday’s semifinals at Hanaway Rink.

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