James Mantone is a leader on and off the ice for the Cardinals as they head into Saturday's Division I title game vs. Concord. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MANCHESTER – A couple of years ago, James Mantone was able to share a state championship with his brother, former Bishop Guertin standout John Mantone.

Now, he wants one for himself.

“It means everything, it’s my last year,” he said. “Obviously winning a state championship two years ago was huge.”

Does the Cards senior forward and captain feel any pressure?

“I think the only pressure I feel,” he said, pointing to his father, longtime Cards assistant coach Mark Mantone, standing by the BG locker room entrance, “is from that guy back there. That’s really it.”

Mantone will have the No. 2, 17-3 Cards ready for Saturday’s Division I championship showdown vs. No. 1, 18-2 Concord at SNHU Arena, set for 2:45 p.m.

“I always want to get the boys going, no matter what it takes,” he said. “Whatever it takes for the team.”

He chuckled after calling out his father, but said that it’s been great playing for him.

“It’s the best,” Mantone said. “He’s always supported me. He’s hard on me, doesn’t treat me like my father at the game. At the house and stuff he does, but at the rink he’s all coach.”

John Mantone has gone on to play juniors for the Seacoast Spartans, and James will likely play somewhere next year. But make no mistake, he’s a different player than his brother.

“He’s not the goal scorer that his brother was,” Cards head coach Gary Bishop said. “But he’s done everything for us. He plays 185 feet. He kills penalties. He plays man down. He’s on the power play. He plays the whole game, he plays the whole ice.

“In the defensive zone, we have our centers playing up high, yet he’s the first guy down behind the net, when he’s supposed to be covering up high.”

And Bishop meant that in a good way. James Mantone is simply a gritty player. His goals are effort goals, not always pretty except on the scoreboard.

“He’s a great 185 foot player,” Bishop said. “All three zones he gives you everything he’s got. He’s not going to walk around you and score a pretty goal, even though he did (vs. Exeter in the semis). He’s definitely the leader of the pack.”

Again, different than John, who is learning, Bishop said, to do those little things that James does now.

“He’s a different player than his brother,” Bishop said of James. “He does more things than his brother. James has always done it. The year we won the championship he was on the third line. He did his job on the third line, shutting people down. Now he’s got to score some goals (as his job).”

And he’s done that. In the semis, he scored two of BG’s first three goals that set the Cardinals on their way. He now has 14 goals and 10 assists for 24 points.

Simply put, Mantone savors the moment. He savored the semifinal win, and he’ll savor the experience on Saturday.

“I was here two years ago, the time of my life, playoff hockey,” he said.

CONCORD AWAITS

Guertin has now won 13 straight since losing to Concord at Skate 3 back on Jan. 18, and that streak includes a 2-1 win over the Tide.

What’s happened?

“It’s changed completely,” James Mantone said. “We said (after the loss) we’re not doing this again, we don’t like this feeling. And we turned the whole season around. … and we just keep going.”

THE GOALIES

Concord has a freshman goalie, Carter Heise, that has been superb. Right now, Luke Bettencourt is BG’s starter in goal; he was in net for the 2-1 OT win over the Tide and also has a .950 save percentage and has not lost to a New Hampshire team all season.

Does he get the nod on Saturday? “We’ll see,” Bishop said smiling.

A KEY TO A TITLE

What do the Cards have to do to avoid a loss? Bishop says against Concord, there’s one absolute must.

“We have to stay out of the penalty box,” Bishop said. “Against Concord, you take penalties, they’re going to score on you. The key there is continue with the get-go, as you say, just go, go, go.

“If we come out the way we did in the first period (in the semis), we’ll be OK.”