MHBDS players Will Farrell (7) and Alex May console each other after the WarHawks fell to St. Thomas 4-2 in Saturday's Division II finals at Manchester's SNHU Arena. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

MANCHESTER – They just simply ran out of time.

The Merrimack-Hollis Brookline-Derryfield boys hockey team had all the momentum in the world late in Saturday morning’s Division II finals at SNHU Arena.

Except on the scoreboard. Trailing No. 3 St. Thomas of Dover 3-0 in the third period, the WarHawks mounted a furious comeback in the final few minutes but fell short, 4-2.

“I don’t know, what are you going to do,” MHBDS coach Dan Belliveau said. “You’ve got to get out here and play the game from the drop of the puck. I think maybe it took us a while to shake off the nerves and it was probably too late by then.”

And thus the WarHawks otherwise successful first year of the tri-op ends with a 13-6-2 mark and thoughts of what could have been. The Saints (17-4) got the jump early with their speed, as Jackson Estes pounced on a loose puck and beat senior MHBDS goalie James Brew (22 saves) with a one-timer for a 1-0 lead at 9:32 of the opening period.

“We preached all year that we’ve got good speed on offense, and we need to use our speed and try to surprise some teams,” Saints coach Chris Plummer said. “We were able to do that early on and were able to see the results of that.”

They didn’t score again until Aiden Tibbets scored on a power play goal late in the second at 13:48, assisted by Estes and Garrett Aceto. It was almost a carbon copy of their first one.

“The last week-and-half, we’ve been working on exactly that,” Plummer said. “Those close goals, those scrum goals, being able to put those rebounds in. All five in the semifinals (vs. Oyster River) were that way, and we were able to get two that way today.”

And when they scored midway through the third (7:58) on A.J. Kozlowski’s goal (Jack Kelly assist), it seemed over with a 3-0 lead.

Ahhh, but the WarHawks didn’t get here for no reason. A minute after the Saints scored, MHBDS finally got on the board vs. St. Thomas netminder Zack Pattow (26 saves) on a goal by Jackson Woods, assisted by Colin Hamlin and Josh Kahn.

And after Saints tripping call, it took them just 37 seconds at 11:32 to make it 3-2 with a power play goal by Alex May, assisted by Alex Gertz and Woods.

They had all the momentum.

“We knew St. Thomas had speed, and try to do a few things off the faceoffs to use that speed,” Belliveau said. “Defense was a key part of our game, Brew made the saves he needed to make … High school hockey is all about momentum. I preach that to the kids all the time. We’ve got to figure out a way to get something going here, something good that will swing momentum back in our favor. Unfortunately, it took until about six minutes left in the game to do that.”

But even more unfortunate was the empty netter by the Saints Finn Perry with 36 seconds left in the contest, basically erasing the momentum the WarHawks had for nearly six minutes.

“When you play with the lead, when you have the momentum, you feel great,” Perry said. “When you don’t, the momentum starts to go away, you start to feel tired and heavy. … Let’s stay focused.”

Frustrating for the locals. But the WarHawks will take pride in the fact they didn’t go away.

“When you have players like Jackson Woods, and Alex Gertz, Will Farrell, those are the heart and soul of our team,” Belliveau said. “You know how it goes. It took overtime (vs. Goffstown in the quarters) and a full game against Spaulding (in the semis), it takes a little bit out of you.”

“We had some momentum, but overall, some things didn’t go our way,” Woods said. “Two pucks over the net, could have been deciding the game. Those two goals were pretty good goals, we can’t be upset about that.”

“The top two offenses in the state were St. Thomas, Spaulding and Goffstown,” Belliveau said. “We took out the first two and we thought we’d be able to do it here. … Their speed is what really helped them. They were pressuring our defense. … They were there, taking away our time and space in the offensive

zone.”

St. Thomas forward Jackson Estes can’t get the puck past MHBDS goalie James Brew, who is helped by teammate Jackson Woods duirng Saturday’s Division II finals at Manchester’s SNHU Arena. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

St. Thomas forward Jackson Estes can’t get the puck past MHBDS goalie James Brew, who is helped by teammate Jackson Woods duirng Saturday’s Division II finals at Manchester’s SNHU Arena. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Belliveau had mixed emotions after witnessing a sluggish start but a strong finish.

“It just way too long to wake up and try to swing the momentum back in our favor,” Belliveau said. “Just not enough time.

“But they didn’t give up. They don’t give up. And for a team that’s come together like this in one year, one season – not giving up is the key. … Those kids, they all deserve credit. They brought all they had.”

“Overall we played a great game,” Woods said. “We had them on the ropes there for a little bit, but sometimes it just doesn’t swing your way.”