Sunday’s March 15 Division II boys’ hockey final between No. 1 Harwood and No. 3 U-32 was defined by twists and turns, letdowns and second winds and a stunning number of highlight-reel saves by both goalies.
The Raiders, led by eight freshmen and eight sophomores, had a senior-heavy Highlanders squad on the ropes after building a two-goal advantage. However, back-to-back Griffin Nelson goals helped the reigning champs pull even before Milo Lavit lit the lamp in double overtime, fueling a repeat championship with a 4-3 victory.
“It’s one of the moments you always dream of,” Lavit said. “You’re playing knee hockey and you say, ‘Oh, here’s overtime and I've got the puck on my stick with the game on the line.’ And I couldn’t tell you how many times I put myself in that position when I was playing knee hockey. So what a privilege to go out this way – and to have the community behind us.”
Nelson tallied two assists, while teammate Eli Herrington (one goal, one assist) was another massive weapon. Cooper Browe notched two assists and Lavit added one assist for the Highlanders, who end the season at 19-4 after following up last year’s 4-2 victory over the Raiders in the title game.
“This is pretty much the same group as last year and we worked for 12 weeks – six days a week together,” Lavit said. “We know what it takes. And we did what it takes.”
Harwood senior goalie Alex McCabe turned aside 24 shots, compared to 32 saves by U-32 freshman netminder Grayson Nease.
“Last year (McCabe) went undefeated during the season when he started and he played really strong all year this year,” Herrington said. “Everybody kind of thought that Andrew (Achilles) was going to be the guy this year, but Alex really stepped up his game. And obviously that showed and he made some incredible saves that most goalies can’t make. ...Both teams tonight are really offensively strong. And without the strong goalies behind them, this could have definitely been a way different game.”
No. 3 U-32 ends the season at 15-7-1 and was the only D-II squad to beat the Highlanders all winter. The Raiders snapped Harwood’s 20-game winning streak during an early-season 7-5 victory before the Highlanders earned a 5-3 victory in the rematch five weeks later.
“This was a very different (U-32) team than last year,” Herrington said. “Last year there were a lot of veterans on their team and a lot of upperclassmen. And this year they were full of young, hard-working, energetic guys. And that was something that we had to change our game-plan around U-32. They’re a great team and I’m really excited to see what they can do in the future.”
A month ago Harwood secured a 4-3 victory over Rice, which skated to a 6-1 victory earlier in the day during the D-I title game. It marked the third straight crown for a Green Knights squad that was made its sixth consecutive trip to the title game.
The Highlanders wound up with 10 victories this winter over D-I opponents and outscored D-I runner-up Burr & Burton 11-3 during a regular-season sweep. But instead of simply running away with the D-II crown, Harwood needed to stage an improbable against a Raiders squad led by mostly by athletes who still aren’t old enough to get a driver’s liscence.
“With the young kids on (U-32), I said to each one of them in the (post-game) line, ‘Shake it off. You’ll be back,’” Harwood coach Matt Migonis said. “They’re crying their eyes out because they’re great kids and they’re super passionate. ...They played so free in that first period and this moment wasn’t too big for them. And from what I heard (on the bench), it sounded like there were more Harwood people tonight cheering. And (the Raiders) didn’t let that bother them, so I give them all the credit in the world. I said to our guys, ‘They’re going to come out punching, especially since we beat them a few weeks ago. And you have to weather that storm and then we’ll do our thing.’ And it was an epic game and I loved it – especially when you come out on our end. I was just so happy to be a part of it.”
Sophomores Camden Leno (two goals, one assist) and Jack Scribner (one goal, one assist) paced U-32, which won a double-overtime thriller in 2022 after scoring a last-second goal in regulation against Mount Mansfield. Freshmen Ethan Nease, Connor Leno and Ryley Wright tallied assists for the Raiders along with sophomore Sabin Kitchen.
“We know (U-32) come out hard,” Herrington said. “And our game plan was to try to weather the storm, because they’re a really strong first-period team. But they created strong chances and there wasn’t much that Alex could have done to bail us out – like he did so many times this game. So it was definitely a little demoralizing coming in and trying to come back from that, but we’re a really strong team and everybody rallies around each other. Ane we were lucky to be able to have some things go our way.”
U-32 opened the scoring with 9:41 left in the first period shortly after a nimble butterfly save by Greyson Nease. Ethan Nease settled a pass from Lafaille to spark a 2-on-2 rush up the ice and then faced a tall task while being outnumbered by two Highlander defenseman after crossing the blue line. Instead of getting overly ambitious, Ethan Nease kept gliding ahead before dishing off a forward pass at a diagonal angle to assist Camden Leno for a 1-0 lead.
Harwood answered with 6:60 on the clock after a right-circle faceoff win by Herrington helped the Highlanders stay in the offensive zone for a sustained stretch. An attempted clearance by the Raiders was almost successful, but Nelson regained control of the pack and delivered a centering pass to assist Herrington for the equalizer.
U-32 quickly went back to work offensively and pulled ahead again with 3:37 left in the opening period. A sharp give-and-go sequence between Scribner and Camden Leno caught Harwood by surprise, with Scribner all alone outside the right post for a weak-side finish that made it a 2-1 game. Connor Leno notched the secondary assist on the goal.
Grayson Nease blocked a shot by Nelson with his facemask in the final minute of the first period to keep U-32 ahead. The Raiders earned a 5-on-3 opportunity with 13:05 left in the second period after the Highlanders were whistled for roughing and tripping during the same play. Herrington and teammates Owen Farr and Kaleb Vasseur joined forces during a successful penalty kill, with McCabe making a few dazzling saves prior to a multi-player scuffle behind the Highlanders’ net.
A glove save by McCabe denied Wright with 8:40 on the clock and then U-32 added a key insurance goal with 7:14 left in the middle period. McCabe was surrounded by Raiders outside the right post and had his head on a swivel while attempting to keep tabs on every opponent. The heavy congestion left the HU goalie partially shielded for a split-second and Camden Leno made the most of the brief window by knocking the puck just under the crossbar for a 3-1 advantage. Assists on the play went to Kitchen and Wright.
“When we were down I said to myself, ‘I know this group. They’ll be alright,’” Migonis said. “All they have to do is be a little more disciplined to not let another one go in and we’ll be alright. Because I know the boys and I know what they can do. We scored over 100 goals this year. So it was like, ‘You can do this. And it starts with one.’
Grayson Nease caught a long-range shot by Lavit and then Herrington was rocked by an illegal Scribner check with 3:59 on the clock, resulting in a scary three-minute stretch when the Highlanders star remained horizontal on the ice near the corner boards. Scribner was hit with a five-minute boarding penalty and the Highlanders capitalized 34 seconds into the ensuing power play, with Cooper Browe and Herrington assisting Nelson with 3:24 left in the period.
According to Migonis, capitalizing on the five-minute major penalty was absolutely essential for his team to dig itself out of the two-goal hole.
“It was one of those situations where it was like, ‘OK, we can’t screw this up. We’ve got to do something with it. So here we go: Figure it out,’” Migonis said. “Because (the Raiders) had all the momentum and it could have gotten bad quickly. ...And I don’t like to see penalties like that in games like these because it can change things a lot. Those hits are the ones you worry about too, and luckily (Herrington) was alright. He said to me, ‘I think I’m good. I think I’m good.’ And I was like, ‘Alright, well just lay here for a little bit while they’re figuring out (the penalty).’ And I remember in last year’s final he got – so it was like, ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ He is the catalyst of this team, so it was tough when you see him go down in that moment. But I knew that if he could play, he would find a way to play.”
Harwood opened the final period with 61 seconds remaining on its power play and Nelson quickly took aim at goal, but Lafaille threw his body into the line of fire just in time and took a stinger to prevent a potential goal. Grayson Nease kicked a Bridger Lillard shot out of harm’s way entering the final 11 minutes and then both teams ratcheted up the intensity over the next minute.
The Raiders’ defensive shell finally cracked with 9:47 remaining in regulation when Nelson was all alone near the left face-off don as a sideways pass from Lavit slid his way. With the goal mostly unprotected - as U-32 players thought play was halted due to a whistle from the crowd - Nelson didn’t hold back while hammering a slap shot into the middle of the target to knot things up at 3-3.
“Hockey is weird game and it shifts with the momentum,” Lavit. “And after we potted that (second goal) and then the game-tying goal, from there we were dominating after that. And the momentum shift was a big game-changer for us.”
Harwood was forced to play shorthanded after a slashing call with 8:42 on the clock, forcing McCabe to be razor-sharp again. A backhand shot by Camden Leno was just a bit too high, McCabe denied a Lafaille shot from the blue line and then Vasseur used his body to thwart another quality scoring chance by the Raiders.
The Highlanders’ penalty had barely expired when a hooking penalty gave U-32 another power play with 5:34 left to play. The Raiders came close to scoring again, but with 4:10 on the clock U-32 committed a tripping penalty and play returned to even strength for a 36-second window.
“When it was back to a one-goal game I was like, ‘OK, here we go,’” Migonis said. “And you could start to see that (the Raiders) were starting to slow up a little bit. One benefit of the home team is you have the second (line) change. So if they put a line out, then we can put a line out. And one thing we were trying to do here and there was match our second line against their first, so that our first line could go against their second. And it worked out for one of the goals. But when you have the penalties, that kind of screws with the flow a little bit.”
Prior to the final minute of regulation Herrington tipped away a Wright shot, Grayson Nease stopped an in-close threat by Lavit and McCabe snagged a long-distance shot by Charlie Pickel. In the waning seconds Pickel used his leg to redirect a shot by Nelson and then Scribner did more defensive dirty work to force overtime.
Harwood’s Sam Pashby picked off a pass in his team’s defensive zone early in the first eight-minute overtime to frustrate the hard-charging Raiders and then McCabe made a chest save on Ethan Nease. At the other end of the rink Nease used his right foot to kick away a Nelson shot and then covered up a scoring attempt from the right boards by Vasseur.
The slightest moment of hesitation by U-32s defense gave Herrington a golden opportunity to end things outside the left post with 4:45 on the clock, but the Raiders scrambled into recovery mode just in time to break up the scoring bid. Grayson Nease embraced the role of hero 45 seconds later by sticking to his guns and denying a 1-on-1 breakaway chance by Lavit outside the right post.
“Their goalie is a young goalie, their whole team is a young team and I think they’re going to have some success in the coming years,” Lavit said. “(Grayson Nease) made some great saves and it was hard for us to keep shooting on him because he was saving everything.”
McCabe rose the occasion during his own 1-on-1 duel shortly afterwards and then he stuck out his right leg at the last second to stop a point-blank shot by Scribner. McCabe punched away an Ethan Nease wrister and then Wright was prepared to receive a gift-wrapped pass when he was all by himself in front of Harwood’s goal, but the puck got tangled up on his teammate’s stick and the Highlanders exhaled a huge sigh of relief. U-32 committed a desperation tripping penalty with 16.5 seconds left in the first overtime, giving Harwood the edge to kick off the second overtime.
A Herrington shot flew a few inches wide of the right post in double overtime, U-32's Ethan Nease delivered a timely check to send a Highlander into the side boards and then Raider Liam Weller made a clutch defensive block. Grayson Nease smothered a shot by Lavit just before U-32's penalty ended and then Camden Leno stepped up several times to spark some offensive chances by the Raiders.
“We tried to get the matchups we wanted with our first line against their second line,” Lavit said. “But I was definitely gassed at the end.”
Lafaille gained control of a bouncing puck near the blue line and nearly sent a shot inside the left post, where Wright was waiting for a possible rebound opportunity. After a Harwood clearance, McCabe made a save on a Pickel shot and then Scribner headed to the penalty box for a holding penalty with 8:21 on the clock.
“When kids start to get tired – on both teams – they reach a little bit further,” Migonis said. “Or they think, ‘OK, I’ve got to make this one count because he’s going to skate away from me.’ So they slash a little harder – and that’s when it starts to get kind of sloppy and you just don’t want anyone to get hurt. And it’s two huge rivals, so the pride is there too.”
An unselfish pass by Herrington to Browe led to one more incredible chance to end things – and an even more incredible stop by Grayson Nease. And when the U-32 goalie blocked a follow-up wrist shot by Herrington, the Raiders were re-energized and finally ready to punch back.
However, the hunger and relentlessness of Harwood’s top line was ultimately too much for the Raiders to handle. After the Highlanders cycled the puck around the back of the net, a backwards pass by Browe headed toward Nelson in the high slot and junior forward made a wise decision by playing a simple, one time pass toward his left side. Lavit received the bouncing pass near the left face-off dot, paused for a fraction of a second and then buried the biggest goal of his career with 6:31 left in the second overtime.
“The puck came around and Eli gave it to Coop (Browe) and their goalie made a big save,” Lavit said. “And then I think Griffin was the one who passed it to me – Coop got a touch on it. And I actually didn’t ever see it go in. I just took the shot and I heard the fans and then I started celebrating.”
The Harwood skaters immediately rushed toward their fan section to soak in the moment with their peers before making laps around the 200-by-90-foot rink to celebrate with all of their supporters after the post-game awards ceremony.
“It was really bothering Milo that he didn’t score on that breakaway in the first overtime,” Migonis said. “He was beating himself up a little bit and I said, ‘You’re going to get another chance.’ And Eli just wants to win. I’ve never met a kid who is so humble. With all the accolades that he’s gotten this year, he’s kept an even-keel head and it’s just awesome. And those guys are so in synch with each other that it’s a beautiful thing to watch by high-schoolers. I’d love to see it for four more years.”
Reprinted courtesy of Times Argus
