The greatest day in local high school hockey is in the books.
In back-to-back games at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, Timberlane Regional High School and Pinkerton Academy earned the first hockey state championship in their school histories.
The Owls downed Oyster River, 3-2, in sudden-death overtime for the Division 2 crown and Pinkerton beat Hanover 3-0 for the Division 1 title.
"I still don't believe what just happened," Timberlane goalie Ryan Rothwell said. "I don't know what to do right now."
Both fan bases were loudly behind their teams from beginning to end, with each game drawing more than 3,000 fans.
The Timberlane fans brought banners sporting the names and numbers of standout players, which they hung from the balcony. Pinkerton fans could be seen with their chests painted, and signs for goalie J.J. Solloway that read "Solloway is: The Wall." They told the Astros when the game had ended, counting down the final 20 seconds.
Timberlane, in its ninth year of having a hockey program, had to rebound for the title. The Owls led 2-0 with five minutes left in the game, but 4:27 later it was tied 2-2. Thanks to a save by Rothwell with one second left, the game went into overtime.
The Owls then took control, and their top two scorers sealed the contest. Nick Bundzinski pushed the puck down ice and flipped it on net. Trevor DeVitto hauled in the rebound and fired it home for the game-winner.
"I knew Trevor was there but I couldn't pass it to him because of a defender," Bundzinski said. "So I threw it on net, since there's no bad shots in overtime. He just got there and pushed it over the goal line."
As Timberlane left the Verizon Wireless Arena ice to celebrate, Pinkerton was making its way on to take on Hanover.
The Astros grabbed the lead 5:21 into the second thanks to John Cebula, who scored his first goal since Feb. 11 and his fifth of the season.
From that point on they jumped on the back of their goalie, J.J. Solloway, who had 33 saves. Alex Campbell and Nick Currier added goals in the third to ice the victory.
"This is indescribable," Solloway said. "This is such an amazing feeling to have this opportunity, and to win the first (hockey) state title for the school. I am so proud."
It was also the first trip to the finals in Pinkerton's nine-year history, erasing the memory of the Astros' 6-48-3 start in Division 1.
"Once we beat Bishop Guertin (the top seed and two-time defending champ in the semifinals) I kept telling the kids we were the best team left," said Astros coach Casey Kesselring. "We thought two years ago was our year, but we fell short. We didn't fall short this year."
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