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ORONO – Houlton-Hodgdon senior goalie Nic Joslyn turned in a scintillating performance that will be remembered for a long time.
But Zach Wilson, who was robbed time and time again by Joslyn, scored just 31 seconds into overtime to give the Brewer High School Witches a 3-2 win over Houlton-Hodgdon in their Eastern Maine Class B championship game at a noisy Alfond Arena.
Wilson, who had been stopped just seconds earlier by Joslyn’s left pad after being set up at the edge of the crease by Reid McLaughlin, got a second chance after McLaughlin tracked down a deflected slapper from Matt Wilson.
“I had the puck on my backhand and got it out to Zach,” said McLaughlin, who was behind the net.
Wilson made no mistake, roofting a rising wrister over the helpless Joslyn from the middle of the slot for his 28th goal of the season and second of the game.
“I knew I had to get the puck up quickly,” said Wilson. “Their defensemen were swarming me. I’m glad I hit it well. I didn’t even see it go in. I just saw the red light go on.”
Joslyn said he tried to do a “pad rollover” to get his top pad on the shot, “but I couldn’t get to it.”
Brewer, the top seed, improved to 19-4 and will meet Western Maine champ Cape Elizabeth in the state final on Saturday at 1 p.m. at The Colisee in Lewiston.
Second seed Houlton-Hodgdon, making its first appearance in an Eastern B final in just its seventh year of existence, finished at 17-5.
Brewer had a golden opportunity to win it in regulation in the aftermath of a wild scramble in front of the Black Hawk net. With Joslyn on his side, Devin Fitzpatrick closed from the left point and fired a slapper labeled for the open top half of the net.
But Joslyn threw up his left pad at the last second and made a remarkable save.
“I figure in the time it takes to get up and get back into position, you’re better off staying down and throwing your pad up,” said Joslyn, who works on that move in practice.
Joslyn finished with 30 saves with at least half of them coming off Grade-A (high-percentage) opportunities.
“I just came out and did what I had to do,” said Joslyn. “We just came up one short.”
The Witches were impressed by the 5-foot-8, 165-pound goaltender.
“Never in my life have I seen a goalie play like that,” said Zach Wilson. “He was like [NHL star] Dominek Hasek out there.”
“They have one heck of a team and their goalie came up huge,” said Brewer senior center Ben Caldwell.
Brewer coach Steve Van Dolman said, “That was one of those games that would have been tough to lose. We had so many opportunities, but Joslyn was unbelievable.”
Joslyn acknowledged that it was “one of my best games of the season.”
“He’s the best goalie in the state,” said Hawks coach Joel Trickey.
Brewer rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits. Ryan Nadeau answered Josh McGuire’s first-period goal, and Zach Wilson equalized with 31 seconds left in the second period after Billy Policano had supplied the Black Hawks with their second lead 5:35 earlier.
But Joslyn was the main reason the game was close after two periods as he made 21 saves with at least a dozen of those coming off Grade-A shots.
Brewer used its size and strength to full advantage, cycling the puck in the Black Hawk zone and driving the net front throughout the game.
But Joslyn kept frustrating them.
Among his second-period saves was a terrific glove stop off a Dylan Fitzpatrick breakaway backhander.
McGuire opened the scoring as Houlton-Hodgon buzzed the Brewer net and the puck came back to him at the left point. His perfectly placed wrister beat Brewer goalie Aaron Saunders to his glove side into the far corner for his third goal of the season.
Nadeau equalized when Killian Kilroy flipped the puck to the front of the net and Nadeau tipped it behind Joslyn. Nadeau’s goal was his seventh.
Policano made it 2-1 in the second period with his 17th goal as he came out of the corner to the right of Saunders and snapped a quick wrister through a screen that beat the Witch goalie.
Wilson tied it when his brother, Matt, took a wrist shot from the point “that hit me in the back. I turned around, found the rebound, and put it in.”
Brewer outshot the hard-working Black Hawks 33-19.
“We gave it all we had,” said Houlton-Hodgdon senior left wing and leading scorer Ian Pasquarelli.
“They’re a good passing team and their defensemen were tough to get around,” said Black Hawk senior right wing Micah Carton.
McLaughlin said he and his Brewer mates “played very well defensively tonight.”
WITCHES 3, BLACK HAWKS 2 (OT)
Houlton-Hodgdon (17-5) 1 1 0 0 – 2
Brewer (19-4) 1 1 0 1 – 3
First period – 1. HH, J. McGuire 3 (Pasquarelli), :32; 2. Brew, Nadeau 7 (Caldwell, Kilroy), 7:08. Penalties: HH, J. McGuire, interference, 3:28.
Second period – 3. HH, Policano 17 (Pasquarelli), 8:54; 4. Brew, Z. Wilson 27 (M. Wilson, Caldwell), 14:29. Penalties: Brew, Z, Wilson, boarding, 4:41; Dy. Fitzpatrick, roughing, 5:30; Brew, De. Fitzpatrick, interference, 5:30; HH, Policano, roughing, 5:30; HH, Carton, tripping, 6:25; HH, J. McGuire, tripping, 9:03; Brew, Z. Wilson, elbowing-contact to the head, 9:35.
Third period – No scoring. Penalties: Brew, M. Wilson, cross checking-contact to the head, :45; Brew, M. Wilson, interferenece, 3:58; HH, Hall, roughing, 6:34; Brew, M. Wilson, interference, 10:17; HH, Anderson, tripping, 12:52.
Overtime – 5. Brew, Z. Wilson 28 (McLaughlin), :31. Penalties: none
Shots on goal: Brewer 13-10-9-1- 33; Houlton-Hodgdon 3-9-7-0 – 19
Goaltenders: Brewer, Saunders (19 shots-17 saves); Houlton-Hodgdon, Joslyn (33-30)
Power-play Opportunities: Brewer 0 of 4; Houlton-Hodgdon 0 of 6
Attendance: 1,000 (est.)
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