DOVER — After seeing his team’s three-goal lead evaporate, St. Thomas Aquinas High School sophomore Jake McGuire picked the perfect time to net his first goal of the season.
Portsmouth/Newmarket senior defenseman Luke Squire’s goal with 1:01 left in regulation capped off a three-goal comeback in the third period for the Clipper Mules to tie the score at 4-4, but McGuire’s rebound of Will MacLean’s shot with 26 seconds remaining lifted the Saints to a thrilling 5-4 victory in Division II boys hockey action inside Dover Ice Arena.
“I just saw Will shoot the puck from the point, and me and Zach Talbot went for the puck at the same time and I just put it in; I really didn’t even look,” McGuire said. “We were little frustrated when they tied it up, but Coach kept us in it.”
Senior forward Matt MacLean scored two goals and added an assist in St. Thomas’ second straight victory. The Saints (10-2) rebounded from a two-game losing streak with Thursday’s 2-0 win over Oyster River.
“We were fortunate to get the bounce of a puck go our way and get a win,” St. Thomas coach Wayne Sheehan said. “They’re well coached and they compete hard in all three zones; it was a grind. Hopefully it’s something our younger kids can learn from as we build some momentum for the playoffs.”
Senior center Andrew Weeks netted a hat trick in the latest tough loss for Portsmouth/Newmarket (4-8). The Clippers Mules have dropped four one-goal decisions, which included Oyster River scoring with six seconds left in last Friday’s 5-4 defeat.
“That’s a really good team, and to play with them and battle back is huge. A few bounces here or there it’s a different result,” Portsmouth/Newmarket coach Bill Widi said. “We got a lot of good efforts from kids who normally don’t play a lot, so it kept us fresher going into the third period and we were motivated.”
Matt MacLean fed Brendan Tersolo for a goal late in the second period to give St. Thomas a 4-1 lead entering the third. It took only 21 seconds into the period for Weeks to score and bring the Clipper Mules within 4-2.
Weeks followed by capping off his hat trick on a power play, banking home the rebound of John Tuttle’s shot past St. Thomas goalie Chris Eno (19 saves) with 7:16 remaining.
Portsmouth/Newmarket was down to desperation, and just as goalie Brad Weit (22 saves) started to skate off the ice, Squire rebounded Fred Holmes’ shot to tie the game at 4-4.
“I was proud of the guys for coming back at the end and even though we ended up coming short, we fought hard until the end,” Holmes said. “After the first and second period, when we got down a bit, we knew we had to change it around. We gave it everything we had out there.”
That thrill for the Clipper Mules’ comeback was short-lived on McGuire’s last-ditch effort.
“You have to give Portsmouth some credit; they worked real hard to get back into the game and tie it and we got a lucky bounce at the end,” Sheehan said. “It was Jake’s first regular-season goal, so it’s a pretty exciting goal to get with 26 seconds left."
Jojo Grella found Matt MacLean with 8:12 left in the first period to give St. Thomas a 1-0 lead. Grella opened the second with a goal off a Will MacLean assist, and Matt MacLean followed with a goal one minute later for a 3-0 St. Thomas lead with 11:05 left in the second.
Weeks netted his first goal to slice the deficit to 3-1 with 6:29 left in the second.
“It was rough seeing the momentum switch, seeing them score that goal with a minute left in the game," Matt MacLean said. “But I was there standing in front of the net, huddling with the team and trying to get the momentum. Then there was a shot from my brother, Jake was there at the right place and right time, and the bench was pretty electric at that point.”
Both teams are back in action at Dover Ice Arena on Wednesday, as St. Thomas challenges rival Dover (9-3-1), while the Clipper Mules face off against Merrimack (3-5-1).
“We’ve lost a boat load of these games, but if we play like that; nobody is going to want to play us in the playoffs,” Widi said. “We played really well against really good hockey team.”