BOBWHITES AIM FOR NINTH CHAMPIONSHIP IN 30 YEARS TONIGHT
By John Bonnette
County Courier
ST. ALBANS – The past two years have seen the complex fall silent after BFA was upset early in the playoffs but on Saturday night the sound was deafening after Owen Bonnette’s overtime game-winner just 24 seconds into overtime lifted the BFA past Rice 2-1 and into the Division I Championship game Wednesday night.
“On a scale of one to ten I would give it an eleven,” BFA Goaltender Guy Ellis said. “Our desire to win we had guys running around diving, blocking shots and breaking the puck out we were doing everything we needed to do.
“They had close chances, we close chances but the bounces just went our way and all I can say if the hockey Gods were on our side today.”
Essex dumped the puck into the Bobwhite zone to start overtime but as BFA collected the puck Collin Audy chipped it off the boards to Bonnette who raced through the neutral zone before slipping the puck between two defenders to Matt Merrill in the high slot.
Merrill took the pass and slipped a backhander the Rice netminder Carson Barnes (20 saves) made the save on but Bonnette crashed the net and reached over Barnes to poke in the loose puck to send the Bobwhites back to Gutterson for the first-time sense 2017.
“Audy picked it up along the board in our end chipped it off the wall,” Bonnette said. “I picked it up and barreled and found Matty in the high slot, he put it on net and I just tapped it in. It is huge and a great feeling, the boys are buzzing and we just can’t wait to get to the Gut.
“Our biggest thing is staying composed, coach teachers it all year. We have a banner in our locker room and that is all it took is staying composed.”
BFA Coach Toby Ducolon praised his senior winger for the effort and the drive that went into the game winner.
“It was really just out of effort he was working very hard,” Ducolon said. “We made the play at the defensive blue and then he made another play on the goal line.
“Somebody in front of their bench went indirect off to Bonnette, Bonnette goes in and slides it to Merrill and kind of a 2-on-1 and Merrill with some foot speed gets to the net pretty well. Then it went to the far side of the goaltender and when Owen grabbed it for the rebound it looked like he kind of just pushed the whole thing.”
But as good as the game winner was it was a wild final four minutes that sent the game to overtime.
After two scoreless periods BFA finally got on the board with 3:37 left in regulation when Owen Benoit finally broke through for the Bobwhites.
Benoit picked the puck up just inside his own blue line as both teams went for a change leaving a lane up the left side. As Benoit raced down the ice and crossed into the Green Knights zone he carried the puck wide to the low circle and then blasting a shot under the cross bar to give BFA a 1-0 lead.
“We were changing, they were changing there was a lot of room and a lots and lots of space for him to go,” Ducolon said. “He had some good speed and then he went to the outside, he did not have a lot of angle, he was at the low end of the circle and then he ripped it.
“Their goalie was deep but he ripped it under the bar, it was great rush and a finish.”
But despite being down Rice showed its resilience and with BFA’s Parker Gratton in the box and the Green Knights with a 6-on-4-man advantage Rice notched the equalizer with :44 left in regulation.
As Rice was pressuring the Bobwhites in the final minute the puck came back to Reilly Hickey at the left point. Hickey made a nice move around one BFA defender and then slipped a shot through traffic and inside the right post to tie the game at 1-1.
“The plan was to get shots and try and get traffic and take his eyes away and I know that is what happen and why that goal went in,” Rice Coach Jerry Tarrant said. “He did not see it and it went in short side.
“That was a great high school hockey game. The atmosphere here is always fantastic I look forward to it and it meant my expectations other then the loss. It was a great hard-fought hockey game.
Ducolon echoed Tarrant’s comments praising both teams for their efforts.
“That was a great hockey game for both teams,” He said. “I thought we played extremely well and I thought Rice played very well. We happen to get that last chance or bounce, whatever you want to call it but that was a good hockey game very exciting and great high school hockey.
“We feel very fortunate to be heading to Gutterson on Wednesday but at the same time it is well deserved we have come along way this winter and that is a great hockey team we beat tonight.”
The second seeded Bobwhites (18-4) will face off against a tough Stowe team which knocked off top seeded Essex 2-1 Saturday night.
“When the call a penalty with a minute left that is a tough thing emotionally to get through and we have some young guys but we have some great leadership too,” Ducolon said “So to recover from that and make that play on the end that was a great finish.
“This group deserves it they have improved greatly and they have worked very hard as a group and we will be tough to beat on Wednesday but Stowe will be too They have a very good team I will say that.”
“But right now, our biggest thing is we have to get some rest and have some legs on a big ice surface on Wednesday night. If we go down there and we are still tired and sick it is going to be a tough hockey game.”
