MANCHESTER, N.H. — It was the moment that Nate Crowley had dreamed of since he was a child, sitting in the stands and watching his Windham High idols on the ice.
Finally, he and his Jaguars had earned their shot at New Hampshire hockey’s biggest prize.
“I’ve dreamed of this since I was 5-years-old, watching Windham High play,” said Crowley. “I was there in 2016 watching my cousins help Windham win a title. Words can’t describe how much I wanted this. To finally be here is unreal.”
Crowley scored two goals, goalie Ben Breen was absolutely brilliant with 37 saves, and top-seeded Windham defeated No. 5 Hanover 5-1 in the Division I semifinals on Wednesday night at the JFK Arena.
“It’s super amazing to be here,” said Breen. “We made it to the semis last year, and the loss hurt. This win, and the run that we’re on have been the best few weeks of my life. We had a good idea we could be good, and we felt like if we kept fighting we could be in the championship. and here we are.”
The Jaguars (17-2-1) advance to face No. 2 Londonderry (17-3-0) in the Division I title game on Saturday at the SNHU Arena in Manchester. The time is TBA. Windham won the regular season matchup 4-0 on Jan. 20.
This will mark Windham’s second ever trip to the title game. In 2016, the Jags beat Bow 4-3 for the Division II title.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than right here, right now,” said A.J. Martino. “We felt like we could be here from the start. We were confident, and we stuck to our game. This is amazing, and playing for a state title will be even better.”
Hanover came out flying early, twice throwing major tests at Breen in the opening minutes. But the netminder turned away one rush with a stellar glove save in traffic, then knocked away a shot with his blocker moments later.
“Ben stood on his head for us in the first 15 minutes,” said Crowley. “He was amazing, and it really freed us up to make plays. I believe we have the best goalie in the state, and he showed it today. We can’t thank him enough.”
From that point, Windham began to dominant.
Martino gave the Jaguars the lead when he took a picture-perfect pass from Crowley right in front to the net, and buried a shot over the goalie’s right shoulder with 4:37 to go in the first.
“Nate dished it to me, and I just had to put it over the blocker,” said Martino. “I knew it was going in. The goalie was screened, and I just shot it. It was a big starting point, and it gave is a lot of momentum.”
Just 3:16 later, Aiden Quaglietta stole a pass next to his own net, went on an end-to-end rush, crossing in front of the goalie before siding a backhand past his skate for a shorthanded goal to make it 2-0 after a period.
Crowley added to the Windham advantage just 0:25 into the second period. Hanover — which was on the power play — was a bit lackadaisical chasing a puck that had been dumped behind its net, and while the Bears were sleeping Crowley attacked with a steal and shot between a surprised goalie’s pads.
“I saw the puck go down, and I thought I could win the foot race,” said Crowley. “I stripped it, took my space and luckily the puck went in.”
Just 1:38 later, defenseman Josh Martino blasted home a shot from the right faceoff circle to make it 4-0 Windham.
Hanover continued to apply heavy pressure in the second and third periods, but Breen was up to the task, with his large Windham fan section going wild right behind him with every single stop.
Breen made 17 saves in the first, 10 more in the second and 10 stops in third. The lone goal he surrendered was with 3:46 left in the third and the game well in hand.
“They were tough,” said Breen. “But when my team scores goals for me, I feel like I owe them a few saves. It was easier to make the saves once we took that lead. It takes a weight off my shoulders.”
Crowley iced the victory with 2:58 left with an empty net goal, and the celebration was on.
“It was a world of freedom scoring that goal,” he said. “At that point, I kind of knew it was over, and it was an indescribable feeling. I feel so amazing. and I imagine playing for the title is going to be unreal.”
Windham 5, Hanover 1
Division I semifinals
Goals: Windham — Nate Crowley 2, A.J. Martino, Aiden Quaglietta, Josh Martino; Hanover — Wyatt Seelig
Assists: Windham — Crowley, Hunter Marcin, Liam Sullivan; Hanover — None
Saves: Windham — Ben Breen 37; Hanover — JoJo Drent 24
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