Bishop Guertin won its second NHIAA Girls state title in three years, holding off Oyster River/Portsmouth 3-2 in Saturday’s title game at SNHU Arena in Manchester.
The Cardinals came into the title game as the top-seed after going 13-2-3 during the regular season. Oyster River/Portsmouth was the number two seed, finishing the regular season at 14-3-1.
Tied 1-1 after the opening period, Bishop Guertin went ahead for good with a pair of second period goals.
Both came off the stick of senior Jill Scanlon. The first one, assisted by fellow senior Jenna Lynch, came into the stanza, at the 1:42 mark. Scanlon’s second of the day, at 13:55, gave the Cardinals a huge, two-goal lead. Tessa Wilkie and Riley Molongowski drew assists on the goal.
Congrats to @BgGirlsHockey on their @NHIAA_LOA Championship, 3-2 over Oyster River-Portsmouth! Wrap-up story coming soon to https://t.co/DOH9BTO7PQ! pic.twitter.com/KGjBCflpPv
— Hockey Night (@HNIBonline) March 11, 2023
Oyster River/Portsmouth put up a fight in the third period and closed to 3-2 at the 3:15 mark on an unassisted goal from Kira Jacobs. But, OR could not get the equalizer.
Oyster River actually drew first blood, taking a 1-0 lead 7:19 into the first period on a goal by Kathryn Deans, assisted by Jacobs.
Under two minutes later, the Cardinals drew even as Lynch set up Riley Goldthwaite at the nine-minute mark.
To reach the final, Bishop Guertin defeated Keene/Monadnock, 3-2, in the quarterfinal round, and 8-1 over Trinity in the semifinals.
Oyster River/Portsmouth bounced Pinkerton 10-2 and Hanover 5-3 to get to the title game. OR had lost both regular season games to Hanover.
During the regular season, Bishop Guertin notched a 6-3 win over Oyster River/Portsmouth.
