Brattleboro stops HU Boys Hockey from nabbing repeat championship

March 27, 2021 | By Katie Martin 

Editor’s note: A larger gallery of photos from the March 24 championship game will be posted in Scenes Around Town.

Defending State Champions, the Harwood Highlanders tried their hand at earning a repeat title for the 2021 season but No. 2 Brattleboro edged them out, ending their season winning streak in the title game on Wednesday that finished as a 5-3 Colonels win and a first-ever state title for Brattleboro. 

The final match in the Division II tournament had a few twists and turns to it, the first being that it was held at the B.O.R ice arena in Barre, rather than the usual venue at Gutterson Field House at the University of Vermont in Burlington. 

Harwood fans cheer on the team as it leaves the Ice Center for the BOR Arena in Barre and the state championship game. Photo by Gordon Miller

Another unforeseen twist was that one of their star players and top scorers, junior Skylar Platt, was unable to play in the championship game.

“Leading up to the game, we received devastating news in Skylar Platt requiring an appendectomy on Tuesday morning,” Coach Shawn Thompson said. “While Sky was understandably heartbroken about not being able to play, the rest of the team was concerned about his health and wellbeing. It goes to show that being part of this team is about more than just hockey, we are a family.” 

Platt attended the game, cheering on his teammates, but his absence on the ice left their first line a key strong player down. 
But before that all began, the team met at the Ice Center in Waterbury where parents, friends and fans gathered for a cheering, sign-waving sendoff as the team and coaches boarded the bus for Barre.

In a show of support for his team, Jacob Grout who started the season as the Highlanders’ head coach, joined the scene to spend a few minutes with the players, his young son by his side in a pint-sized Boston Bruins jersey. Grout was dismissed from his job over a controversial electronic message to the team before the season began. The bittersweet moment had the team circle their mentor with a group huddle. Grout is appealing the decision that ended his coaching stint, hoping to get reinstated for next season.

The players boarded their school bus wearing ties and blazers to arrive in Barre to suit up for the final showdown of their undefeated season.

Game recap

The action opened with Harwood taking the upper hand early in the first period, getting the puck in deep to cycle in the Brattleboro zone. One of the Highlanders’ other leading players, junior Finn O’Hara got a quick shot on net and grabbed up a juicy rebound left from Colonels goalkeeper Darek Harvey and Harvey was able to make the save. Unsatisfied with his first attempt, O’Hara managed to score unassisted over Harvey’s right shoulder with 12:51 to go in the first period. Harwood took the lead, 1-0. 

Usually working alongside Platt on the same line, O’Hara worked double-time, speeding up and down and all over the ice like a tornado. Minutes after his first goal, he was able to get one-on-one with a Brattleboro defenseman whom O’Hara took wide and cut back across the tender’s crease. As he tried to tap one in, he collided with the Colonels’ goalie. 

Brattleboro had no shortage of opportunities, as Gavin Howard sent a prime-time pass across the goal line of Harwood keeper Liam Guyette’s crease. But with no linemate to receive it, Harwood was able to break the puck out of their zone, allowing Highlanders to compose themselves, with 3:23 left to play. 

As the puck play started to get frantic, the Colonels capitalized on an air puck and a bad bounce to tie the game up. Guyettte tried to catch the puck in his glove hand but was unable to, as Jack Pattison sunk one in assisted by Willl Taggard bringing the score to 1-1. 

Harwood tried to set something up as the clock wound down, working the zone and passing to their defensive points who would get a quick shot off on net. The puck quickly was broken out by Brattleboro, and re-routed up the ice for a quick two-on-one against Harwood, a Highlander defender laying out on the ice to stop a cross ice pass. Despite the effort, the period concluded, 1-1. 

Former Harwood Boys Hockey Coach Jacob Grout (black cap, center) meets the team for a sendoff on Wednesday. Photo by Gordon Miller

In the second, Brattleboro switched-up their goaltenders, substituting Harvey for sophomore Matthew Gordon-Macey. The game picked up speed as the race for the next goal was on. Brattleboro had a solid opportunity with 10:31 left in the period. A quick shot at Guyette resulted in a rebound out in the open and the Highlander defense was able to ice the puck out of their zone and re-group. Guyette, alert, swiftly saved a dangerous puck deflection off a stick into his pads and Harwood was able to clear the puck into the neutral zone. 

Harwood’s Tyson Sylvia and O’ Hara made several attempts to go up ice together, but were unsuccessful in their timing. In one attempt the pair went two-versus-two Colonels defending where Sylvia was able to get a shot on net, but it was saved by Gordon-Macey. 

Brattleboro managed to send the puck up and get a shot on net with 7:41 to go. It came close but the resounding sound of a goaltender’s best friend -- the pesky post -- signaled it missed, ringing the puck wide and out of play. Harwood was called for a tripping penalty, quickly followed by a Brattleboro penalty for tripping. 

Harwood players celebrate a goal during the final match with Brattleboro. Photo by Gordon Miller

Playing 4 vs. 4 on the ice, with 3:36 left to go in the second period, the Colonels’ Will Taggard picked the pocket of Harwood defenseman Jake Green to get a breakaway down the ice. He scored making it a 2-1 game.

Minutes later, Harwood’s Pacie McGrath was called for roughing, leaving a Brattleboro player injured on the ice. The player was able to get up moments later and resume play. The period ended at 2-1 Colonels. 

The final period of the season opened with Brattleboro coming out with their blades blazing, scoring their third goal less than a minute in, working their way into the zone and backing the Highlander defense into their goalie. Taggard got his second goal, assisted by Jack Pattison -- the third for Brattleboro. 

Minutes later, Brattleboro scored again off a hard left-angled goal line shot past Guyette. Again the Harwood defense backed in on their goalie instead of stepping up to meet the puck-handler. That brought the score to 4-1, the goal landed by Pattison who was assisted by Sam Hall. 

Harwood Coach Shawn Thompson called a timeout to regroup. After the short break, O’Hara -- not done yet -- was knocked into the boards and onto the ice, get up quickly to get to the puck and skate it hard into the offensive zone to fire off a shot. Collecting his own rebound, he fired again landing his second goal of the game, unassisted. 

With less than ten minutes to go in the period, both teams played hot potato with the puck, passing to teammates to move up the ice, only to have it picked off and redirected. Harwood had a scoring opportunity with just under nine to go when they worked the offensive zone passing from down low, to point, to cross, to a quick shot on net. The moment had almost all of the players on the ice in front of the Colonels’ net either fighting to keep it out, or to get it in. 

Brattleboro was called for hooking, giving Harwood a man-up advantage. Then Brattleboro called a timeout. With four minutes left to go, Harwood was on a power play when Harwood’s Jake Green carried the puck down low in the offensive zone, passed back up to the point and back down. He sank the third goal for Highlanders, assisted by O’Hara. 

Finn O'Hara on the attack headed to the Colonels' net. Photo by Gordon Miller

At 4-3, Harwood was one goal from tying it up and forcing overtime. The Highlanders were able to get another shot off with 20 seconds left on the powerplay, but Gordon-Macey was there for the save. On the other end, Guyette made three back-to-back saves, first on a breakaway, the others off the rebounds, all keeping the game close. 

With just minutes remaining, Thompson pulled Guyette out of the net to put another man on the ice. Brattleboro attempted to ice the puck multiple times to get it out of their zone and waste the clock. At each new faceoff, they stacked their net with players at side hash marks to block a potential shot. 

Any hope for a tie disappeared just before the final buzzer. With just two seconds to go, the Colonels cleared the puck from their defensive zone with Pattison scoring his third of the game unassisted on Harwood’s open net. That put the final nail in the coffin for the 2020-2021 Highlander season. Final score 5-3. 

Guyette had 26 saves in the game. Harvey had nine for the Colonels and Gordon-Macey had 20. Brattleboro went onto celebrate their first state boys hockey title in a victory reminiscent of the Highlanders’ 2020 D-II state championship which was the first for the program in 15 years.

Coach Thompson’s take-away

When asked for his assessment of the dramatic season final, Coach Thompson acknowledged that it was a good match-up and “anyone's game to win” where a few good bounces in either team's direction could be the difference. But despite the series of misfortunes for the Highlanders in the third period, Thompson said the team showed character and an unwillingness to give up. “They battled back out of the trenches as best I've seen any team do, and gave themselves a chance to win that game. I feel like we left it all on the ice, and that's all I can ask of the boys,” he said. 

“Although we didn't come out on top this year, I could not be more proud of this team. Sometimes it's not about winning the big game, but the lessons and the growth that we take away from the experience. It was amazing to see the character that was built in such a short season,” he reflected. “The ability to pick a teammate up when they are down. To learn from others as well as sharing your own knowledge. To fight for what you believe in. To win as a team and lose as a team.”

He called this shortened season a special one and mentioned the team’s three seniors in particular – Thomsen, Jonathan O’Brien and Guyette. “You have made an impact much greater than you realize on your teammates, coaches and community. We all appreciate what you have accomplished and wish you the best in your next steps.” 

Katie Martin works as a youth behavior interventionist and an assistant HU Girls Hockey coach. She’s also a member of the Waterbury Select Board.