Road to the championship: Harwood prevails in playoff rounds v. MMU, Middlebury
March 27, 2021 | Story by Katie Martin | Photos by Brian Larrabee
March 20
Harwood 3, Middlebury 0
The defending Division II state champion Harwood Union got its shot at another championship match with its 3-0 shutout semifinal win against Middlebury on Saturday, March 20.
The first-seeded Highlanders hosted fifth-place Middlebury at home at the Ice Center of Washington West.
After a scoreless first period, the Highlanders scored two in the second period, both by Finn O’ Hara; the first was assisted by Jacob Green, the second by Garrett Nelson. Harwood led 2-0 going into the third period. O’Hara, one of the two Harwood players this season reach his 100th career point, was not finished. He landed a third goal to clinch a hattrick, this one assisted by Green.
“We had a great effort out of the whole team. Finn O’Hara had a natural hat trick to lead the offense. Liam Guyette came up big with many key saves resulting in a well-deserved shutout,” said Coach Shawn Thompson.
Harwood also had a strong defense, as senior goaltender Liam Guyette finished the game with 29 saves. Middlebury tender Giles Heilman was close behind with 25 saves.
Harwood headed to the B.O.R. Arena in Barre, on Wednesday March 24, for the championship game against second-seeded Brattleboro.
Highlanders take out MMU Cougars in 8-4 rough-and-tumble quarterfinal
March 17
Harwood 8, MMU 4
Number-one seeded Harwood Union hosted the ninth seed Mt. Mansfield Union at the Ice Center on Wednesday, March 17, for a blow-out Division II quarterfinal in the state high school boys hockey tournament where the Highlanders swiftly scored point after point, despite the on-ice warfare.
Harwood was first on the board. With just over 10 minutes to go, Finn O’Hara found the back of the net, assisted by linemate Skylar Platt, both noted for reaching their 100th career points this season. The game continued at what seemed warp speed, back and forth, producing many stick-to-stick passes and lightning shots on net for both teams.
With just under six minutes to go in the first period, Harwood defender Jake Green assisted by Platt and O’Hara, sunk the second goal in and went into intermission up 2-0 over MMU.
Less than a minute into the second period, O’Hara assisted by Platt again sank another in net from the Mt. Mansfield defensive blueline. Mt. Mansfield, coming back, ate up a juicy rebound left in front by Harwood goalkeeper Liam Guyette to make the score 3-1; Alex Brown got the goal assisted by Sam Molson and Will Hauf.
The Highlanders played a man down, giving Mt. Mansfield their first power play when Jonathan O’Brien was sent to the box for interference. On the penalty kill for Harwood, Guyette made lightning saves, but with 38 seconds left to kill, Mt. Mansfield drove the puck deep into Harwood’s defensive zone. Will Hauf fired off a shot over the top left shoulder of the tender, assisted by Brown.
Following the penalty, Harwood went back on the attack. With just under nine minutes to go, defenseman Tyson Sylvia passed to Platt who glided over the Mt. Mansfield crease to tap a soft one past Mansfield’s Declan Heney. Not even a minute later, Platt on a breakaway down the ice with a Mansfield defender hot on his tracks sunk in another one, assisted by O’Hara.
With seven minutes to go, the game started to get aggressive with some trash talk on the ice and blatant head- hunting from the teams. The referees, who let one call go against a Harwood player who had to get off the ice to be checked out by the trainer, minutes later called Harwood for a five-minute misconduct penalty for head contact to Sylvia, who was ejected from the game. The penalty was served in the box by Shea Pearson.
With three minutes to go in the second, and 1:13 left on the penalty, Mt. Mansfield took advantage of the man down to score their third goal, again by Brown, assisted by Harrison Wheeler, a player who had previously been on the Harwood team.
With just 16.8 seconds on the clock, Harwood was called for another five-minute penalty, this time for a call from behind, and a game ejection for O’Brien. Now down two top defenders, Harwood headed into the third period a man down, the score 5-3.
Harwood spent 4.44 minutes a man down at the start of the period. Unwavered, Highlander Charlie Sietz scored his first varsity career goal unassisted to kick off the rebound. With 10 to go, Mt. Mansfield got another over the goal line off a Harwood defensive error – a puck shot into the body, dropping to the ice – which was picked up by Wheeler, who landed a quick shot on net and scored Mt. Mansfield’s fourth goal.
Platt followed by sinking in another one, assisted by Tanner Woodard. The intensity was up but the clock was running down. Just under four minutes to go, Platt maneuvered around the entire Mt. Mansfield team, dodging cheap hits, taking their defense out wide before cutting back in across the goalie’s crease to score the final goal of the game as Harwood celebrated in front of the Mt. Mansfield bench.
The final call of the game with three minutes left came against Wheeler on Mansfield’s team – two minutes for a crosscheck. That gave Harwood the time they needed to waste, and a man-up advantage. Harwood finished the quarterfinal round with a comfortable lead, 8-4.
“We had a good game offensively and it was great to see Sky explode for 7 points. I appreciate being able to count on players having big games in the playoffs,” said head Coach Shawn Thompson. “Charly scored a critical goal early in the third period while we were killing a 5-minute penalty to put the game out of reach. That was a pivotal moment in the game.”
The Highlanders went on to play the semi-final round, March 20, against No. 5 Middlebury.
The team celebrates their win as they look to the semifinal vs. Middlebury. Photo by Brian Larrabee.
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.