Keene boys, girls hockey teams both win in doubleheader

Then, in what felt like a blink of an eye, it was a one-goal game with 1:10 to play in the third period, Merrimack with the extra attacker.

But it was Keene’s defense that held strong, and Jonah Murphy’s empty netter with five seconds to play sealed the deal for the Blackbirds in a 6-4 win over Merrimack — a Division II school — Wednesday night at Keene Ice.

“The thought process is, ‘Don’t let a goal in by any means,’ ” Murphy said of that final minute. “Keep five guys in the zone, be conservative, don’t let anything through. … Maybe try to score an empty netter, which we ended up doing.”

The empty-net goal was Murphy’s second of the game. He scored with 3:26 left in the first period to put the Blackbirds ahead 2-0 at the time. Murphy had three or four other solid scoring opportunities in that period also, one of which rang off the post.

He also had an assist in the third period.

“He’s one of our top guys. He’s one of our go-to guys,” said Keene head coach Chris McIntosh. “If Jonah’s having a game, we’re going to be right in it.”

The entire top line skated well, with Leo Ballaro and Joel Beard complementing Murphy’s production. Beard assisted on Murphy’s second goal.

“If [Murphy] is pushing them to be the best versions of themselves, then we’re doing the right things,” McIntosh said, adding he thought this was Ballaro’s best game of the season.

Chris Truman kicked off the scoring with 5:45 left to play in the first period. On the play, Noah Parrelli, hanging out behind the net, swung the puck around to the front and Truman cleaned it up. Murphy scored two minutes later and Keene was off and running, up 2-0 at the first intermission.

“It’s just momentum,” Murphy said. “When we start slow, it never ends well. … Goalies usually get in their own heads after letting a couple in early, so we were just trying to do that and just keep it up throughout the game.”

The second period didn’t see any scoring in the first 11 minutes, then Keene scored twice in 31 seconds, and all of a sudden, the Blackbirds had a 4-0 lead. Casey Mooers scored with 3:24 left in the second period after putting up a prayer shot from the blue line. The puck bounced around and into the top left corner of the net. Chase Hill buried another goal just a couple seconds later to put Keene ahead by four goals.

It only took Merrimack (2-2) a few minutes to cut that deficit in half, though, as the Tomahawks strung together two quick goals of their own to go into the second intermission down just 4-2 and with the momentum.

A penalty assessed to Merrimack after the second period was over put Keene on the power play to start the third, and Noah Parrelli took full advantage. He scored 1:04 into the period to put Keene ahead 5-2 and back in control.

But again, Merrimack didn’t give in. A goal with 11:29 left in the third cut the deficit to 5-3, then — after pulling its goalie with a few minutes to play — Merrimack scored once more to make it 5-4, still with 1:10 to play.

Keene held tough.

“It was just making sure [we] still had some steam,” McIntosh said. “I knew the empty netter was coming. It just felt like it was coming. … Confidence until the end.”

Murphy’s empty netter ended the threat and sealed the deal.

“I think we just had good hustle throughout,” Murphy said. “We let up a little bit at the very end of the second, but that was really only two minutes and we bounced back really well. I think compared to other games, it was one of our better ones. Good win.”

Keene (2-2) hosts Nashua South-Pelham (1-2) Saturday at 5:35 p.m.

Keene girls beat St. Thomas Aquinas

Before the boys took the ice Wednesday, the Keene girls took down St. Thomas Aquinas, 5-2.

After taking a 2-1 lead into the second intermission, Keene scored 23 seconds in the third period to take a 3-1 advantage. But later in the period, St. Thomas Aquinas (1-2) made it a one-goal game again, with 6:57 still to play.

Camden Ladzinski scored an important insurance goal with 3:40 left on a breakaway after forcing a turnover in the St. Thomas Aquinas zone. Ladzinski took the puck all the way down the rink, then buried it, as the crowd at Keene Ice went wild.

“It was kind of a blur,” Ladzinski said of her goal. “I don’t really remember much. Definitely a team effort.”

St. Thomas Aquinas pulled its goalie with two minutes to go, and Mauren Ladzinski — Camden’s sister — hit the empty net to make it 5-2.

Olive Thatcher, Sephra Parrelli and Alix Dumont all scored for Keene, along with the Ladzinski sisters.

“Our girls played really hard,” said Keene assistant coach Joel Ladzinski, who was helping to fill in for head coach Chris Flood who was out sick. “Our girls stepped up, played with great hustle, got to loose pucks, controlled the play, good passing, good effort all around.”

Sidney Hauser — a first-year hockey goalie — played a strong game in net, finishing with 15 saves.

“I feel pretty good,” Hauser said. “I’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement over the last few games, so I’m really happy about that, and I hope to keep improving.”

“Sidney played great, lights out,” said Coach Ladzinski, father to Camden and Mauren. “She’s really coming a long way.”

Keene (3-1) travels to Oyster River (2-1) Saturday at 4:30 p.m.