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MANCHESTER, NH. — Pinkerton’s run at a second-straight Division I state hockey title crashed during a 4-minute stretch of the second period in last night’s semifinals.

The second-seeded Astros squandered a two-goal lead as third-seeded Exeter rallied for a 3-2 victory before about 500 at the JFK Arena.

HOOKSETT, N.H. — After exploding for four second-period goals, second-seeded Pinkerton almost squandered a three-goal lead in the final two minutes. The Astros rallied from a two-goal deficit then survived a furious St. Thomas Aquinas comeback for a 5-4 victory over the seventh-seeded Saints yesterday before approximately 250 fans at the Ice Den. Pinkerton (16-5-1) will play third-seeded Exeter at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the JFK Rink in Manchester in the Division 1 semifinals. “We just try to make things interesting,” said Pinkerton senior Jake Dion, who contributed on all five scores (2 goals, 3 assists), including a pair of goals in the crucial second period. Pinkerton, which split a pair of one-goal decisions against St. Thomas during the regular season, watched the Saints (11-7-1) grab a 2-0 lead early in the second. But the defending state champion Astros converted on four power-play opportunities in a span of 4:37 to take a commanding 4-2 lead into the final period. “We were getting down on the bench,” Dion said. “But coach told us to keep positive. Negativity brings teams down. It’s all about the attitude.” Dion put the Astros on the board with 8:11 left in the second, scoring on a nice centering pass from Eric Clark. The senior winger got his second goal 77 seconds later, deflecting a slap shot by John Cebula past St. Thomas goalie Adam Houle. Teddy McCarran, who has a team-high 19 goals, gave Pinkerton the lead for good 22 seconds after St. Thomas’ third penalty with a nifty move and tough wrist shot in the slot with 4:04 left in the second. The Saints were penalized again only 30 seconds later, and this time the Astros needed only 12 seconds to increase their advantage to 4-2 on a wrister by Andrew Stefanelli. “We didn’t take advantage of some odd-man rushes in the first period, but we had chances to score,” Pinkerton coach Casey Kesselring said. “We’ve been really good in the second period all year. We told them we had to stay with it and be composed. “It just wasn’t going our way, but then (the Saints) kind of shot themselves in the foot, and it really hurt them. The power play was the big difference in the game.” Pinkerton scored an apparent knock-out goal with 3:31 left in the third after Dion dumped in the puck which goalie Shayne Forsley was unable to cover up, allowing McCarran an easy goal. But two goals 52 seconds apart brought St. Thomas back to within one goal with 1:30 left. A tripping penalty with 35 seconds remaining put Pinkerton down a man, but Astros’ goalie J.J. Solloway survived the six-on-four onslaught to preserve the victory. “Basically it’s life or death,” St. Thomas coach Chris Plummer said. “You have to put everything on the net and crash the net ... We talked in the pregame that against a good team if you make mistakes, they’re going to put the puck in the net, and that’s what happened in that second period.” Pinkerton 5, St. Thomas Aquinas 4 Division 1 Quarterfinals St. Thomas Aquinas (11-7-1 Division 1):    1 1 2 — 4 Pinkerton (16-5-1, 15-4 Division 1):    0 4 1 — 5 Goals: STA — Tommy Williams, Ian Rodden, Dan St. Pierre, Kenny Grade; P — Jake Dion 2, Teddy McCarran 2, Andrew Stefanelli. Assists: STA — Joe Arcieri 2, Eddie Conroy 2, Rodden, Williams; P — Dion 3, John Cebula 2, Eric Clark, McCarran. Saves: STA — Adam Houle 11, Shayne Forsley 10; P — J.J. Solloway 21

Zach Sanford scored a pair of goals, breaking current UNH star Paul Thompson's school record for points in a season as Pinkerton bested Trinity 5-2. Sanford's 20 is now one better than Thompson's mark set in 2003-04, accoring to Astros coach Casey Kesselring.

Andrew Walsh netted a pair of goals, tying his total for the season, as Pinkerton won its eighth straight, a 5-3 victory over Concord.

John Cebula scored twice to lead Pinkerton to a 5-2 victory over Manchester Memorial. Cebula has scored all five of his goals this season in Saturday games. 

Alex Desrosiers potted a pair of goals as Pinkerton won its fifth straight, blasting Nashua North 6-2. 

Pinkerton scored twice seven seconds apart in the final seconds of the second period and cruised past Berlin 3-0. Andrew Stefanelli scored at 14:46 and Jake Dionne lit the lamp at 14:53. J.J. Solloway stopped 32 shots as the Astros beat Berlin for only the second time in its history.

Senior John Cebula ended his season-long scoring drought in style, rolling up a three-goal hat trick in Pinkerton Academy's 8-2 drubbing of Exeter.

With Pinkerton trailing by a goal and 28 seconds left in the game, the Astros' Andrew Stefanelli took a pass at the point and blasted it home for a goal to tie them game. Then, 14 seconds later, Pinkerton won a draw in its zone and banked it down ice where Cam Romano picked it up and scored the winner to give the Astros a 4-3 victory over St. Thomas. 

In the middle of a line change, Pinkerton's Teddy McCarran jumped off the bench onto the ice, intercepted a pass and broke away for the game-winning goal in overtime to give the Astros a 4-3 victory over Exeter. Freshman Zach Sanford added a hat trick for the winners.