Hampden Academy Coop Falls to York 3-2 in Class B State Hockey Finals

Thanks to Adrian Ellingwood who provided us this recap of the State Class B Hockey Finals, where the Hampden Academy Broncos Coop Team fell to the York Wildcats 3-2 on Saturday afternoon, March 7th.

On Saturday afternoon, March 7, the York Wildcats and the Hampden Academy Broncos faced off in the Class B Hockey State Championship. Despite a valiant comeback effort by the Broncos, the Wildcats held on to win their second state title in school history.

An evenly-matched opening period saw chances at both ends, but goaltenders Aiden Surran and Connor Thibault kept the score deadlocked.

Early in the second period, the Wildcats went on the power play. Though it was unsuccessful, they scored just 10 seconds after the penalty had expired. Henry Ober put home a rebound from Bronson Eldridge’s shot, giving York the lead with 12:20 to go in the second period.

With 8 minutes to go in the second frame, Eldredge scored an unassisted power play goal to double the lead. A couple minutes later, Brett Aceto made it a 3-0 game, with a goal assisted by Josh Neal with 6:32 remaining the period.

With under 2 minutes to go, Hampden got a goal back just after a power play had expired. Wyatt Allen sent a shot that got through traffic in front of the net, and beat Thibault glove-side. Gunnar Weil had the assist, and the score would remain 3-1 heading into the second intermission.

The Broncos were on the power play to start the third period, but the Wildcat penalty killers were able to keep the score 3-1. Hampden kept the pressure on, but Thibault stood strong in net for most of the period. With 3:19 to go in the game, the Broncos pulled goaltender Aiden Surran for an extra attacker. Aiden MacFarline got a goal back, assisted by Miles Shields and Henry Armell, but it wasn’t enough, and York came away with a 3-2 win.

Despite the most successful season for Hampden Academy in 23 years, the Broncos fell one game short of a state title for the second time in school history. They finished the season with a record of 14-7-1. For the first time since 2011, the York Wildcats are Class B state champions, finishing the season with a record of 18-4.

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