WEST SPRINGFIELD — South Hadley senior defenseman Jack Monroe turned and stopped the puck at the red line during Chicopee’s advance up ice during overtime of the Western Massachusetts Division 3A hockey finals.
Monroe touched the puck over to senior forward Nick Thibault, who carried the puck past the blue line keeping it on his backhand.
The difference between a six-year championship drought and hanging up his skates for the final time as a Tiger, and ineffable jubilation with his friends and teammates sat on his stick. Thibault took the shot off his backhand close to the right side of the net and delivered the goal that delivered the title back to 153 Newton Street.
South Hadley defeated Chicopee 3-2 in overtime to win the Division 3A championship on Thursday at Olympia Ice Center.
It was the second goal of the game for Thibault, who netter the winner with about 3 minutes, 16 seconds left in the extra frame.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” he said. “I just kind of threw my hands up and everyone was charging at me. That is when it hit me.”
First-year South Hadley coach Larry Camus pointed to the team’s tremendous tenacity on defense as a factor in the win.
“We backchecked tremendously,” said Camus. “Guys were getting their sticks in there and doing what they were supposed to do. They played the good hockey that we taught them all year.”
The first period may have ended in a 0-0 tie, but the Tigers set the tone on defense with booming checks and pesky poke checks on the forecheck to disrupt any sort of rhythm Chicopee attempted to create.
South Hadley headed into the locker room for the first intermission with confidence and momentum on its side. The Tigers finished the period outshooting the Pacers, 8-2.
However, Chicopee did not fold at the sight of pressure. The Pacers came into the second peppering shots off South Hadley goaltender Jacob Remillard. He embraced the challenge and made pivotal stops on a few odd-man rushes and a couple gritty saves up close to the net to start the period.
With 8:32 to go in the second period, Thibault broke the stalemate. He located a loose puck that slipped out from under a pile of South Hadley and Chicopee players in front of the net and placed it in the back of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, South Hadley’s Ben Watkins made it 2-0 when found himself alone in the slot and placed a shot close inside the right post.
Chicopee (19-2-1) answered twice in the third. Austin Scott scored 12 seconds into the period, and Brett Geoffroy tied the game with 5:41 remaining.
Overtime could have ended in the first minute if it weren’t for Remillard’s focus between the pipes. He made athletic save after athletic save, diving across the crease for a puck or poking the puck away as Chicopee forwards lurked around the net.
Remillard is the only goalie on South Hadley’s roster this season.
“He is the only goalie we got, so he has seen a lot of pucks in practice,” said Camus. “He has been working hard in the net and it really showed tonight.”
The championship came after some down years for the Tigers. South Hadley missed the postseason in 2015 and 2016. This followed steady decline after four straight sectional titles and two state crowns from 2009-12. The team lost in the sectional finals in 2013 and the quarterfinal round in 2014.
South Hadley (12-7-3) will play in the state championship at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. They will play the winner of Saturday’s Central Mass. championship between Oakmont (13-5-4) and Grafton (15-6-1).
Winning the Western Mass. title is one thing, but a state title would be a “whole different thing” for Thibault.
“If we won states that would just be a whole different thing I guess,” he said. “I would not even know how to describe that.”