Burlington/Colchester knocks off BFA for cooperative's historic girls hockey championship

What's a Sealaker? The answer, undoubtedly now, begins with five words.

"A Division I state champion," co-head coach Jamie Rozzi said.

Camryn Poulin's power play goal broke a deadlock and capped a wild second period as the No. 3 Burlington/Colchester Sealakers knocked off top-seeded BFA-St. Albans for a 3-2 victory in the Division I high school girls hockey state title game at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

It's the Sealakers' first crown in their 10th season as a cooperative. And to finally break through, the Sealakers had to solve the state's most decorated program — 11 titles in 17 finals appearance in the VPA era — following two regular-season losses to BFA this winter and last year's 5-1 title-game defeat to Spaulding.

"It’s amazing especially since it’s our 10-year anniversary this year. It just means that much more," the senior Poulin said. "We’ve been rivals with BFA for so long and I think these last few weeks we’ve connected so much more as a team and bonded — it really meant the world. It’s the reason we won."

Since its second loss to the Comets on Jan. 24, the Sealakers (17-4-1) ripped off an 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1), concluding with a semifinal shutout at the Kingdom Blades and Thursday's thrilling final.

"If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best," said Rozzi, who shares bench boss duties with Molly Beauregard, a former BHS player. "I thought we went out there and beat the best two teams in the state and we proved we were the best this year."

Holley MacLellan and Annabelle Lekstutis also scored in the second period's goal rush and goaltender Leah Boyd, coming off back-to-back playoff shutouts, posted nine of her 21 saves in the third period to thwart the Comets' chances to level the game.

"She had the best game that I’ve seen her," Beauregard said. "She played really well and is definitely the backbone of our team."

Said Poulin: "She’s such a rock in the net."

BFA goalie Makenna Montgomery made 21 saves for the Comets, who finish at 17-4-2, suffering their first in-state loss of the season.

"Great hockey game for a championship game. Both teams had quality chances on both ends of the ice," BFA coach Luke Cioffi said. "If we played 10 games, it's going to be a one-goal game either way."

Rae Alexander scored less than three minutes in on a stick poke for her third goal in the past two games for a 1-0 Comets' lead after the first period. Lilly Ferraro and Arleigh Richard were credited with assists.

Then the game opened up in a hurry in the middle frame.

Denied on a wraparound chance minutes before, MacLellan circled in again and shoveled a nifty left-handed shot through skaters and inside the left post to knot the game at 1 with 8:59 left in the second. Bianca Flanagan earned the assist.

Then in 12 seconds' time, Lekstutis jammed in a rebound chance, Poulin and Brooks DeShaw assisting.

The Comets, though, offered their own quick response. Just over a minute later, Bri Jarvis notched her 39th goal of her senior campaign with a rebound finish off freshman Kali Cushing's shot.

"It was really important that everyone stayed calm and collected and just focused on the game and not worried about the score," Poulin said.

Late in the period, BFA was assessed a penalty for too many skaters on the ice during a line change. Poulin and the Sealakers pounced on the power play. The forward went nearly end-to-end, weaving through three BFA defensemen and uncorking a high wrister past Montgomery's left shoulder at 13:43.

"That’s a classic Camryn goal right there, we’ve seen it for four years," Rozzi said. "It couldn’t have been a bigger stage."

Boyd made the lead stand up in the third period, denying the Comets on several prime chances and tense moments down the stretch. While relying on a group of senior leaders, the Comets also put trust in freshmen and sophomores, especially on the blue line.

"We are pleased with the effort and we got a lot of experience this year and something to build on for next year," Cioffi said.

For the Sealakers, the title was a decade in the making. Since 2020, they had lost twice in the final and had to forfeit less than a hour before the 2021 title game due to a COVID case.

This winter, the Sealakers' season turned when they stepped back and took a mental reset.

"We had a couple bumps in the road that you can take one way or another and we all decided, 'Hey, let’s just have some fun and play hockey and see where it takes us,'" Rozzi said. "We just flowed with it. As you saw tonight, they never got down, they just kept going.

"They really found their stride. It’s an amazing thing."

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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.