MANCHESTER – Bishop Brady-Trinity-Londonderry head coach Dan Earley doesn’t exactly have a deep roster to work with. In fact, his roster’s so small (11 players) that he’s able to stand along the boards with them during games instead of standing behind them like most coaches.

In Friday’s quarterfinal matchup against local rival No. 5 Concord (13-6-0), Earley used his roster to the fullest, propelling No. 4 Brady (14-4-0) to a 5-2 win. 

The game started slowly but had spurts of action. Brady scored first on a goal from freshman Evey Heppler (Grace Orr assist) at 7:51 of the first period, but the Tide responded 1:12 later with a goal from senior Greta Norton and took the lead at 14:41 after a goal from senior Leah Beauregard (who assisted on Norton’s goal).

Then in the second, Brady opened up a 4-2 lead with goals from Ali Pelletier (at 1:01), Finley Hollenberg (at 9:43) and Heppler (at 11:54), who also assisted Hollenberg’s goal. Heppler completed the hat trick in the third at 1:03, tapping in a feed from Hollenberg to add some cushion to their lead.

“First period, (Concord) was ahead 2-1. They weren't great goals, but bad bounces. We played a trap D where we push everything outside, but we let a couple players inside and that's what happens,” Earley said. “I told them (during first intermission), ‘You've won 13 games and you're going to let them just go by if you don't pick it up. You've got to take this away from (Concord).’ Our tying goal was pretty quick and (momentum) just built from there.”

More specifically, Brady’s defenders did a better job limiting Concord’s offensive chances.

“I think Brady showed up to play tonight. They put a lot of pressure on us,” Tide head coach Tim Herbert said. “They utilized the ice space very well. (Earley) doesn't have a deep bench, but he worked a system that kept the puck in small areas, and they overloaded it.”

The two teams met once during the regular season on Jan. 14, a 4-1 win for the Tide. This time around, though, Earley focused heavily on making sure his team kept the puck away from the net mouth as much as they could. In that first meeting, Concord scored three times from around the crease. 

On Friday, Brady was way more effective at limiting chances, and it paved the way for its victory.

Concord’s strong season comes to an end after the disappointing performance. The Tide had a 10-game winning streak in the middle of the season but faulted a bit in the last few games, losing four of the final six.

The loss ends the careers of five seniors: captains Beauregard and Norton, as well as Sophia Branch, Taylor Lamb and Sarah Potter. Still, Herbert’s optimistic about what the future holds for the program.

“We have a young team,” Herbert said. “We had great senior leadership, but it was a rebuilding year for us. It's a young team. Much of that team is returning next year. We're excited to see how they progress.”

Meanwhile, Brady will take on No. 1 Bishop Guertin (14-2-3) in the semifinals  (Brady’s first final four appearance since 2016) on Tuesday at Everett Arena in a rematch of a game from Feb. 11 that Brady won, 4-1.

And while it will surely be an uphill fight for the three-school co-op with a small roster, what Brady lacks in numbers it makes up for with heart.

“They're all dedicated,” Earley said. “They're all great friends. It's been a pleasure coaching them.”

Dan Attorri contributed reporting for this story.

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