The end of an era.
Belisles end reign behind Mount bench in double-overtime loss to No. 2 La Salle
WOONSOCKET – U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Belisle and his son, Mount coach Dave Belisle, loved winning state titles – the duo did it better than anyone in the country for four decades – but they loved being involved in games like Saturday night’s state semifinal contest against La Salle even more.
After Friday’s defeat, the No. 3 Mounties came into Game 2 at Adelard knowing another defeat and the greatest reign in high school hockey would come to a sudden halt.
It looked like the defeat would come in regulation, but all-time greats don’t go out in regulation. Mount senior Michael Canavan tied the thriller with 5 minutes, 59 seconds left in the third period to send the contest to nerve-wracking overtime.
After an up-and-down first overtime failed to decide a winner, the Rams advanced to their third straight state final when senior defenseman Sean Helfrich latched on to a Colin Chapman pass and ripped a shot past senior goalie Ryan Forget with 1:50 left before penalty shots to lift the Rams to a 2-1 victory and close out the Belisle dynasty at Adelard Arena.
“This is probably one of the best hockey games I’ve ever been a part of,” Dave Belisle said after speaking to his kids for the final time after a hockey game inside the cavernous home locker room at Adelard. “I’m so proud of my kids and that’s a heck of a team. That’s two even teams that played today and it took a good shot to [win] it. You couldn’t go any further.”
“It’s tough to see a legacy end like that for the Belisles,” La Salle coach James Mello said. “They paved the way for the rest of us. We’re honored and privileged to be in these type of games with them.”
It’s fitting that it was La Salle that came to Adelard Arena to end the dynasty because when Dave Belisle graduated from Mount in 1977, the Mounties were beaten in three games in the state final. The very next season, the Mounties claimed the state title against La Salle to start a run of 26 straight state titles and a slew of mythical national titles.
“Tonight, they absolutely played the Belisle way. It’s sad that it’s come to an end, but all good things come to an end,” said Dave Belisle, who began coaching with his father in 1980. “The good thing about this is what my father instilled and you can see it in the way I coach and Paul Guay coaches and Larry [O’Donnell]. It’s in them forever. This doesn’t go away what he’s taught us; if you work really hard for one another, the satisfaction is unlimited.”
One La Salle player who understands the Belisle way is La Salle senior goalie Justin Spencer. Spencer spent his freshman season at Mount where he split time in net with Forget on the junior varsity team.
Saturday night, Spencer was a big reason the Mounties’ season came to an end because he made 30 saves, none bigger than the ones he made in the first period.
Spencer stopped a breakaway from Canavan and then, moments later, he stopped a breakaway from Bailey Thibeault.
“This is just another game to me, nothing different and nothing changes,” Spencer said. “I’m just focusing on my team. This was a meaningful game to play in, but I was just focusing on my squad and what I had to do to win.”
“They had some odd-man rushes and back-to-back breakaways, but this kid here [Spencer], I don’t know where we’d be over the last three years if he didn’t transfer in,” Mello said. “This was a good two days of hockey. One-goal game each night and we knew it’d be tough. This is what we anticipated from them.”
La Salle’s John Devine and Mount’s Alex Gon- frade both had good scoring chances in the middle period, but the first goal didn’t come until 43 seconds into the third period when Zenas Kennedy found Ethan Cordeiro, who slapped a shot on the ice that went past a few skates before finding its way past a screened Forget.
The Rams hit the crossbar on a power play later in the period and that would prove to be costly because Mount sophomore Cee-Jay Laquerre and Bailey Thibeault created a chance for Canavan, who took the puck out of the air and then slipped it past Spencer to tie the game.
“Going into overtime we just told them to keep doing what they were doing and keep battling,” Belisle said. “We knew in the four-on-four we couldn’t give up that oddman rush and try to create one. We had some chances and they had some chances, but it’s not about a bounce of a puck. This was about who deserved to win and La Salle deserved to win.”
The Rams won of the great games in the storied rivalry in the second overtime on Helfrich’s shot from the between the circles to end Mount’s season and close the book on a father-son coaching dynasty.
La Salle 0 0 1 0 1–2 Mount St. Charles 0 0 1 0 0 – 1 First period – No scoring. Second period – No scoring.
Third period – LSA, Ethan Cordeiro (Zenas Kennedy), 0:43; MSC, Michael Canavan ( Bailey Thibeault, Cee- Jay Laquerre), 9:01.
First overtime – No scoring. Second overtime – LSA, Sean Helfrich (Colin Chapman), 5:40.
Saves – LSA, Justin Spencer (30 saves); MSC, Ryan Forget (43 saves)