MANCHESTER – The third time’s a charm, and no one knows that better these days than the Bow High hockey team.

It was the third and final time the seniors had a chance to bring home a state title after finishing as the runner-up in 2014 and 2016. It was also the third and final time Bow had a chance to beat Keene after losing both of the regular-season meetings.

Doug Champagne is one of those seniors who suited up as freshman in 2014, and he saw his team lose again last year. He couldn’t fathom letting it happen a third time.

Champagne scored two goals and freshman Austin Scarinza had two points (goal, assist) to lead the Falcons to their second state championship with a 4-2 win over previously undefeated Keene at SNHU Arena on Saturday.

Bow (18-2-1) led 3-0 early in the third period but Keene (19-1) cut it down to a one-goal game with less than five minutes to play.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘This can’t happen, this can’t happen, we can’t lose a third time here,’ ” Champagne said, smiling with a champion’s medal dangling from his neck. “And then our freshman (Scarinza) came out on top and got us one at the end.”

That’s when reality began to set in on the Falcons bench that it might finally happen this time.

Gaetano Delonge was charged with cross-checking less than two minutes after bringing the Blackbirds within one goal. It gave the Falcons a power play with 2:55 left and Scarinza cashed in 36 seconds after Delonge sat down in the penalty box. Colin Tracy was credited with an assist.

Scarinza was called for hooking with 1:23 left and Keene Coach Kyle Macie pulled his goaltender, Myles Ditkoff (21 saves), for an extra skater. But the Blackbirds’ couldn’t solve the Falcons’ penalty kill and came up empty on their fifth power play of the night as Bow skaters clamored over the boards at the sound of the final horn.

“It’s very rewarding for these kids,” said Bow Coach Tim Walsh, now a two-time champion behind the Falcons’ bench. “We’re the coaches but the kids have to do it, they have to be the ones on the ice and they bought into what we asked them to do.”

Champagne gave Bow a 1-0 lead, flying out of the penalty box to score off a rebound from Chris Mead with 3:16 left in the first period.

Keene took time to regroup in the first intermission, but a goal by Ryan Tobeler just 1:27 into the second period doubled Bow’s lead and put the Blackbirds back on their heels.

It happened again in the third when Champagne scored his second goal 1:45 into the period, assisted by Scarinza, to give the Falcons a 3-0 cushion.

“We’re really cognizant of not letting up after a goal,” Walsh said. “The whole game we talked about not letting up, not letting up for one second, not losing concentration for one second because that one second with a talented team like (Keene) can hurt you.”

“It’s hard to be in that situation for (Keene),” Walsh said. “It’s not easy going in and not losing all year long. All the pressure was on them and our guys played pretty free today.”

No one seemed more comfortable on the ice than Bow netminder Nate Carrier (22 saves), who allowed only three goals in three games this postseason, including a 2-0 shutout in the semifinals against last year’s champion Windham.

“We had some breakdowns, but Nate was big in net,” Walsh said. “Nate was loose, Nate was free, Nate was relaxed. Sometimes he gets too worked up but tonight he was very calm, laughing and joking before the game. That’s a good sign for Nate.”

Keene had only trailed for 20 seconds of a game all season before Saturday’s puck drop. After Champagne scored in the first and another was added early in the second, the Blackbirds found themselves in an odd and uncomfortable position. On the other bench, the Falcons felt their grip tighten.

The Blackbirds showed signs of life in the third with goals by Tim Greenwood and Delonge, but the urgency came too late.

“The best hockey teams win when their best players are playing at their best and it seems like (Bow’s) guys stepped up when they needed to,” Keene assistant coach Chris McIntosh said. “It was a weird, almost awkward game for us.”

The high school hockey season is over for everyone in the state, and for some it’s been over for a couple weeks. Many of the seniors have taken their final strides as competitive puck-slappers, and only a handful could do it with a championship on their resume.

For Bow’s eight seniors, this is the peak they’ve been waiting and working toward.

“It’s incredible,” Champagne said. “I wouldn’t ask for anything different, to end my high school career winning the state championship with those guys. It’s unbelievable.”

EXETER – The Bow boys’ hockey team knew that knocking off their rivals would take hard work and senior Doug Champagne was equal to the task.

Champagne poked home a goal after a lengthy scrum in front of the net 6:58 into the second period Wednesday for the game-winning goal, sending the Falcons to the Division II championship game for the second year in a row with a 2-0 win over Windham.

“It was definitely a battle,” Champagne said. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy.”

Bow will play top-ranked and unbeaten Keene (18-0) in Saturday’s title game at SNHU Arena.

The second-seeded Falcons (17-2-1) were plenty familiar with the third-ranked Jaguars (13-6-1) entering Wednesday’s semifinal. Windham was responsible for Bow’s exit from the D-II playoffs each of the last two seasons, including last year’s 5-3 defeat in the championship game. The teams also faced each other twice during the regular season, with the Falcons taking the first meeting, 2-1, on Jan. 25 before skating to a 0-0 tie three days later.

“We’ve always had a rivalry with them,” Champagne said. “There’s no better motivation than that. We had to beat them.”

His coach agreed.

“This is exactly what we thought it would be,” Bow Coach Tim Walsh said. “Every time we’ve played Windham it’s been a one-goal game. Tight, close checking, that kind of stuff.”

“Our D played really well tonight,” Walsh added. “Brandon Tibbetts played his best game. He just moved to defense this year and that’s the best game he’s ever played. He was a force. (Defensemen) Brendan Ulrich and Colin Tracy played their typical game. Solid. Steady. ... We focused on just going up the glass, not making any fancy plays. The kids really bought into what we were telling them. They have all year long, but tonight they took it to a whole new level.”

Outstanding defensive play and strong forechecking in the neutral zone gave plenty of support to sophomore netminder Nate Carrier (16 saves) who earned his second shutout against the Jaguars – he’s allowed just one goal in three meetings against Bow’s rival this season.

“(The defense) is great at keeping (Windham) outside,” Carrier said. “Whenever they shoot from the outside they’re easy saves. They’re good at controlling the rebounds clearing them out front.”

The shot totals were slightly in Windham’s favor (13-12) heading into the third period but the Falcons dominated the third, outshooting the Jaguars, 12-3, while not allow a single shot to reach Carrier in the second half of the period.

The Falcons had a slow start with Windham keeping possession of the puck in Bow’s end for the majority of the first four minutes of the game, forcing Carrier to make several saves early on. The Falcons caught an early break when Windham’s Nolan Cunningham fired a shot off the post.

A hit on Bow’s Dom Biron drew a penalty at 3:57, finally giving the Falcons a crack at the Jaguars’ goal. Bow fired three shots on goal during the power play, but the Falcons still relied on Ulrich and Tracy to break up several odd-man rushes and block several shots to keep it scoreless at the end of the first.

“We came out a little bit tentative,” Walsh said. “We played afraid of making a mistake instead of playing free and aggressive. We made a couple of adjustments in our neutral zone forecheck after the first period and from that moment on the game changed.”

The teams traded counterattacks to start the second period until the Falcons had their first sustained possession in Windham’s end at even strength.

Champagne took the puck behind Windham’s net and sent a pass to senior forward Chris Mead at the top of the crease. Mead fired a wrist shot into Jaguar goalie Max Daly (22 saves) who made the first save, but couldn’t control the rebound. Mead took another shot that Daly saved and the puck slid over to Champagne. Champagne took a couple whacks at the puck with defenders surrounding him before it finally crossed the line

“We absolutely had to work for everything we got,” Champagne said.

Bow’s lead nearly doubled when a shot from Champagne just inside the blue line hit the post in the closing moments of the second period.

Windham never had any serious scoring chances while Bow’s line of Austin Beaudette, Alex Killion and Ryan Tobeler peppered Daly with shots, but didn’t find the back of the net again until Killion scored an empty-net goal with 32.1 seconds left.

Things won’t get any easier for the Falcons in Saturday’s championship, especially against an undefeated Keene team playing in its first-ever hockey championship. The Blackbirds dealt the Falcons both of their losses this season.

“Saturday is going to be even harder,” Champagne said. We’re going to have to use each other, but we know we can win this game.”