BG 6, Hanover 0

Guest scribe Everett Logan checks in again with a report on Saturday night's action:

On a bitter cold Saturday night, the Hanover Marauders went south of the border to Tyngsboro, Massachusetts to take on defending state champions Bishop Guertin. The weather wasn’t the only thing cold this evening; the first place Cardinals gave the visitors a chilly reception and sent them home with a 6-0 loss. 

Hanover began the first period with a jump in their step and held the potent BG offense at bay. Puck possession was even through the first five minutes, and Hanover held a slight advantage in shots on goal, with a slightly bigger advantage in quality opportunities. However, no hockey team can play a perfect game, and the best teams are the ones that capitalize the most on their opponents’ mistakes. After a missed clear, BG’s Chase Blazak was left alone behind the net who centered it to Joe Leahy for the game’s first goal at 6:48 of the first period. 

Hanover regrouped and continued to apply pressure throughout the first period. Game Loud made several strong saves in goal, and the Hanover breakout was effective in moving the puck out of their defensive zone. Senior captain Eric McCoy was particularly effective in skating the puck out of his own zone to get the offense moving when the Hanover forwards were hemmed in by Guertin’s pressure, and Jake Acker came within a clanging goal post of tying the game. However, toward the end of the period, Hanover’s heretofore effective breakout failed and a missed pass came directly to Michael Barrett in the high slot who fed it to Austin King for the game’s second goal at 14:53.

The late goal seemed to deflate Hanover, who had battled the Cardinals evenly for the entire period, only to find themselves two goals down. The difference was simply Guertin’s ability to capitalize quickly on the smallest Hanover miscues, the hallmark of a confident and experienced team. Guertin came out of the intermission with growing confidence, whereas Hanover found themselves on their heels. The Cardinals would strike four times in the second period, including three heartbreaking goals in less than thirty seconds. 

BG got the ball rolling with a powerplay strike by league-leading scorer Justin Pearson at 3:30. A mere twelve seconds later, a missed Hanover check at the BG blue line led to a two-on-one rush with Pearson threading the pass to sophomore Ben Peterson for the goal. Eleven seconds later, Pearson again set up a teammate when he fed the puck to Barrett for his second goal of the game. 

A timeout by coach Dodds allowed Hanover to breathe and regroup, and they held steady with the Cardinals for a bit, but the lead would prove insurmountable. The final nail in the coffin came at 10:12 with Hanover on the powerplay when Barrett scored his second of the game for a shorthanded tally.

Hanover played their best hockey in the third period, holding Guertin scoreless, but the hole they found themselves in was far too large to scramble out of, and the Cardinals’ defense and goaltending held firm. Worst of all, Hanover may have lost more than its pride in the game when captain Jonathan Goff left the game in the second period with an apparent shoulder injury after a strong but legal bodycheck into the boards by Guertin’s hulking 6’5” senior defenseman Cam Hult. 

Gabe Loud and Luke Ratliff split time in net. Hanover continues their road trips with a tilt against St. Thomas Aquinas at Dover Ice Arean on Wednesday at 5:00 pm. Hanover looks to get back in the win column against a team they tied 1-1 earlier in the season.