Bulldogs Top Marauders in Holiday Tournament Championship

Hanover's Luke Ratliff makes a save on Bedford's Jacob Rioux

After reeling off four straight wins – three in the tournament – Hanover headed back to JFK Coliseum for a snow-delayed Manchester holiday tournament championship game against defending tournament and state champions, the Bedford Bulldogs.

Bedford graduated a number of stars off their championship team, but still returned a solid and deep squad, including two all-state players and one of the top goaltenders in the state. Hanover, however, seemed to be getting stronger every game, and was ready for their toughest challenge of the season in their final game of 2016.

The early play was centered largely on the neutral zone, with neither team generating many quality scoring chances. The first near-goal came at 5:28, when Hanover tender Luke Ratliff made a quick snag on a drive that seemed harmless, yet took a late deflection upward on his doorstep.

Bedford's Eric Flynn got the Bulldogs on the board at 11:50 of the first period. Linemate Nathan Musgrave circled behind the Marauder goal, and Flynn was left unmarked as he drifted down into the left slot and then one-timed Musgrave's feed into the back of the net. The 1-0 Bedford lead would hold up for the remainder of the period.

Hanover had more opportunities in the second, and their rapidly improving power play got a chance to go to work when Bedford's Jay Roberto picked up a tripping penalty only 43 seconds into the second. The Marauders had a number of chances, but none could solve Bedford netminder Eric Voloshin.

Gagne doubled the Bulldog lead at 7:51 of the second period on an individual effort. The eventual tournament MVP collected a loose puck behind the Hanover net and circled back to attempt to stuff it home on the near post. Ratliff made the initial save and looked to have secured the puck, but Gagne banged in the rebound for the 2-0 lead.

A 2-0 deficit against Bedford and Voloshin – who had only given up two goals in the tournament – would seem insurmountable to most teams, but the Marauders were undeterred heading into the third period and played their best hockey of the game in the final frame. Jake Acker had one of the best scoring chances of the night with a wrist shot from the slot, But Voloshin once again denied the Marauders a tally.

A puzzling charging call at 4:47 put the brakes on the Hanover counterattack. Bedford scored the backbreaker on the power play at 5:57. Colin Voloshin, the twin brother of the Bedford goaltender, backhanded a rebound inside the right post for the 3-0 lead, which would hold up through to the final whistle.

Ratliff and defenseman Patrick Logan were named to the all-tournament team.

“We got a lot better as a team,” said Hanover head coach Dick Dodds. “That was the goal.” Assistant coach Dean Cashman was equally positive in his assessment, noting that Hanover has yet to reach its potential and will be a decidedly different team by the time playoffs roll around in March. Cashman singled out the play of forwards Casey Starr and Owen Stadheim in particular as players who improve every game and will have an increasing impact on Hanover's game play in coming weeks.

Ratliff, who made 37 saves in the loss, was named the top tournament goaltender in postgame awards. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Marauder defenseman Patrick Logan. Hanover joined Bedford as the only two teams with more than one player on the all-tournament squad, with Colin Voloshin being named as a forward and Gagne tabbed as the MVP. Matt Chorlian, Concord defenseman, and forwards Tyler Chipman of Trinity and Doug Champagne of Bow rounded out the team.

With the win, Bedford improves to 5-0-1. Hanover's four-game win streak was snapped as they drop to 4-3. The Marauders return to league action in the new year when they travel south to Conway Arena to take on Nashua North-Souhegan on Wednesday, January 4 with a 6:10pm start.

Marauders Stem Tide, Move on to Championship

Sophomore center Elias Zinman set up
the game's only goal at 9:42 of the first.

After two early afternoon games, Hanover had the nightcap of the annual Manchester Holiday Tournament as they traveled back to JFK to take on traditional rival Concord with an 8:00pm start. Fireworks are often on display when the Marauders meet the Crimson Tide, and tonight's game was no exception.

Despite the late start, neither team seemed lacking in energy, and the early action was fast and furious from the opening face off. Both Hanover's Gabe Loud and Concord's Griffin Gilbert kept their respective opposition off the scoreboard with several solid saves at both ends.

Hanover finally broke-through at 9:42 when Elias Zinman won a crucial face off in the Concord zone and fed immediately to defenseman Braxton McNulty, who took a step in from the blue line before launching a high wrist shot that beat Gilbert to the glove side. It was McNulty's second goal of the season, and the ninth by a Hanover defensemen, who have collectively accounted for 60 percent of the Marauders' goals.

It looked as if the 1-0 lead would be in jeopardy when Concord went on the power play at 11:17. The Tide man-up unit looked potent on their first opportunity, with swift-skating defenseman Matt Chorlian quarterbacking from the point, and all-state senior forward Alex Marceau always dangerous in front of the net. However, Loud made two big saves in the first minute, and the penalty-kill unit kept further chances to a minimum for the second minute to shut the door and the period ended with the 1-0 Hanover lead intact.

At 1:05 of the second, Concord junior forward Colin Kastle was sent to the bin for hooking, and Hanover got a chance to exercise its own man-up unit, but Gilbert pushed aside each attempt. Seconds after the teams returned to even-strength, defenseman Will Smith sent freshman forward Rowan Wilson in alone on Gilbert, but the Crimson netminder made a pad save on Wilson's deking backhand to keep the lead at one.

Hanover had another power play opportunity when Marceau was sent off for interference at 12:22. Hanover's man-up units displayed both Broad-Street-Bullies-esque grinding and Soviet-quality passing and peppered Gilbert with quality shots, but the junior goalie was the equal of everything the Marauders could throw at him. Throughout the second period, Hanover played some of its finest hockey to date this season, with forwards Jonny Goff and Jake Acker utilizing their speed to penetrate the Crimson zone, and Jensen Dodge and David Lehmann consistently winning loose pucks along the boards. Senior captain Patrick Logan delivered crunching hit after hit on the Crimson forwards, while fellow defensemen McNulty, Smith, and TJ Beaver all played stellar defense in keeping the quality shots on Loud to a minimum. Only the top-notch play of Gilbert kept the lead at merely a goal, and the period expired with the score stalled at 1-0 Hanover.

The two teams picked up right where they left off in the third, with Concord pressing ever harder for the equalizer, and Hanover pressing just as hard in return for the insurance goal. Neither had come by the ten-minute mark, and then Hanover was presented with its best opportunity of the evening when Crimson Tide senior defenseman Daniel LeBell was sent to the box with a five-minute major at 10:22 after a  leg-check on Jonny Goff, which left the Hanover captain writhing on the ice in pain. Hanover players and fans held their breath as Goff was helped off the ice, as this was the variety of knee-on-knee contact that ended the careers of such NHL stars as Cam Neely. Fortunately for the Marauders, Goff would return later in the period.

With 4:38 left to play – and major penalties not being released even after a goal – it looked as if Hanover could control play until the final whistle. However, Concord was unwilling to go quietly into that good night and mounted several man-down counterattacks into the Marauder zone. In the process of clearing a Crimson Tide attacker from the crease, Logan picked up a devastating cross-checking penalty at 14:15. With the face off in the Hanover end, Concord pulled Gilbert and what was a 5-on-4 Hanover advantage instantly flipped to a 5-on-4 Concord advantage. With both sides' fans on the edge of their seats, the Marauders fought off the furious Tide power play for the final 45 seconds. Loud made two big saves, and McNulty cemented his status as man of the match when he stepped in front of a wide-open Chorlain's slap shot and blocked it off his knee. Concord was unable to mount another shot as the final seconds ticked away, and Hanover hung on for the 1-0 win, their second shutout, and fourth win, in a row.

Loud notched 15 saves for his first shutout of the year, while Gilbert turned away 22 shots in the losing effort. With the win, the Marauders improved to 4-2 on the season, while the Crimson Tide drop to 2-3.

After a blizzard-generated rest day, Hanover will return to action against last year's tournament and state champions, the Bedford Bulldogs, in the championship game on Friday. Game time is 5:00pm.

Marauder Train Keeps Rolling at Manchester Tournament

Senior forward Jake Acker tallied a goal
and an assist in the 3-0 victory. 

Hanover won its third straight game on Tuesday afternoon with a 3-0 victory over the Trinity Pioneers, propelling them to a 2-0 record and the lead in the McDonough division in the annual Manchester holiday tournament.

Hanover came out hard, looking to use their size and experience to establish early dominance over the young Trinity team. The Marauders rolled three lines regularly from the opening face off, and the third line proved a force from the beginning. Just 2:19 into the game, senior forward Grant Morhun collected his first goal of the campaign with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that found the top of the net, giving Hanover an early 1-0 lead.

The all-sophomore line of Hans Williams, Joey Goff, and Charlie Plottner kept the puck moving and provided a thrilling flurry of activity two-thirds of the way through the period that seemed sure to result in a goal until a Hanover penalty at 10:48 put a temporary stop to the momentum. The Marauders entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead and a 13-5 advantage in shots.

Hanover continued the pressure in the second period, but sophomore goalie Ethan Messner – who had led the Pioneers all the way to a shootout with perennial powerhouse Concord earlier in the tournament behind a 36-save effort – kept Hanover frustrated. However, freshman forward Ryan Glass was sent to the box at 4:34 to allow the increasingly potent Marauder power play to get back to work. It took just over thirty seconds of pressure before senior captain Patrick Logan started a tic-tac-toe series of touches to alternate captain Jake Acker, who sent a one-touch feed to defenseman Will Smith, who streaked in on Messner's far post and banged in the puck for the 2-0 lead. The tally was Smith's fifth in as many games as the converted forward is quickly establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with from the blue line.

Trinity called a timeout to regroup, and replaced Messner with freshman Ryan Brewitt between the pipes. The rookie proved equal to the task and robbed Hanover's attack multiple times before Acker earned his second point of the night when he lit the lamp himself at 10:02. With a face off at the right circle, freshman centerman Owen Stadheim won the draw to linemate Acker, who one-timed a snapshot into the back of the net for the 3-0 Hanover lead.

Hanover continued the pressure and outshot the Pioneers 16-4 in the middle period, but Bewitt kept the Marauders from further padding the lead, and the two teams entered the final intermission with the 3-0 Hanover lead intact.

The final period saw more Hanover dominance, in terms of physical play, puck possession, and shots, with the Marauders holding a 13-5 advantage in attempts on goal. Trinity's Brewitt, however, showed flashes of budding brilliance in blanking the Marauders throughout the final frame. While not tested as often as either of his Trinity counterparts, senior netminder Luke Ratliff proved unbeatable for Hanover and ended the evening with the Marauders' first shutout of the season, stopping all 14 of the Pioneers' shots. In total, Hanover tripled Trinity's shot output, finishing with a 42 to 14 advantage.

Hanover looks to continue the momentum and earn a spot in the tournament championship game when they take on long-time rival Concord at 8:00pm Wednesday. This will be the Marauders' first tilt against the Crimson Tide, and a preview of two crucial league matchups still to come in 2017.

Marauders Open Holiday Tournament With Win

 

Senior goaltender Gabe Loud made 16
saves to pick up the tourney opening win.

The Hanover Marauders traveled south to the cozy confines of JFK Coliseum to open the annual Manchester Holiday Tournament. After picking up their first win of the season against Nashua South, the Marauders looked to continue their budding win streak, and a 3-1 victory over last year's Division II runners-up started the tournament off with a crucial two points.

The first period saw plenty of Hanover pressure, as they outshot the Falcons by a 10-3 margin. However, Bow goalie Nathan Carrier was able to stave off the Hanover attack for the first 80 percent of the period until the Marauders finally broke through at 12:26. Senior defenseman Will Smith continued his offensive output by setting up the first goal with a blast from the left point. Carrier made the initial save with his left pad, but left a rebound in the slot that junior forward David Lehmann banged in for the goal and the 1-0 Hanover lead that would hold up into the first intermission.

In the first three games, Hanover found the middle period to be their most challenging, but the Marauders looked to break the pattern today and came out flying in the second. Despite being down a defenseman and seeing Smith and senior captain Patrick Logan alternating double shifts throughout the game, Hanover showed no signs up a let-up and kept relentless pressure on Carrier throughout the period. Jensen Dodge and Lehmann proved particularly tenacious on the forecheck, while Elias Zinman and Jake Acker created significant offensive pressure. The Marauders came within inches of doubling their lead at 10:13 when a puck-rushing Smith fed captain Jonny Goff with a perfect pass and the senior forward unleashed a blistering wrist shot that clanged off the crossbar.

However, despite being outshot 15-9 in the period, Bow benefitted from some fortunate officiating when Joey Goff was taken out with a hard hit from behind that puzzlingly saw no call from the referees. Bow collected the loose puck inside the Hanover zone and senior forward Christopher Mead fired the puck on Loud from the left circle. Loud made the initial save, but Hanover was unable to clear the crease and Colin Tracy eventually banged in the rebound after multiple attempts to even the score.

In the final frame, Hanover kept the pressure coming, but none of their efforts could get past Carrier and it looked as if the game may end in a frustratingly lopsided tie. However, when Bow's Austin Beaudette was sent to the box for a crosscheck at 11:53, the Hanover power play went to work. with 37 seconds remaining in the man-up, Lehmann returned the earlier favor to Smith, the former feeding a cross-ice pass to the latter who fired a high slap shot from the right point that banked off Carrier's mask and into the Falcon net for the 2-1 Marauder lead.

With just over a minute remaining and a face off in the Marauder zone, Bow called their time-out and pulled Carrier for the extra attacker. Hanover staved off the Falcon pressure, repeatedly clearing the puck out of their zone and forcing Bow to regroup. With the clock ticking down, Logan chipped the puck off a Bow attacker and fired a long shot from center ice into the empty Falcon goal to seal the victory with 8.2 seconds remaining.

Hanover outshot Bow 36-17 on the afternoon, with Loud making 16 saves and picking up the win. The Marauders look to build on the win as they take on Division I foes Trinity High School at 2:00pm tomorrow.

Marauders Drop a Five-Spot on the Panthers

Junior defenseman Braxton McNulty

had a goal and a crunching open-ice

hit on the evening.

On the longest night of the year and their final league contest of 2016, the Marauders brought some fireworks to light up the evening as they beat the visiting Purple Panthers of Nashua South to get into the win column with a 5-1 victory at Campion rink.

After two straight one-goal losses to start the season, Hanover came out fired up in the first period, eager to set the tone. Nashua South found themselves on the defensive early, and Vincent Annichiarico was sent to the bin with a tripping penalty at just over five minutes into the initial frame. At 5:42 of the period, just over 30 seconds into the penalty, captain Jonny Goff fed the puck to Jensen Dodge, who fired into goalie Nathan Radin. Radin made the initial stop, but sophomore center Elias Zinman was on the doorstep to bang in the rebound for the powerplay goal, his first of the campaign. 

Hanover would double the lead just under three minutes later on an extra-attacker goal. Panther defenseman Tyler Goy had tripped a Marauder, and senior goalie Luke Ratliff headed to the bench to send on an additional Hanover skater. Senior defenseman Will Smith continued his goal-a-game pace when he took a pass from Jake Acker in the Panthers' zone and fired it past Radin at 8:31. He and the Marauders weren't done, as 2:36 later Smith fed the puck to his defensive partner, junior Braxton McNulty, who wristed a shot into the upper corner. Hanover entered the first intermission with a 3-0 lead and 12-3 advantage in shots.

The Panthers regrouped in the locker room, and Hanover perhaps came out coasting a little too much in the second stanza. Nashua more than doubled its shots on goal in the second, and one of their eight shots found the back of the net on a goal-mouth scramble where it initially looked like Ratliff had made the save. However, wing John Pinksten managed to squeak the biscuit past the Hanover netminder, picking up the goal at 3:08 of the period. Captains Michael Fournier and Robert Haverty picked up the assists. 

Despite outshooting the Marauders 8-4 in the second, Ratliff was equal to ever other Panther effort and the two teams entered the second break with a 3-1 Hanover lead. 

Hanover came out with renewed fire in the third, and would outshoot the Panthers 10-4. Radin held the hosts at bay for most of the period, until TJ Beaver scored the third defenseman's goal of the evening with just over five minutes remaining, with assists going to senior captain Patrick Logan and 

freshman center Owen Stadheim. Nashua attempted to claw closer by pulling Radin with a minute remaining in the game, but Acker picked-off a pass and fired the puck into the empty net to cement the win.

Next up for the Marauders is the annual Manchester holiday tournament at JFK Coliseum. Hanover will open against last year's Division II runners-up, Bow at 2:00pm on Monday. 

On a Cold Night, Hot Goalies.

Senior goaltender Luke Ratliff made 21 saves 

on the night in a stellar effort despite the loss

On a frigid night, Hanover traveled as far south as one can go and still call it New Hampshire to the dark, cavernous confines of the Salem Icenter. After dominating the league with a one-loss record two years ago, Salem graduated a dozen seniors and lost their top scorer to prep school. Last year was a rebuilding year for Salem that saw them miss the playoffs. Anchored by one of the top goaltenders in the state, and bolstered by young talent, Salem looked to make a statement with in their home opener. The game turned out to be a goaltending duel, with both teams' backstops turning aside every quality even-strength scoring chance. With each team scoring once off a favorable deflection, it was a single power play goal that was the difference.

Senior Luke Ratliff got the start in goal, and Hanover came out hard in the first. Once again, the oversized ice surface at the Icenter didn’t suit Hanover’s style of play, and they had a hard time generating quality offensive chances. The highlight of the first period was a strong open-ice check from sophomore defenseman TJ Beaver. Other than a shot off the crossbar after a defensive-zone Hanover turnover, Salem’s offense didn’t generate much buzz, either, and the teams headed into the first intermission deadlocked at zero apiece.

The second period showed more offensive clicking by the Marauders, with strong work along the boards by junior forward David Lehmann to keep the puck cycling. It looked as if Hanover was seizing the momentum until the first penalty of the game saw Hanover man-down five minutes into the period. Hanover killed the first minute of the penalty without much difficulty, but at 6:22 senior defenseman Alec Svenson circled down low to the endboards to pick up a loose puck before sending it cross-ice to to the left point where freshman forward Kevin McGuire fired home the one-timer for a 1-0 Salem lead.

The remainder of the period saw little action and the teams ended the frame with the Marauders still trailing by one.

In the third period, the visitors stepped up the pace in the hopes of finding the equalizer. Junior Braxton McNulty particularly stood out in the period with excellent work pinching low on his wing boards to keep the pressure in the offensive zone, and several key defensive plays at center ice to nip Blue Devil attacks in the bud. Hans Williams also displayed some nifty open-ice footwork in carrying the puck deep into the Salem zone. Ratliff kept Hanover in it with a huge save off McGuire at 5:15.

The Marauders finally solved senior goaltender Paddy Capsalis with a little luck. At 8:18 of the third, defender Will Smith fired a high, hard shot at the Salem net that glanced off Capsalis’s shoulder and up-and-over his back. Jensen Dodge swooped from behind the endline to bang in the rebound. It looked like the momentum would swing toward the guests in maroon, but the Hanover bubble soon burst when Salem regained the lead just over a minute later. Freshman sensation McGuire scored his second goal of the night, this time benefiting from a little luck of his own with an unassisted effort at 9:50 that barely squeaked in off a deflection.

Hanover mounted an aggressive counter-attack, but it was thwarted when a tripping penalty sent them on the penalty kill again with only 2:38 to play. However, after a successful kill, due in large part to the efforts of freshman Owen Stadheim, Hanover looked like it might get one more chance for the equalizer when Salem’s Dylan Salvo was sent to the box for a trip with seventeen seconds left. With the face-off in the Blue Devil’s zone, Hanover coach Dick Dodds pulled Ratliff to the bench and sent Smith to the ice as an extra attacker for the 6-on-4 advantage. Stadheim won the face-off, but the shot from the point was blocked, and Salem sent the puck down the ice to seal the victory. Hanover mustered 22 shots on goal for the evening, nearly doubling their efforts against Londonderry. Ratliff made 21 saves on the night.

Hanover returns to the friendly confines of Campion Rink for their last league game before the annual Manchester holiday tournament. The Marauders will host the Purple Panthers of Nashua South on Thursday, December 22 at 5:10pm. Come out and cheer on the Marauders as they look to get their first win of the season.

Marauders Drop Last-Second Heartbreaker on Opening Night

Senior Will Smith opened the season 

scoring with a shorthanded goal. 

The Marauders dropped a heartbreaker on opening night as their dramatic comeback was thwarted with a last-minute Londonderry goal and the visiting Lancers went home with a 3-2 victory.

The Marauders took the ice to begin their 2016-2017 season in front of an unusually full house for a school night. Energy and expectations were high, but Hanover soon found itself shorthanded with the first penalty call coming at just 1:09 into the game. The potent Lancer powerplay was held at bay and it looked as if Hanover would kill the penalty safely when senior defenseman Merrill Neiman found the back of the net off a feed from forward Troy Muldoon.

Most of the rest of the first frame featured a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams with few quality scoring chances. Hanover mustered only two shots on goal in the period, both handled by senior goaltender Cody Baldwin. It looked as if the teams would head into the intermission with a 1-0 Lancer lead, but the guests doubled the margin with just over a minute left to play when Patrick Cohen fed a breakout pass up the left wing to Bryan Murphy who jetted past the Hanover defense to walk in alone on goalie Gabe Loud and beat him high to the glove side with a wrist shot into the top corner.

The Marauders came out with renewed determination in the second, but their momentum seemed thwarted by a five-minute major penalty call to senior defenseman Patrick Logan. However, fellow senior defenseman Will Smith sent a jolt into the Hanover bench when he finished an aggressive shift of penalty killing by wristing home a feed from David Lehmann for a shorthanded tally to cut the Lancer lead in half. Smith, however, would soon find himself sitting next to Logan in the box and Hanover found itself two-men down for a full two minutes.

In many ways, Hanover played some of its most inspired hockey during these next two minutes, with TJ Beaver, Braxton McNulty, Jensen Dodge, Jake Acker, and Jonny Goff cycling through the three-man unit and aggressively thwarting the Lancer two-man-up attack. As the clock showed 7:51 to go and Smith hit the ice to bolster the Hanover penalty kill once again, the momentum seemed to swing further in Hanover’s direction.

Just over three minutes later, with both penalties successful behind them with the one-goal deficit intact, Hanover went on the powerplay themselves. The Marauders seemed to fully capture the momentum when senior captain Jonny Goff buried a laser wrist shot into the net off a feed from freshman Rowan Wilson, just called up from the JV, with one second remaining on the man-up. With the score knotted at two apiece, the teams headed to their respective dressing rooms and prepped for the final period.

The intermission seemed to come at an inauspicious time for the host team, as the momentum they seized in the second seemed to swing back to the visitors in the third. The Lancers outshot the Marauders 8-2 in the final frame, although Loud was equal to the task on all but the final shot. With mere seconds remaining, senior forward Sean Cotter was taken hard to the boards by Logan behind the Hanover net, but somehow managed to throw a centering pass into the slot. Junior Michael McCormick was left unmarked as he streaked in front of the goal and slammed home the game winner with a mere sixteen seconds left in the game.

Hanover will look to rebound as they travel south to Salem for the Blue Devils' season opener on Friday night at 8:30pm at the Icenter, the site of the Marauders’ dramatic come-from-behind victory in the state playoffs last year.

Opening Night

The Marauders open their season with a bang tonight at the friendly confines of Campion Rink, hosting the Lancers of Londonderry High School. Londonderry sits at #4 in the preseason Hockey Night in Boston poll, while Hanover is slotted at #7. The last time Hanover saw the Lancers was after their come-from-behind 3-1 upset victory in the state tournament, so the visitors will be looking for some payback. Game time is 5:10pm.

Hockey Night in Boston New Hampshire DI Preview

Hockey Night in Boston News have published their annual New Hampshire Division I preview. Read the early scoop on the Marauders and their competition, as well as the preseason poll.