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.