Marauders Hit the Road, Keep Stacking W's

Senior forward Jensen Dodge opened the

scoring with his second goal of the year.

After going 3-0 on their homestand, the Marauders traveled south for a weekday afternoon bout with Exeter. Exeter entered the season coming off a state semi-final appearance last year, but graduated two all-state players in goalie Bryson Desjardins and forward Evan Royer. The latest edition of the Blue Hawks has been struggling in Division I with only two wins, but are never a team to be taken lightly, especially in their home rink. Although Hanover didn't play their most dynamic hockey of the season, perhaps showing a slight hangover after their dramatic upset of Bishop Guertin on Saturday night, combined with the long afternoon drive, the visitors kept their win streak intact and headed home with a 3-2 victory.

The first period was the most even of the three in terms of puck possession and chances on goal. After some initial Exeter pressure on the first shift, Hanover countered and put several shots on sophomore net-minder Alex Warr. Just 2:51 into the game, the Marauders broke through when Jensen Dodge banged home a feed from Jake Acker and Patrick Logan.

Hanover kept the pressure on Warr, but the sophomore made several big saves, albeit leaving many juicy rebounds in the slot that tantalized Marauder forwards, but none could be put away to pad the lead. Exeter countered and tied the game at 6:10 with a beautiful end-to-end individual effort by junior forward Ben Baldasaro. Baldasaro gathered the puck in his own zone and sped up the right wing, putting the puck through a Hanover skater's legs and breaking in alone on goaltender Luke Ratliff, deking to the backhand and roofing the puck for the equalizer.

Baldasaro made a bid for another individual tally a few minutes later, but was stopped by a big open-ice shoulder check by sophomore defenseman TJ Beaver. More back-and-forth action ensued for the remainder of the period, but neither team could take the lead and headed into their respective locker rooms deadlocked at one apiece. Hanover outshot Exeter 12-7 on the period.

Hanover played its best hockey of the game in the second, taking control from the opening drop with both physical play and quality chances on goal. The Marauders would outshoot the Blue Hawks 8-2 in the middle frame, but unfortunately the scoring was more even than the chances. Warr made several key saves, and the Exeter defense was able to clear the rebounds before Hanover could capitalize. However, after relentless pressure in the zone that thwarted several Exeter break-out attempts, Owen Standheim blocked a clearing attempt along the boards and passed to David Lehmann. Lehmann dropped the puck back to Elias Zinman, who took two steps in from the left circle and beat Warr on a clean wrist shot to the low corner just two minutes into the period.

Sometimes luck inserts its hand into hockey games, and despite Hanover outplaying and outshooting the Blue Hawks, Exeter once again tied the score two minutes later on one of their two shots in the period. After Evan Vadeboncoeur ringed the puck along the back boards from the point, the puck took an odd bounce and caromed directly into the slot and came to freshman Cy Leclerc, who banged it home.

However, Hanover took the lead for good at 5:55 when Jonny Goff circled in the Exeter zone and passed to Jake Acker at the right circle. In a move similar to Zinman's, Acker took two steps in before finishing with a low wrist shot to the corner. The 2-1 lead would hold up through the end of the period.

Exeter made several bids to equalize again in the third, but the Hanover defense and goaltending thwarted any threats. Just over two minutes into the period, Exeter captain Jake Vadeboncouer nearly sped in alone on Ratliff on a breakaway, but defenseman Braxton McNulty chased him down and made a last-second diving save to reach around with his stick and knock the puck away before Vadeboncouer could get off a quality shot. Seconds later, Goff broke in alone on Warr but fired just high.

Hanover doubled-up Exeter in shots on the period at 8-4, but none could find the back of the net for either team. The Hanover defense kept chances to a minimum, with Logan especially delivering a number of big hits for the Marauders that sent several Blue Hawks to the ice and kept the hosts from generating much momentum in the offensive zone.

Exeter's best chance came when the games first and only penalty was called on Hanover with just over two minutes to play. With Warr on the bench for a 6-on-4 advantage, defenseman Will Smith singlehandedly killed nearly the final twenty seconds of the powerplay and by tying up the puck in the corner and refusing to let any Blue Hawk skaters dig it out. The final horn sounded on the narrow 3-2 road victory for the Marauders, despite the lopsided 35-13 advantage in shots.

With the win, Hanover improves to 9-4 overall, 6-3 in NHIAA Division I. Exeter drops to 2-6. The two teams will square off again on February 5 in a pre-Super-Bowl matchup at Dartmouth's Thompson Arena in a reschedule from an earlier snowed-out game. First, Hanover continues its three-game road trip with a Saturday morning rematch with the Pioneers of Trinity High School. The Pioneers are hoping the third time is the charm against Hanover, while the Marauders look to keep adding to their four-game win streak. Game time is set for 11:15 at Saint Anselm's Sullivan Arena.