Tide Shocks Marauders in OT

Sophomore forward Elias Zinman scored the Marauders' first

goal and was a force on the forecheck all evening. 

As always, the Hanover-Concord game was a knock-down, drag-out brawl, with the visiting Marauders coming within 90 seconds of a crucial win on the road only to see first the lead and then the game slip away as they dropped a heartbreaker in overtime to second-place Concord on Wednesday evening at Everett Arena.

The Crimson Tide got on the board early, scoring on just the second shift of the game. Speedy forward Colin Kastle evaded a body check on the left-wing boards, putting the puck through a Hanover defender's legs and circling behind the net. The move got the Hanover defense out of shape, and Kastle sent the puck to defenseman Cormick McGonigle at the right faceoff circle. The blueliner fired the puck on Hanover's Gabe Loud, who made the initial save, but unmarked Trevor Bickford banged in the rebound at 1:49 for the 1-0 Concord lead.

On the other end of the ice, Tide netminder Griffin Gilbert was the star of the show, making 8 saves on the period, but several of them show-stoppers. With two minutes remaining, senior forward Jake Acker nearly tied the game when left alone in the slot and fired a quick wrist shot, but Gilbert made the save. One minute later, Gilbert robbed David Lehmann on a similar play. Lehmann was alone on the doorstep and fired toward an open half of the net, but Gilbert flashed out his glove and snagged the puck out of the air. The teams entered the first intermission with the 1-0 Concord lead intact, and with the Tide holding a slim 9-8 advantage in shots.

Hanover showed their recent second-period surge and tied the game just 2:12 into the middle inning. Sophomore speedster Elias Zinman poked the puck away from a Tide defenseman at the Hanover blue line and took the puck all the way into the Crimson zone on the right wing. Blowing past the last defender and breaking in on Gilbert, Zinman pushed a shot past the lanky goaltender that beat him through the pads and trickled over the goal line.

Nine and half minutes later, Hanover took the lead on a 5-on-3 powerplay goal. With Andy Cole already in the Concord box, Tide captain Alex Marceau took a tripping penalty to put the Marauders two men up for over a minute. Just seconds into the two-man advantage, defenseman Will Smith fed the puck to the point to defenseman Patrick Logan. Logan faked the shot and passed low to Acker, who fed across the slot to senior Jon Goff, who one-timed the puck home for the 2-1 Hanover lead.

With three seconds left in the period, Concord coach Dunc Walsh incurred a bench penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct when the officials had finally had enough of his constant berating. Hanover headed into the final intermission with the 2-1 lead and 1:57 of powerplay remaining to start the third period. Concord again held a one-shot advantage in the second, outshooting the Marauders 11-10.

Despite starting the period with the man advantage, Concord definitely got the better of the Marauders in the third. The hosts outshot the visitors 14-6 on the period  and controlled the puck for the bulk of the period. However, the Hanover defense and Loud kept the Tide off the scoreboard and Hanover hung on to the one-goal lead for nearly the duration of the period. With the clock ticking down to the final minute, it looked as if the Marauders would weather the third-period storm and drive home with a crucial league win. However, with under 90 seconds to play, an odd bounce on a breakout play came straight to Tide forward Drew Livingston at the Hanover blue line. Livingston sent the puck to an open Marceau who walked in alone on Loud and scored low on the near post.

Hanover came into overtime determined to recapture the momentum and created several good scoring chances. However, Gilbert continued to impress and kept the Crimson Tide alive in sudden death. Five minutes into the period, Concord's counterattack launched a shot on Loud, who made the sprawling save. However, the rebound squirted just out of his control, and out of sight of the Marauder defenders. Cole swooped in and banged in the rebound at 5:28 of overtime to snatch the victory for the Tide.

Loud finished with 34 saves on the night, while Gilbert stopped 27. With the loss, Hanover drops to 10-5 overall, 7-4 in NHIAA Division I. Concord improves to 13-3, 12-1 in division play. The Marauders have a rare Saturday night off this week with their next game coming the following Wednesday when they return to Campion to face the Giants of Bishop Brady. Game time is 6:30.