HOLIDAY TIME IN MANCHESTER – DAY 3

      Day 3 of the Manchester High School Christmas Holiday Tournament had the Marauders facing arch rival and tough Division 1 foe Concord with a trip to the tourney finals and early Division 1 bragging rights on the line.  A crowded JFK Memorial Coliseum had the teams jacked up for the first of at least three meetings scheduled between the teams this year.  The Crimson Tide came into the game 5-0 having vanquished defending state champion Bedford already this year – certainly the betting line had Concord favored to advance.

      However, the feisty Marauders had other ideas.  With several HHS hockey alums in the crowd and many of the young Marauders playing in the biggest game yet of their high school careers, they put on a sizzling second period display of domination that heralded their official arrival as a 2017-18 title contender.  When the final horn sounded, Hanover had earned a well-deserved 4-2 win, a trip to the tournament finals, and the respect of everyone who came to see the Upper Valley boys battle their big city foes.

       The game started, however, exactly how the Marauders feared as they were consistently outhustled, outskilled and outgunned early by the Tide.  Goalie Harris LaRock, as he has done all tournament, kept his team in the game with several critical saves early.  However, the Tide kept rolling and at 2:53 senior Colin Kastle was left unguarded at the back door and put in a beautiful one-timer to beat LaRock and make it 1-0.

      However, rather than deflate Hanover, the goal almost seemed to energize the Marauders and at 9:44 the ubiquitous first line of Elias Zinman, David Lehmann and Owen Stadheim struck with the equalizer.  Strong back checking by Zinman led to a shot by Braxton McNulty, which was deflected by Lehmann to Stadheim who rifled in a stick side score on Concord goalie Parker Taylor to tie the score.

First varsity goal for Cameron Woods

      Almost as if a light switch went on, for the next 1+ period the Marauders were simply dominant in a complete reversal of play compared to the game’s opening minutes.  At 1:03 on the team’s first power play opportunity of the night, Sy Oberting ripped one from the point, which was redirected by Lehmann for the 2-1 advantage.  The Marauders continued their dominance and when given the second power play opportunity, a McNulty shot from the point was redirected by Zinman whose rebound was sent home by Matty Gardner to make it 3-1.  The Marauders continued to press and sophomore Cameron Woods netted his first varsity goal on a McNulty shot into the slot, which was redirected by Rowan Wilson to Woods.  The score was 4-1, the Tide had just been rolled, and Hanover had probably played their best period of the season.

     The third period featured two uncharacteristic Marauder penalties resulting in the need for two tough penalty killing shifts.  Just as the second man-up ended, Concord was finally able to break through with 40 seconds left on a blast from the point and a rebound score by Concord's Mike Stoddard.  However, it was too little, too late, and the Upper Valley boys had punched their way to a finals rematch with Bedford tomorrow night.


      LaRock had 19 saves on the night and Taylor made 32 for the Tide.

      All the New Hampshire high school hockey eyes will be on JFK coliseum tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. for the Bedford vs. Hanover final.  While the defending champion Bulldogs appropriately have garnered the early headlines, it is the Marauders, now sitting at 6-0, who bring the undefeated record to the battle.  With their 4^th game in as many days, the short bench of the Marauders will be tested by the upperclassmen-heavy Bedford line-up.   Get ready for a scintillating Friday night of high school hockey in the Queen City.