HOLIDAY TIME IN MANCHESTER – DAY 2

      Day 2 of the Manchester High School Christmas Holiday Tournament saw the Marauders once again open the day’s play against a Division 2 opponent, when they faced off against a hardy Goffstown Grizzlies team that entered the season with a 3-1 mark.  In a contest that seemed closer than the final 5-1 score, Hanover set themselves up for probably their toughest test of the season with a 6:00 pm battle scheduled for tomorrow evening against rival Concord.

      The first period was an even affair, and as the score remained 0-0 deep into the period, the Hanover faithful perhaps began to wonder if the team’s stay in a Queen City downtown hotel the night before may prove to be the high school equivalent of the hotel pool which has derailed many a youth hockey team’s tournament success.  However, senior goalie Harris LaRock was equal to the task of keeping his team even and torpedoed any chance for the upset-minded Grizzlies.

Harris LaRock continued to shine

      Junior Charlie Plottner continued his coming out party at this year’s tounrmant by notching his second goal in an as many days on a rebound off a David Lehmann wrist shot fed by Owen Stadheim at 12:29.  Co-captain Braxton McNulty made it 2-0 when he broke up a Goffstown neutral zone pass, sent to Plottner on the right wing who fed McNulty back for a short-sided goal from the slot at 13:37. 

      The game was fast-paced as there were very few whistles – in fact, there was only one penalty the entire night coming in the third period.  The second period was dominated by Goffstown back stopper freshman Madeline Sage who turned away every Marauder effort.  She really was the hero for the Grizzlies and kept the Marauders off the scoreboard until a Sy Oberting pass to a crashing Lehmann led to a 3-0 Marauder advantage at 13:49 of the second. Moments later the Goff-Plottner-Hans Williams line netted their second of the game with Plottner scoring in close on a nice neutral zone feed from Goff.

      With the roar taken out of the Grizzlies following the two late period goals, it seemed Hanover would be able to pile it on going into the final frame.  However, Goffstown came out physical and fast and had numerous good scoring chances before final finding the back of the net on a nice blast from the point with an impossible-to-stop deflection from close range at 3:10 in the third.  However, the flow slowly swung back in Hanover’s favor and just as the only man-up of the game concluded for Hanover, an Elias Zinman feed to Lehman to Oberting streaking in front of the net completed the scoring at 12:44.

       With the win, the Marauders come away with their fifth victory to start the season and go to 2-0 in the tournament.  Awaiting the Marauders is the Concord Crimson Tide, who faced Bow in a round robin game this evening (after press time).   On a predicted frigid Thursday evening, tomorrow’s contest between the two rivals should present the toughest test yet on the season for Dick Dodd’s squad with the winner likely punching their ticket to Friday’s final.