Confidence Builder

Some takeaways from this year’s Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas tournament in Manchester as Hanover took the third game in pool play from Trinity 7-1 this afternoon…

1. Hanover’s freshman are bringing it – Casey’s first varsity goal, Curtis’s shining defense, Spencer’s formidable back check, Luke’s stoning Bedford, Ben putting everyone on his back – we are in good shape for the future Marauders fans
2. Coach Dodds’s assessment “We have incredible depth.  Today we ran 12 forwards, six D and two goalies. We are a better team now than when we started the tournament.”
3. (I swear this is true – first period) Apparently a referee in a high school game can challenge a heckling fan in the stands to meet him in the parking lot to fight after the game.  Who doesn’t love the Queen City!

So into the third day of pool play came the Marauders against the Trinity Pioneers, a longtime Division 1 foe who was the last team to defeat Hanover in a state championship game (2011).  After twice being the bridesmaid in games this week, on top of last Saturday’s divisional loss at BG, Hanover was sitting on a three game losing streak (3-1 NHIAA, 3-3 overall).  But coming into it today, it felt a lot better than it did Tuesday with the BG loss still smarting a little.  Either of those games against Concord or Bedford could have gone to Hanover with a little Marauder puck luck, and most importantly it was as if the boys became a team right in front of our eyes.  So as the viral illness that had gripped all of the fans this week started to remit (”Don’t worry boss, I just need the weekend to recover and I should be OK by Monday to be back in to work”) and everyone chuckled a little seeing all of those Massachusetts-plated cars spun out on 1-89 on the way down, game three began.

And it didn’t take long to see Hanover unleash their considerable firepower on Trinity goalie Ryan Brewitt.  The new line of Spencer Lawe/Carter Auch/Brendan Brigham put Hanover up front at 4:01 when Brigham forced a defensive zone turnover which found its way to Auch who then found Lawe alone in front to make it 1-0.  Less than two minutes later on the man-up, it was sizzling Patrick Daley again who tipped in a Sy Oberting blue line bomb on a pass from Matty Gardner to go up 2-0.  With that goal out went Brewitt and it was only a combination of Hail Marys, a thick crossbar and the steady play of new netminder Nick Infantino that kept the score at two goals heading into the intermission.

Period 2 was more of the same, as Cameron Woods opened the scoring on a right sided breakaway wrister off a beautiful outlet pass from Oberting from deep in the defensive zone at 1:25.  Goalie Ben Plottner had a brilliant reactionary kick save soon thereafter to preserve the three goal advantage and with fellow freshman Luke Ives taking over midway through the period, Hanover continued their dominant play.  A wrap around stuff from Gardner on the man-up made it 4-0 at 10:16 and as the horn sounded, the Pioneers probably would have rather been anywhere than Manchester, even stuck deep in the snowy Sierra Nevada range in Donner Pass, instead of facing another period from the hungry, man-eating Hanover boys.

But Trinity is a good team, a proud team and they had the better of play in the first few minutes of the the third making it 4-1 on an unassisted dipsy-do shot from Jimmy Kosiarski at 1:53.  But Hanover slowly cannibalized the Pioneers, as Gardner found Oberting at the point, who put down his cell phone showing the 147^th Livebarn rerun of his hit on Sylvain yesterday long enough to make it 5-1. Then in rapid succession it was Rowan Wilson sniper at 11:15 on an assist from Hans Williams with Graham finishing the scoring with a hard saucer in front for his first varsity goal on an assist from Auch.  7-1 final, and there goes the ref storming out to the parking lot.

The backstop tandem of Plottner/Ives finished with 14 total saves, but more importantly the entire weekend seemed to give the boys confidence heading into a midweek showdown with Exeter.  It will be a tough one, as Exeter already owns a win against BG this year.

So as the boys have the day off tomorrow to take down the tree and watch Notre Dame lose, they get ready for their New Year’s weekend date in Newark with the Devils.  Many thanks to coach Cashman for setting up this incredible opportunity and for the coaching staff taking the time away from their families to chaperone Hanover’s little devils.  And intentional or not, having the boys return late on New Year’s eve is a good way to prevent all of the questionable things (not to name any names Ms. Minarik) that their parents did when they were in high school on this night. For as a wise hockey sage once said “The boy on the ice, is not the boy in hot water.”  Happy New Year Marauder nation!   

Toe to Toe Part II

      There have been some pretty nasty lines in the annals of hockey – Lemieux/Jagr/Stevens or Hull/Hay/Balfour or Lehmann/Stadheim/Zinman but the one that sends the shivers down this blogger’s spine is the Roberto/Sylvain/Sanclemente trio that headlines this year’s version of the Bedford Bulldogs.   Experienced, battle tested, and fast – boy are they fast – the three seniors lined up for the first time in their high school farewell tour against the Marauders on the second day of the JFK tournament this afternoon which for Hanover would serve as another litmus test for their chances at defending their Division 1 NHIAA championship this March.

      Coming off their gut check performance in a 2-0 loss to Concord in the tournament’s first game, this was going to be a grudge match between the high flying Bedford first liners and the Hanover defense.  Memories are generally short-lived, but no one in the arena with any sense  of recent NH high school hockey history will forget Bedford’s wilted peroxide lettuce shuffling off the Verizon ice last March like FDA-recalled romaine with the underdog Marauders celebrating at center ice.  Throw in a freshman goalie making his varsity debut, and well yeah, the Bedford Bulldogs were ready.

      And in the first minute of the opening period, it seemed as if it was going to the Marauders who wilted, as Parker Roberto came charging up the near boards and rocketed one top shelf over goalie Luke Ives at 53 seconds to make it 1-0.  Tough to face a top shelf 70 mph wrister for your first varsity shot.  But Hanover settled down, and playing probably their best man-up of the season with lots of smart opportunities, freshman Curtis Rice found the twine past Bedford goalie Shea Guimont on assist an from suddenly hot Patrick Daley and Matty Gardner to knot it up at 1-1 at 4:15.  Not bad and now we had a game on our hands.  But again came the Bulldogs and after a dubious non-icing call that was so blatantly advantageous to the Bedford players that some might have thought Casey Kesselring himself was reffing the game, Jack Sylvain came in unimpeded to make it 2-1 at 14:07 and twisted the knife even deeper into the hearts of the Marauders faithful to score again at 14:53 to give a two goal advantage at the intermission.

      But as we have seen already in this young season, something happens in that Hanover locker room between periods 1 and 2 and the Marauders came out looking like a team with a major chip on their shoulder.  With Ives standing on his head time and time again, a pretty sequence from Toño Correa on the far wing finding Cameron Woods in the corner who found a rushing Daley in the slot to make it 3-2 at 5:30.  And just like that the Marauders were taking it to them and going up on the man-up later in the period, Rice to Daley to Gardner on the power play made it 3-3 at 11:25.  In what was probably their best period of the year, Hanover took it to Bedford and showed that this year’s version of the Bulldogs, and their nasty first line, is beatable.

      So just like yesterday’s contest against Concord in which everyone knew the first goal of the third would decide the winner, out came the two rivals armed to bear.  Just in case they hadn’t yet been introduced, Sy Oberting made sure to make acquaintances with Sylvain at mid-ice early in the third, a friendly nudge that perhaps will show up on upcoming Spittin’ Chiclets video blog over at Bartsool.  So as Hanover pounded and pounded on Guimont and Bedford returned the favor against Ives, these two underclass net minders proved their mettle to keep the score at 3-3.  On it went until a questionable (perhaps make up) call on the Bulldogs on a too many men had Hanover sitting pretty with four minutes left.  And as so often has been said in close hockey games, it takes a little puck luck sometimes to win and with all of the momentum in Hanover’s favor, it was Sylvain on the penalty kill who back-handed a high archer just over the outstretched hand of Oberting at the point to a waiting Roberto at the red line who came in alone on Ives at 11:02 to ice the game.  An empty netter to give Roberto the hat trick and that was all she wrote - 5-3 Bulldogs.

     But this was a great game to watch, and a great step forward for Hanover.  They outshot the Bulldogs, and Ives proved he belongs with a 25 save performance.  Most importantly, the Marauders have now faced three of the toughest teams standing in their path to a repeat title and with the exception of a little softness against BG (which Sy probably erased in his two hit third period sequence) they proved they are a very good, deep team that can beat anyone. And it’s not even these games that matter, it’s the ones later in the year come January, February and March.

      Tomorrow afternoon the Upper Valley boys conclude their participation in the Brian C. Stone tournament with a showdown against Trinity at 2:00 p.m.  Hopefully the flu-like illnesses continue so everyone can be there and skip work. Then it’s off to Newark for a two day vacation – probably the first time the words Newark and vacation have been ever used in the same sentence.  See you tomorrow.

Toe to Toe

     When we last left a Hanover Marauders/Concord Crimson Tide game, it was last February and Dick Dodds’s Marauders had just gotten whitewashed at Everett by a score of 6-0.  It was an ugly game for Hanover, but in a way it seemed to serve as a motivator for them as they swept to the NHIAA championship a few weeks later.

      Enter the first of at least three games scheduled for 2018-19 between these two longtime foes – the first in this year’s Manchester Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament.  Correction – the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Hockey tournament, named this year formally for the longstanding New Hampshire coach and player who died this year.  So as most high school students this time of year were sleeping in until 2:00 pm the day after Christmas, we found our 3-1 Marauders dropping the puck for some holiday non-league action in the Queen City.

      Everyone knew this would be a good game given the history of these two schools, as well as the HNIB state preseason polls having them at the 1 and 2 slots.  Concord was undefeated , and Hanover was coming off a sluggish loss to BG four days ago that had just a hint of Ogie Ogelthorpe/Tim McCracken and had them motivated to come out fast.  So how nice it was to see two skilled teams – less on checks and more on the speed – moving the puck up and down the JFK ice through the first period.  This was a 100% even first period with Hanover having the shots on goal advantage 7-3.  Despite a shaky appearing man-up, the Marauders had more chances and carried the play going into the first intermission.

      Like the BG game last week, it was goalie Ben Plottner who kept the locals in the game during the second.  Stopping a dead on blast from in front 13 seconds in, the freshman played older than his years throughout the period, turning away shot after shot from the Tide.  Probably the most impressive play from the locals came from senior Will Laycock, who seemed to single handedly will (credit for pun due here) away a Tide power play opportunity midway through the second with his inspiring forecheck.  When the horn sounded, you had two tired, deep teams knotted at 0-0 playing clean, hard, back-and-forth hockey in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday in December – I wish every Wednesday afternoon could be like this.

      So into the third it went, with everyone in the swelling crowd knowing probably that the first goal would be the game winner.  It could have gone to either team, and on this day it was freshman Tyler Coskren putting home a rebound in close 1:39 in for the Tide.  Despite heavy pressure for the remainder, Hanover could not solve Concord goalie Parker Taylor in this year’s tournament and with an empty netter late, the home team took the first game this year 2-0.

      The best part about the Christmas tournament is having the opportunity to lie to your boss again about feeling sick and having to go home early tomorrow.  Actually that is the second best thing – the best thing is the free hot dogs given to the players after each game – how great is that?  Tomorrow it doesn’t get any easier.  It’s Bedford and they don’t need any introduction. Don’t eat too many hot dogs on the way home boys and see you tomorrow.

Welcome to NHIAA Division 1

      Well we had all sorts of story lines prepared for the blog tonight as the 3-0 Hanover Marauders travelled down the 1-93 corridor for the second time this week for their grudge match against the evil empire BG Cardinals.  We had the Hanover hicks theme loaded up for it was last year during this game that our Upper Valley boys were christened this by the BG faithful.  We were ready to wax poetic about the mysterious power of the BG goal to move spontaneously off its pegs with just about every Hanover rush bearing down.  We even were going to complement the home team on their in-game music selection and ask how they were able to get away with playing Spinal Tap turn it up to 11 music volumes without angering the neighbors.  As the puck dropped at 4:00 at Skate 3 we were looking forward to a win that would make it three straight over the Cardinals, and put an explanation point into the season entering the Manchester Christmas tournament this week.

      But BG was having none of that.  Not their coaches, not their fans, and most of all, not their players.  When that puck dropped this afternoon in Tyngsboro, Hanover got their first taste of true Division 1 hockey this season.  This wasn’t how many points am I going to get tonight.  This was about surviving an onslaught that had the chance to get ugly really quick.  Coming out on the ice like being shot out of a cannon, the Cardinals dominated the first period with big hits, crisp passes and steady defensive play that limited the Marauders to only a few lackluster chances.  With goals at 9:38 and 11:18, it looked like it was going to be a Cardinals stomping as the Marauders exited the ice for the first period intermission to the sounds of “Country Roads” blaring from the speakers (BG deserves credit here – nicely done on the hicks theme).

      Now there are two ways to go here after being stomped – you fold ‘em or you step up.  Without knowledge of what words of wisdom coach Dodds and his staff imparted to the boys in the locker room, the bet among the Hanover partisans was that the coaches probably were not discussing what the boys wanted for Christmas.  So out they came, and the Marauder looked like a different team.  A huge first minute save on a point blank BG breakaway by goalie Ben Plottner set the tone, and from that point on, the teams pretty much skated even.  Many huge hits, fast puck movement, aggressive back checking – the teams looked even throughout the second.  Finally, on the power play at 1:52, Hanover got on the board when a Matty Gardner pass from behind the net found Sy Oberting up high whose blast from the point made it 2-1.

      Coming out in the third, you half expected the Marauders to score quickly to knot it up.  But BG came out with a little more, and it was the lazy penalties that ended up dooming Hanover in this one.  Up on the power play , the Cardinals made it 3-1 at 5:06 and then put the game out of reach two minutes later when on the 5-3 to make it 4-1.  While Hanover was able to draw closer with a power play sequence from Charlie Plottner in close assisted by Oberting and Curtis Rice at 13:27, the contest ended with the better team tonight having won this game.

      With the loss, the Marauders drop to 3-1 on the season and now face a gauntlet of NHIAA Divcision 1 powerhouses starting in three days when they play Concord in the first game of the Christmas tournament.   While the result tonight was disappointing, there were several positives to take to JKF arena this week.  Hanover got their feet wet, and went toe to toe with one of the best teams in Division 1.  They were also incredibly gritty (some might say a little too gritty on some of the testosterone fueled penalties) in the third period and kept playing hard until the final horn.  Hans Williams had a breakout game, and it is only a matter of time before he is filling up that scoring sheet.  None of the boys got seriously hurt despite some questionable stick and body work by the Cardinals on the Hanover players, especially Joey Goff, the likes of which would have made Reggie Dunlop proud (look it up millennials).  Finally, Pam Graham’s cookies made everything better – thanks for being born Casey.

      So on balance a mixed result tonight for the Marauders as they head into the mini Christmas break.  Next up Concord on Wednesday.  BTW (look it up those over 40) don’t forget that Xmas card for mom.  See you Wednesday.

Trap Game Avoided

      Making their first of two trips to Nashua for the week, Dick Dodds’s 2-0 Marauders made the long trip down 1-89/93 with Mr. T driving for a showdown with the 2-0 Nashua South Kings at Conway Arena.  Coming into the contest, both teams had played both Central and Bow with the Marauders owning an 18-2 goal advantage against those two teams vs a 14-4 differential for South.  Despite their 2-0 records, the Vegas oddsmakers (OK maybe a bit of a stretch) had the money on the Upper Valley boys to win this one going away as they maybe would use this game for a tune-up for BG coming up on Saturday.

      The problem with that logic is that the Kings came out firing right from the opening puck drop.  While Hanover had the better of the offensive play in the first period, it was Nashua who seemed hungrier – finishing off their checks, winning the battle in the neutral zone and frustrating the Upper Valley skaters into multiple turnovers.  And they were rewarded, because at 5:20 left in the first, the Marauders found themselves in the hole for the first time this season, when Riley Netter took an ill-advised neutral zone turnover to the net and beat Hanover goalie Ben Plottner to make it 1-0 Nashua. There hasn’t been this much excitement in Nashua since Chipotle came to town because no one expected the defending state champions to be down to the pesky Kings.  But as the Nashua partisans whooped it up, the tone changed in the Marauders and from the moment the puck dropped following the Nashua goal, Hanover completely dominated the contest.

     The key play really for the game was a penalty on Nashua goalie Nate Serrentino with about two minutes left in the period.  Already a man-down, Serrentino’s aggressive clear out of the Hanover screeners in front landed Nashua on the 5-3 and just like that it was Joey Goff to Sy Oberting to Charlie Plottner – bang, bang, bang, – tying the score at 1 at 13:35.  Still on the man-up, Hanover went up 2-1 at 14:55 with another bang, bang, bang - Hans Williams to Matty Gardner to Oberting.  The Marauders are a big, mean nasty team – put them on a power play and they become just filthy.

      The second period was a somewhat continuation of the beginning of the first, as the play was back and forth to start.  In fact, it was Toño Correa’s goal-saving, and all out hustle, hooking penalty as the Kings came in for a clean breakaway against the poaching Hanover defense at 1:33 that probably swayed the momentum back to the Marauders.  Just like that the Hanover second line took over.  First it was Patrick Daley in close on a feed from Cameron Woods to make it 3-1, then in rapid succession Woods from Oberting and Daley and then Gardner from Daley and Oberting.  Up 5-1, the Marauders finished the four goal period with a Gardner snipe on assists from Casey Graham and Brendan Brigham.

      The third stanza opened up with a play that defines how hockey should be played.  Joey “freight train” Goff broke through the neutral zone and raced down the near side on a 2-1, drew the defender to him, then slipped the pass laterally to crashing Plottner for a one-timer.  Finishing the scoring it was Curtis Rice whose wrister from the point on a rebound of an Oberting shot finished the onslaught at 13:57.  Final 8-1 Hanover.

      Plottner had 16 saves, including 3 absolute denials on King breakaways, while Serrentino had 45 for Nashua, and probably learned his lesson about creating 5-3 opportunities for defending state champion teams. 

      The 3-0 Marauders have now outscored their opponents 26-3.  So far, so good.  But Saturday Hanover gets its first taste of stout Division 1 hockey with an afternoon tangle against BG.  Remember it was a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals last year in Tyngsboro that made believers out of the NHIAA hockey community that Hanover was for real.  It was the game where they got the nickname the Hanover hicks and where the mid-mannered Harris LaRock got his only penalty of the year introducing his glove hand to one of the BG senior forward’s face masks.  This is a big one against a proud team with a strong hockey tradition.  Wear your maroon Hanover hats, invite the inlaws, and get the boys to bed early on Friday night – see you Saturday.

Punching Their Dance Card

Playing their first home game of the season, in front of some of the recent royalty of Hanover Hockey back in town from college with names like McNulty, LaRock and Acker, the Marauders took to the ice against an 0-1 Bow Falcons team making their debut season in Division 1.  Two hours later, Hanover had avoided the pre-Holiday Dance trap game and secured a 6-1 victory to elevate them to 2-0 on the season.

     The MVP of this game had to be Bow senior goalie Nathan Carrier, who from the opening whistle was under significant duress, especially given that the Falcons were down three skaters who had been injured during their opening game loss to Nashua South.  For the first 13 minutes of the period, Carrier faced down innumerable Hanover chances, most notably generated from the Charlie Plottner-Joey Goff-Hans Williams line that continually came flying in close only to be turned away in every possible way by Carrier.  Carrier was helped by two shots off of the post by Hanover, but rarely did the puck leave Bow’s defensive zone, being kept in by the swarming forecheckers like Casey Graham, Rowan Wilson, Spencer Lawe, and Carter Auch.  Finally, it was Matty Gardner’s wrister from the point, on an assist from linemate Sy Oberting, who put Hanover up front at 13:00 minutes to finish the period with Hanover up 1-0.

      The second period was a lot like the first, with a very strong Hanover forecheck led by senior Will Laycock and junior Brendan Brigham frustrating the Falcons into numerous defensive zone turnovers.  However, it was not until midway through the second that the Marauders were able to beat Carrier again, with Oberting slipping a lateral pass at the point to Gardner who found Toño Correa flying through the mid slot.  His well-directed blast found the net glove side to make it 2-0 at 5:55.  As the Marauders seemingly sensed Bow’s vulnerability and the HD inched closer to reality, the junior line of Cameron Woods-Patrick Daley- Correa continued to keep on the pressure.  This frustrated the Falcons into committing a tripping penalty that gave Hanover it second power play opportunity of the season.  With shades of Stadheim-Zinman-Lehmann all over again, in came the Woods-Correa-Curtis Rice-Oberting-Gardner unit and 21 seconds later, Oberting’s rip from the point found Gardner screening in front whose poke to a crashing Woods made it 3-0 at 13:57.  Just to keep it interesting, Bow came flying in on goalie Ben Plottner at 14:59, who up to this point had been using his stick as a prop to keep him awake, for a dribbler by Devin Perry that just crossed the goal line as time expired.

      Heading into the third period, it seemed like the Marauders were more concerned with who would get to use the showers first postgame and get to the dance the earliest rather than continue the clean, tough play that had been featured in the first two periods. Uncharacteristically,  they were called for five penalties in the final frame, including one prolonged stretch of 5-on-3 when three Marauders were simultaneously in the box.  It was Oberting, however, who wasn’t taking any chances on his dance card not being punched this day who put the Marauders ahead  4-1 at 3:33 with a high slot wrister with assists going to Daley and Rice for his fourth point of the night.  13 seconds later it was Rice breaking into the offensive zone and finding a streaking Plottner coming down the slot like a freight train to punch in the nifty feed to make it 5-1.  Finally Woods completed his two goal day with a nice poke in front on assists from Daley and Brigham.

      Plottner finished with 11 saves on 12 shots, helped by a defense of Duncan Bailey, Will Fichman, Rice, Gardner, and Oberting. Carrier had 49 for saves the Falcons.

     It is hard to imagine a more dramatic transformation than what was witnessed in the Campion lobby after the game as the Hanover juniors and seniors emerged from the locker room.  What was 15 minutes earlier a smelly mass of adolescent testosterone drenched in sweat, came player after player sauntering down behind the benches looking like they had just been hired to model for Vineyard Vines (all except child model Charlie Plottner, who may still be under contractual obligation with LL Bean and cannot wear the competition).  Parents gushed with pride, younger siblings laughed and Marauder sophomores and freshman got into the family minivan to begin another Saturday night of Netflix and/or Fortnight. 

      Dick Dodds's 2-0 Marauders will have the day off tomorrow and then begin a brutal stretch of games that sees them play some of the toughest teams in NHIAA hockey.  After a game agaisnst Nashua South on Wednesday, Hanover plays in succession BG, Concord, Bedford, and Trinity.  Enjoy the dance, enjoy the Netflix reruns – next week it gets interesting.

2018-19 Game On

      The last time the Hanover Maruaders boys hockey team was in Manchester’s JFK arena, their gritty defensive masterpiece over the BG Cardinals propelled them to the state finals last year and avenged the heartbreakingly unexpected home loss to the Cardinals in the 2017 state quarterfinals.  Of course, those Marauders went on to defeat Bedford in the finals to bring the state title to the Upper Valley for the first time since 2006.

      But just like Pat Doherty’s facial hair, some things from last year are best forgotten, and as the Marauders took the ice to open up the 2018-19 campaign, you can bet veteran coach Dick Dodds and his staff were 100% focused on returning this team back to the top of the NHIAA Division 1 mountaintop.  With a large cast of returners and several new faces, the puck dropped at 6:15 in the Queen City as the Hanover partisans settled in for the contest against Manchester Central to begin the quest for title #10.

      Exactly seven minutes and 39 seconds later, the Marauders had already matched their offensive output from the three games in the Keene Jamboree last weekend, with an early 5-0 advantage.  Seemingly scoring from all angles and at will, Hanover piled on goal after goal so that by the end of the period, they held an 8-1 lead.  At the end of two periods it was 12-1 and, with the freshman parent standing next to this blogger asking if this was how all of the competition was going to be this year (uh no), Hanover cruised to a 12-1 final victory.  Lots of playing time to go around for all of the Hanover lines, a determined Central team fighting on despite being outmanned, no injuries, and fan consternation that the JFK concession stand was not open were the takeaways from this night.

      Said Dodds after the game “It was a nice way to start the season.  A lot of different people on the scoresheet and everybody playing.  This was a good start.”  The only real suspense was if there would be enough pucks to complete the game, as the traditional first varsity goal pucks were taken out of game circulation for Carter Auch, Brendan Brigham, Spencer Lawe and Curtis Rice.  In fact there were so many first time scorers tonight that coaches Cashman and Alex Dodds were probably getting writers cramp as they labeled the pucks after the game. Ben Plottner and Luke Ives saw their first varsity action between the pipes and just about everyone picked up a nice point to start the season.

      With the win, the 1-0 Marauders will next face newly elevated Division 1 Bow this Saturday afternoon at Campion for their first home tilt of 2018-19.  Expect an open Campion concession stand, 80s heavy metal on the overhead speakers, and a strong Saturday afternoon crowd. Tonight was a strong start - but expect the mountain to get a lot steeper going forward.

2018-19 Season Preview

      As is usually the case in the Upper Valley hockey community from year to year, a few things changed over the last 12 months, but most things stayed just the same as always.  There were the usual helicopter-parent inspired Mite player petitions to Squirts for the HHA board to handle this fall, Judy is busy giving another group of 12 year old boys the best coaching experience of their youth hockey careers, and the diehards continue to answer the call to the CHL on Sunday nights.

      But a few things are different.  There are a heck of a lot more Upper Valley fans caring about the Dallas Stars now than there were last year.  LIVEBARN is coming to Campion so that those aforementioned Mite helicopter parents will never miss a minute of little Johnny’s Squirt career, even when at a January couples spa weekend in Napa - puke.  And most importantly the Hanover High boys hockey team is wrangling with something that it has not had to deal with since the 2006-07 season – the expectations that come with being a defending state champion.

      Because unless you have been living under a good-sized piece of Moose Mountain granite for the past nine months, you know about that 2017-18 Hanover hicks state championship team.  A 21-4 team that NO ONE – except themselves – thought capable of knocking off the titans of NH hockey.  Not with the loss of 9 seniors the year before, a rookie goalie, an inexperienced defense, and a two-time defending champion Bedford Bulldogs team in their way.  But on that dank day in the Queen City on March 10^th last year, in which the names Stadheim, Lehmann, McNulty, Zinman, Warhold, and most of all LaRock, became etched in the lore of Hanover High hockey for evermore, the Marauders not only won the 9^th state championship in school history, they all put a huge target on their backs.   This year there is no sneaking up on anyone because, if they didn’t know it already before, the NHIAA hockey fraternity will not underestimate the ability of NH Legend of Hockey Dick Dodds and his staff to have the 2018-19 Marauders reloaded for another championship run.

      Now entering his 37th year behind the bench for the Marauders, owning a state championship in four separate decades, Dodds knows more than anybody this year that the Hanover game will be a big one on everyone’s schedule.  “We’re not going to sneak up on people this year like last year when we had some people surprised.  But also it is very exciting to know that if we don’t have our heads in it, it’s going to be tough.”

      With the graduation of his two top scorers, all-state goalie, and defensive captain, Dodds knows that his team has a lot to replace, but is optimistic about the squad thus far.  “Things we did well last year we are going to have to do well this year.  Most importantly we have to be all engaged and committed and be very inclusive with everyone on the team and rolling in the same direction. So far this year, we have seen that from our captains and our returning players mixing in the new guys.”

      Joining Dodds behind the bench again this year will be coaches Dean Cashman and Pat Doherty, along with newcomer Alex Dodds, all former captains of the Marauders.  “It is important to surround yourself with quality people if you want to do quality work and I am fortunate to have all that with all of my coaches.  All of my coaches have been successful on the ice and in the community and at their jobs.  They show the boys that there is more to life than hockey and that they can be successful in life using some of the traits they learned playing hockey.”

      Dodds describes Cashman, a former Providence Friar and one handicapper on the golf course who carried his team in the annual preseason Marauder golf scramble, as “always thinking about our team 24/7 and trying to make us better.  He is a former captain and is a great teacher who gets it and makes sure the kids get it.”  Doherty, a star forward at St. Lawrence who many of the boys on this year’s team remember watching torching the Big Green in Thompson just a few years ago, is in his third year with the Marauders and has the responsibility for the forwards.  “He has great ideas on the ice and is a really good teacher given that has had great hockey success and knows what works.”  Dodds, who captained the 2011 Hanover team and was an all-state defenseman before playing at Endicott, will be the first Dodds son to assist his dad behind the bench.  “Alex really adds passion to everything we do.  He has a real knack for relating to and coaching the kids.  I am really excited to have him here.”  Wayne Burwell will again be back as strength and conditioning coach, someone who Dodds says is “critical to our program.  He will literally do anything to help this team, including driving for hours to get players ready in pregame.”

      In order to capture their third straight first round bye in the NHIAA playoffs, given to the top four finishing teams in league play, Dodds is going to rely on team depth and speed.  “I have been really impressed with our team speed.  Although we lost some size from last year, we are faster and have a lot of skilled players.”

     Dodds believes the strength of his team this year will be his blue line. “We have really talented defensemen this year with a lot of experience.  They can take care of their own and create offensive opportunities. We have four forward lines that are competitive and strong and in our preseason games have already started to come together and play some good shifts.”

      With four graduated seniors, the leadership role will fall on this year’s co-captains Charlie Plottner and Hans Williams.  Both in their fourth year on the varsity, the shifty Williams and powerful and gritty Plottner will anchor the first forward line and are looking to maintain Hanover’s positon as an elite team in NHIAA Division 1.  Said Williams “We have everything to prove this year.  Charlie, me and the other seniors will need to step up.  We have a really strong junior class and lots of talented freshman coming in.  It’s our job to help them realize their full potential.” 

     Said Plottner “We are making sure that this team is not last year’s team and telling everyone that we don’t have to win the same way.  But we can still be successful and get the most out of our players. I am really optimistic this year.”

      Coming off a broken leg against Pinkerton last year that prematurely ended his season, Williams is expected to be one of the top forwards for the Marauders. Plottner, who besides scoring goals specializes in making friends with the opposing defense in scrums around the net, will bring a toughness to the first line.  Joining them on the wing will be senior Joey Goff, the last of the three Goff brothers to play for the Marauders, whose strength and speed in getting up and down the wing were praised by Dodds (and who can forget that assist he had in the state championship last year to David for the early 1-0 lead?)

      The junior class is loaded with returning forwards Rowan Wilson, Toño Correa, Cameron Woods and Patrick Daley bringing a wealth of experience.  Wilson is a calm, steady, skilled centerman whose offensive firepower is complemented by his smothering forecheck (probably no debates on that one from the BG readers).  Correa, who has put on 20 lbs of muscle over the summer is cited by Dodds as the most improved player this year and Woods bring a knack for finding the net that resulted in several huge goals last near, none bigger than the game winner late against Trinity.  Daley who was called up from the JV mid year last year and made an immediate and decisive offensive contribution, looks to be flying already. Rounding out the forward contingent will be newcomers senior Will Laycock who Dodds is very high on with his aggressive and fearless play, junior Brendan Brigham who goes into the corners like a freight train, junior Carter Auch who has the versatility to play both offense and defense, freshman Spencer Lawe who has the speed and skills to begin a storied HHS career and freshman Casey Graham, who Dodds believes has the among the hardest and most accurate shots on the team.

      The defensive core will be anchored by seniors Duncan Bailey and Sam Seelig, junior Sy Oberting, and sophomore Matty Gardner.  As the top returning point scorers from last year’s team, Oberting and Gardner will be called upon to not only keep the puck out of the Marauder end, but also bring a huge presence to the offense, especially on special teams.  Bailey brings a toughness and grit that is unmatched and has the offensive game to complement his high flying defensive teammates. Remember it was Bailey who last year had the goal of the season for the Marauders, when his bar down ripper from the near board against BG clutched victory from the jaws of defeat in the semis and sent the Cardinals back to re-evaluate their out-of-state recruiting strategy.  Nursing an early injury, Seelig is expected to be back in time for the Manchester Christmas tournament, lending his leadership presence to the defensive corps.  Stabilizing the defense this year will be senior Will Fichman and freshman Curtis Rice, both of whom look to see significant minutes on the blue line.

      With the departure of all-everything goalie Harris LaRock to the University of Vermont, freshman Ben Plottner and Luke Ives will share netminding duties.  Both with hockey playing older brothers, these two freshman have been on the receiving ends of plenty of hard slap shots growing up and Dodds is high on both of them as they take over in goal.

      Division 1 has two new teams this year, with Bow and Windham joining to make it 16 teams – the top 12 make the playoffs with the top four getting a first round bye. Hanover, which was inducted as a program into the NH Legends of Hockey in 2014, remains the public school with the smallest enrollment playing in Division 1.   Dodds sees a lot more depth this year in the league and a lot more high end teams.  “You’ve got Pinkerton, Bedford, Concord, and BG, but also Trinity, Londonderry, and Salem all looking good this year – it is going to be a fun year playing those teams.”

      The Marauders will once again make several trips to Manchester’s JFK arena, the site of the best night in NH high school hockey when the state semifinals take place in early March.   Along with several away games there, they will also play there in the Manchester Holiday Tournament.  A team season highlight is expected to be the New Year’s trip to New Jersey to practice with the Devils coaching staff and meet with Hanover native Ben Lovejoy, a seasoned NHL defenseman.

      So here we go…defending state champions, coaching year 37 for coach Dodds, lots of returning experience, Sean Plottner doing the music, Hans and Duncan’s flows progressing nicely, Wayne getting Sy’s hip in good shape, hungry newcomers with a lot to prove, youth superfan Ryan Carroll fired up to watch his idols, 5:30 am practices up and running, chatter in the Campion lobby about how “the boys” will do this year.  It’s hockey time in Hanover again – enjoy the ride.

 

HANOVER HIGH: EPICENTER OF THE HOCKEY UNIVERSE

So I guess we learned a few things today…

1. There will probably never be another Hanover boys hockey mullet or mohawk as long as Dick Dodds is the coach

2. The prognosticators at Hockey Night in Boston should probably concentrate their efforts on predicting the Bay State and skip New Hampshire – see below: 


HNIB NH Division 1 Preseason Top 10:

Rank	Team	PR*	W	L	T
1	Bishop Guertin		12	9	2
2	Bedford		19	1	1
3	Pinkerton		11	7	1
4	Concord		18	6	0
5	Londonderry		10	8	0
6	Salem		16	5	2
7	Hanover		16	7	0
8	Trinity		6	12	0
9	Bishop Brady		6	10	1
10	Central		10	10	0

 

3. Bedford is as classy a team as they are skilled – and they are extraordinarily skilled






4. The roof of a school bus can support the weight of 8 high school boys – but more on that later

      So comes the last blog on the final day of the 2017-18 New Hampshire boys hockey season.  When we last saw the Marauders, they were mobbing their senior star goalie Harris LaRock at JFK arena two days ago after he had just carried them (along with junior Duncan Bailey) to an improbable and unbelievable victory (or so probably thought the NHIB editors) over the evil empire BG Cardinals.  A gut-check, defensive masterpiece that had those Hanover hicks into the state final for the first time since 2011.  But that win did not come without a price for in order to beat BG, some of the Marauders had to literally leave their bodies on the ice, especially the defensive unit.  As the Marauders limped out of JFK arena that night to their bus, some of them looking more haggard than every NH team that has ever had to play the Hanover girls team – more on that later too – they passed under the Bedford student section sitting in the West end stands.  It must have been very disheartening for our boys to have to walk under that raucous mass of black-clad Bulldog supporters knowing that they might have to face Bedford in less than 48 hours.  A team that had already beaten them twice this season, including in the finals of the Manchester Christmas tournament, and a team that was extremely well coached, fast, skilled, and experienced (15 seniors and juniors on the team).  And by the way, they were the two time defending Division 1 NHIAA champions – yikes.

      So what did they do?  Well they had a practice, and they had a team dinner at captain Lehmann’s house and we heard through a reliable source that three of the defensive walking wounded – Braxton McNulty, Sy Oberting, and Matty Gardner – spent part of Friday night together soaking in the ice tub at Wayne’s World (all at once we understand – maybe captain McNulty taking the inclusiveness theme a bit far?)  And as they boarded the bus for yet another trip to the Queen City down I-89, passing the awesome GO HANOVER HOCKEY sign at Trumbull-Nelson as they pulled out of town, it’s hard to believe that this team of 4 seniors, 6 juniors, 6 sophomores and a freshman would be given a chance by anyone in the state today to bring home Hanover’s ninth state title and first since 2006. 

      But they believed – and they believed because they had been counted out so many times already this year by the preseason pundits, by the southern New Hampshire hockey mafia, and by those who said well only a few of those Hanover kids ever played youth hockey for the Avs, Monarchs, Spartans, Knights, yada, yada, yada and just didn’t have the talent to compete.  They believed because they knew it is hard to get beaten three times in a year by the same team.  They believed because they knew that they had two characteristics that had never failed them all year and had probably been elusive to so many of those kids who had played in whatever Boston-based league du jour that was in vogue this week – they believed in each other and they believed in their team.

      Into cavernous SNHU arena therefore came the Hanover Marauders – a town team – with a whole town behind them. A big sheet of ice, a warm arena, and a hyped-up Hanover student crowd made some of the Hanover partisans think that maybe this would be enough to give us just half a chance as the black-clad Bulldogs took to the ice.  What a sight it was to see the whole Bedford team’s blond hair contrasted with their intimidating black uniforms.  However, unlike the jealousy exhibited by some of the Hanover players over the luscious locks worn by the Londonderry players in the quarterfinal game, I have my doubts that any of our players would have wanted to trade their flows for the peroxide salad sitting across the neutral zone.

2018 New Hampshire Division 1 Champions

      So the puck dropped on the 2018 Division 1 State Championship game at around 12:30 with everyone knowing that in the next 90 minutes, history would be made.  Would it be the Bulldogs taking their third straight title – a feat not achieved since the 1996-99 Concord Crimson Tide?  Or would it be Hanover, which had won a title in every decade since the 1970s, giving Dick Dodds and his staff their first in 12 years?

      Just like in the first Bedford game in the Manchester tournament, the play was pretty even in the first.  Lots of back-and-forth on the wide open ice.  And although Bedford led in the shots total at 7-4, none were really that threatening with the exception of a dipsy-doodle flip at the near circle off a deflection that LaRock controlled easily.  What was clear however, was that whatever worries there were about Hanover being flat, hurt, tired, just happy to be there, etc were obliterated in that first period.  The Stadheim, Lehmann, Goff line was flying and each line appeared to get stronger and stronger as they rolled out under the direction of coaches Doherty and Cashman.  It was as if coach Wayne – making his first appearance behind the bench of the year – was squeezing in a month of workouts into each player to get them stronger as they waited for their next turn on the ice.  And even as the speedy Bedford forwards came crashing through the neutral zone, the defense held (you think coach Sutton would allow a breakdown?) with every sort of check imaginable – body, stick, hip, prayer – to keep them off of LaRock.  This wasn’t the same game as with BG in the semi-finals – less physical, more skilled, less grind, more speed. 

Hardware for the Trophy Case

      As the period neared it conclusion, Hanover got the puck luck that any team needs to go as deep as these boys did this year.  Owen Stadheim received the outlet on the far boards at the redline and forced his way via speed and skill (Did you know Owen had a faster gear all season?  I thought it impossible but he had it today) to convert a 1 on 2 into a great unobstructed look from the high crease.  His shot sailed just wide and high but he trailed the play, collected the puck behind the net and found line mate Goff whose pass to the charging Lehmann found the captain in the low slot.  With a backhanded flip he five-holed Bedford goalie Connor Laurendeau to give Hanover a 1-0 lead just before the period’s end.

      So what do you tell your team during the first intermission when leading the two-time defending champion and favorite and have just scored a late period goal – you tell them to score again.  Lehmann and Stadheim must have been listening and not been fantasizing about the upcoming March intensive because just 37 seconds into the second, a bang bang sequence had Stadheim again find his line mate crashing with Lehmann calming beating Laurendeau on the forehand for a 2-0 lead.  Now it was getting interesting, because as the student sections exchanged chants across the ice (the Bedford students stopped the exchange as soon as the Hanover fans pointed out the Bulldog’s deficit with the always-quieting “scoreboard” chant) the Marauders pounded Bedford in the neutral zone.  There were two penalties on each team, all of which were killed, but the Marauders definitely got the better of play, outshooting Bedford 15-10 in the period.

Our Biggest Fan Missy

      Now everyone knew what would happen in the third – either Hanover protects their two goal lead (all together now repeat after me “the two goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey” – good job class)  or Bedford comes out like they did in their second game and just takes it to the tired Upper Valley boys.  Starting the period on the kill, the Marauders handled it easily, but the wheels began to wobble as Bedford ratcheted up the pressure.  With 12:25 left, Parker Roberto, a surname well known in the New Hampshire hockey youth circles, struck on a pretty backhander in close to make is 2-1.

      Now Einstein once explained his theory of relativity like this (not quite verbatim) – “When you are courting, an hour seems like a second.  When you put your hand on a hot stove, a second seems like an hour.”  Clearly, Einstein was not as smart as everyone thinks because the better analogy for his theory of relativity should have been this, “When you are scoring goals against Bedford, an hour feels like a second.  When you are trying to prevent goals by Bedford (especially for 12 minutes and 25 seconds), a second feels like an hour.”  Hence the Hanover players learned a lesson in the theory of relativity this afternoon, which is keeping with the NHIAA mission statement read before the game that sports are an extension of the classroom experience.

      So we writhed, and we moaned, and we cursed and we implored that clock to wind down with every rush from the Bulldogs.  But as hyped as we were in the crowd, it seemed like the players were having just a good old Saturday skate as they kept calm and carried on.  LaRock was a beast on every shot thrown his way and the back and fore-checkers just kept frustrating the bulldogs into mistakes in the neutral zone which were cleared by the defense.  A Hanover time out at 5:34 left just to get everyone together for a how ya doin and then it was under five minutes, then four, three and then two.  Bedford fans were silent, Hanover fans were exuberant, and then Bedford took its timeout with 1:08 left and pulled their goalie.

Benjamin Looking Sharp

      The last minute of the season, for some the last time they would put on skates for a meaningful hockey game in their lives, and it all came down to 1:08.  Then it was one minute, thirty seconds and then fifteen and with Bedford coming down the near board for one more rush, it was McNulty, who in a play that sums up this Hanover team, laid out flat and took a slapshot right in the chest with five seconds left.  5-4-3-2-1 done and STATE CHAMPIONS!

       A few immediate observations – bedlam on top of Harris as he was tackled in front of his goal on the crease, Hans Williams – a hero for this team this year – acting like the cherry on top and launching himself on the pile probably much to the horror of his orthopedic team, tears in the eyes of many of the parents, and “We are the champions” playing overhead.

      There were many great moments in the time to follow.  One that will always ring true is the class with which the Bedford team collected their medals and each one of them came to shake the hands of the entire Hanover team – class act.  There were the Dodds brothers standing at mid-ice having their pictures taken with their state championship trophies.  There was the team pinning their trophy on the glass in front of the student section.  There were the boys coming up from the locker room and walking into the arms of their adoring fans.

       Said Dodds “I am so proud of these kids obviously because they are state champions but also because of the way they achieved it.  They were unflappable, they blocked out all of the pageantry and they stuck to the game plan.”

      With the 2-1 win, Hanover finished the year with a record of 18-3 in NHIAA play (21-3 overall).  They are a team that made their families proud, their coaches proud, their town proud, but most of all themselves proud.  Along with the girls team they are half of the only tandem in the history of New Hampshire hockey to win the boys and girls crowns in the same year.

Champions and Knuckleheads

      As I sit here and write the final paragraph in the blog for the year, I think it might have finally dawned on me how this team was able to accomplish this feat in the face of so much doubt and it occurred to me as I was watching Mr. T’s bus come lumbering around the corner down Lebanon street to the high school.  On top of that bus were several players and the one who was completely out of the safety hatch, standing fully on top of the bus in complete violation of any known traffic law, was Harris LaRock with his arms raised in victory.  And I thought about that kid who sat and bided his time for three straight years waiting his chance to play one minute of varsity and when he had the chance, became the best goalie in the state.  Perhaps that’s what it takes – desire, humility and when given the chance, you pounce on it and make it yours.   A lesson that goes well beyond the hockey rink.

      Congratulations Marauders and thank you.