DEJA VU WITH EXETER

      In a game eerily similar to the first meeting between these two Division 1 foes just two weeks ago, the Hanover Marauders came away with a 2 goal victory over the Exeter Blue Hawks (3-5 NHIAA)  at Campion arena on Wednesday evening.  In sweeping the two game season series, the Marauders ran their record to 9-1 in Division 1 (12-2 overall) to keep pace near the top in the NHIAA standings with a 2-0 victory.

      Back on January 6^th, it was a big second period that had the Marauders go up 2 goals after getting off to a slightly sluggish start in the first frame.  Once again, Hanover would square off against Exeter goalie Jude Rogles, who was the difference in the first meeting between a Hanover blowout and a closer game than the score might indicate.

      Coming off their biggest win of the season four days ago away against Bishop Guertin, Hanover came out ready to go up early and dominated play from the opening face-off.  However, despite multiple chances, Rogles denied all of Hanover’s forays.  The lone penalty of the night on Hanover neutralized their momentum as the first period ended, although the Marauders continued to show off their dominant penalty kill which had them going into the locker room tied at 0-0.

EZ with the game winner

      It’s unclear what type of motivation is used each game in between period 1 and 2 with this year’s Marauders, but whatever coach Dick Dodds and his assistants serve up should be bottled and sold at Stateline.  Cranking up their offense with shots off the iron by both Elias Zinman and Matty Gardner, Hanover went up on their first man-up of the night on an Exeter hooking penalty at 8:31.  Just five seconds in, the lethal power play resulted in a Sy Oberting shot deflected to Zinman on the right doorstep whose shot beat Rogles to make it 1-0 Hanover.  15 seconds later it was captain David Lehmann’s backhander from the mid slot on a feed from Gardner that made it 2-0.  Owen Stadheim also had a helper on the play.  Despite several more good chances, including several narrow escapes on the second power play opportunity of the night, this is how the period would end.

      The third period was almost a carbon copy from the first game, with Hanover having several strong opportunities, but Rogles denying them all.  As the minutes ticked away, Hanover goalie Harris LaRock turned away any pressure from the Blue Hawks to earn his third shutout of the season.  The Hawks, like the first game, seemingly again tried to break the NHIAA record for most icing calls in a period, which clearly was a reflection of the offensive pressure being applied by Hanover.

      The most intriguing moment of the game for some might have been a clock malfunction in the second period which led to having the last few minutes of that period counted down manually.  However, that’s what you get sometimes on a cold night in late January, when the motivation is sometimes hard to find, but the wins are equally important in the standings. Finding the will to win on nights like this is what separates out your top tier squads, and Hanover was certainly up to the challenge this evening.

      LaRock paced Hanover with 14 saves.

      On Saturday night, the Marauders will face Trinity in the second of this three game homestand.  Let’s hope this game, unlike the last one between these two teams in which Hanover overcame a one goal deficit to win with two late goals in the third at Saint Anselms, won’t necessitate the need for a Nitro/Beta Blocker/Zantac cocktail for Marauder fans.  If any fans do have concerns heading in to Saturday night, a pregame trip to the DHMC cardiology team can probably be arranged.