Ok…here we go.
It’s been a long year since the anguish
of March 2nd, 2019 when the fourth-seeded Hanover Marauders (14-7-1) lost a killer
against the fifth-seeded Trinity Pioneers on a dank Saturday night at
Campion. We watched Bedford win their
third title in four years later that month and thought “We were so close to a
repeat” if it weren’t for a little more puck luck going our way.
But the anguish of that night, especially
in the talented and deep junior class, lit a fire. And all summer there was a lot of weight room
time, a lot of skating, and a lot of bonding which has this year’s senior-laden
team (eight of them) ready to bring the NHIAA Division 1 crown back to Hanover
for the second time in three years.
Leading the charge again this year will
be NH Legends of Hockey 38th year coach Dick Dodds and his veteran staff of
Dean Cashman (“Best assistant in all of NH hockey” per Dodds), Pat Doherty (Yes,
he is THAT St Lawrence superstar) Alex Dodds (Make-a-wish game MVP senior year)
and strength coach Wayne Burwell (Always kind not to laugh at your dad bod). The five of them will be gunning for
Hanover’s 10th state championship – the most of any New Hampshire
Division 1 school - and looking to put the thorn in the proverbial Bedford
powerhouse come March.
However, Dodds sees NHIAA division 1 as
the most competitive ever in his tenure.
“Top to bottom the league is great this year. The upper echelon teams have gotten stronger,
the middle tier teams have improved…there are at least ten teams this year who
could win the title.” Dodds sees this as a huge plus. “Playing these caliber teams night in and
night out will only help us to improve.”
Leading the team this year will be the senior
veterans, many of who got that taste of a state championship back in 2018 when
Hanover came out of nowhere to beat Bedford in a 2-1 thriller. However, Hanover isn’t sneaking up anymore on
anyone, and as last year’s campaign showed, every Hanover game is a big one for the
opponent. Dodds believes the strength of this year’s team is the unbelievable work ethic of his senior veterans and the
team cohesiveness that has been built throughout the fall captain’s practices
and early season skates.
“We don’t have superstars this year,
which I think helps us. We have
established a really strong team dynamic which is so important and great participation
and work from everyone. Out strength
will be down the middle with three talented centers, powerful wing play and two
strong goalies.”
Captaining this year’s team will be
veteran forward Toño Correa who Dodds describes
as “smart, strong, responsible and athletic.
He has taken the leadership role seriously and puts in the work off of
the ice. He will be a big part of our
success this year.” Joining Correa in leadership
roles at forward will be assistant captain Rowan Wilson (“Brings speed and excitement
and is an excellent defensive center. His shot has improved a lot over the last
year”) and Cam Woods (“The premier power forward in the league - big, strong,
fast and physical. He is going score a
lot of goals this year”).
Scoring duties will additionally fall
heavily on classmate Patrick Daley, who was the leading forward point scorer
last year prior to a clavicle injury which ended his season early. Dodds describes Daley as “really smart, good
with the puck, and really knows how to work the walls.” Another veteran senior
is Brendan Brigham who Dodds characterizes as “a great athlete and pound
for pound the strongest hockey player I have ever coached”. Senior Carter Auch, who should be back
shortly from a wrist injury, has Dodds excited about his “hard shot and ability
to play different positons for us.” And
the last of the seven senior forwards, Archer Judd, is a “big body who can park
himself in front of the net and can create lots of problems”. The lone senior on the blue line will be Will
Fichman who “has size and strength and has grown into a solid defenseman who
will help to teach the younger guys.”
The only junior on the squad is defenseman
Tom Lyons, who will be joined on the blue line by returning sophomores Curtis
Rice and Spencer Lawe. Newcomers sophomore Nick Lee and freshman Jack Gardner
will round out the defensive corps. Sophomore
Casey Graham is back at forward and will be joined by new teammates sophomores
John Hill and Augie Oberting as well as freshman Jack Stadheim.
In goal will be two veterans of last
year’s campaign, sophomores Ben Plottner and Luke Ives – both of whom saw all
of the action for last year’s team. Said
Dodds “I feel really confident about our goalies this year.”
This year’s schedule opens on Tuesday,
December 17th with a home tilt against Manchester at 7:15 at
Thompson and then cranks up all the way until March. In case you thought the regular season was
going to be easy, guess again – the Marauders face Trinity three times, Bedford
twice, Concord twice, Exeter twice…and how about a little Salem, Londonderry,
Pinkerton and oh yeah BG for good measure.
Freshman, you aren’t playing Tier III against the Storm anymore.
A hungry senior-laden team, incredible team
chemistry, and an awesome Christmas tournament all tied together with the best
coaching staff your son will ever have – let’s get at it Marauders for number
10. So sell your gold cards (I hear
Concord coach Dunc Walsh is a big fan of our blog and might consider buying a
few gold cards to support the Marauders), wake up with joy when the alarm goes
off for practice at 4:15 am, and when you win the state championship try not to
dance too hard on the roof of Mr. T’s bus because it’s hockey time in Hanover
again.
See you at the rink…
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