TRAP GAME AVOIDED

      Providing the bookends to the Marauder’s current eight game winning streak, the Manchester Memorial Crusaders came to Campion Rink for a Saturday night contest that saw Hanover improve to 14-1 in NHIAA play (17-2 overall) with a 9-1 win.  With the victory, Hanover maintains its first place lead on rival Concord, who will be coming to town in three days to determine first place in New Hampshire Division 1.



Harris has got it - no worries

      But first things first, as Hanover needed to take care of business against the Crusaders in a classic trap game leading into the big match-up coming up this week.  With very few students in the crowd owing to it being school vacation week, the energy was a little diminished at Campion, despite a new look starting line-up that featured Sy Oberting on the wing.  The real story of the first period, however, was Crusader senior goalie Chuck Degust who was pummeled from the opening shift but kept coming up big again and again to keep the Marauders off the board.  A dangler on the goal line that was barely missed by an outstretched Charlie Plottner and post saves on David Lehmann and Matty Gardner were the closet the Marauders came to going up on the scoreboard.  Even the vicious Hanover powerplay, despite getting two good chances, could not solve Degust and the period ended 0-0.



Goal for Duncan

      Whether it was the disappointing 0-0 score or the smell of pizza in the lobby from the previously concluded high school game, Hanover came out hungry to start the second period and continued to push into the offensive zone.  In a scrum on an own goal credited to Toño Correa on assists from Owen Stadheim and Oberting, the Marauders took the lead at 3:43.  However, just nine seconds later Crusader alternative captain Jared Chandonnet beat goalie Harris LaRock stick side high streaking down the right side to tie the score at 1.  As the Hanover fans started to become a bit uncomfortable with the 1-1 score as the clock ticked through the halfway point, it was LaRock, as he has done so many time this year, who kept the Marauders grounded.  He stoned two Manchester breakaways on uncharacteristic Marauder defensive turnovers to keep the game tied.  Finally, at 9:20 Plottner found the net on a nice back door feed from Peter Warhold to put Hanover up 2-1.  From then on the flood gates opened and in rapid succession Duncan Bailey’s ripper from the left circle (feeds from Gardner and Stadheim) and Cameron Woods’s short-handed breakaway (on a nice dump from Elias Zinman on a feed from Oberting) had Hanover up 4-1 at the intermission.

      The third period was much more of the same as five different Hanover players scored. In fact, with eight different Marauders finding the net on the evening, there was more wealth distribution tonight than would have been seen in a Bernie Sanders administration.*  First up was Oberting with one of his classic blasts from the left point (pass from Stadheim) through a screening Lehmann to make it 5-1.  Next game the shifty Zinman in the slot on a feed from Woods and Patrick Daly.  Rowan Wilson got into the action on a nice left-handed wrister from the high slot that sent Degust to the showers and brought in junior Matthew Scott.  Gardner then introduced Scott to the Hanover offense with a top-down wrister on a feed from Stadheim (his fourth assist in case you lost track).  Finally Plottner ended the carnage in front on passes from Wilson and Warhold.  Final score 9-1 with Hanover achieving their highest offensive output of the season.

Wilson found the net

      This win put the current Hanover victory streak at 8, with the Marauders outscoring their opponents 40-6 during that stretch.  On the year in Division 1, they have outscored opponents 69-17 in NHIAA play with contributions coming from everywhere.  LaRock continues to provide the stable senior leadership that is so critical, making 9 saves on the night but most importantly stopping key breakaways when the game hung in the balance in the first and second periods.


      The win also clinches a first round bye and a home game in the upcoming NHIAA Division 1 playoffs. 

      So the big elephant in the rink tonight was clearly the two games coming up this week against second place Concord.  Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 the Crimson Tide visit Campion and the next day Hanover travels to Everett Arena at 5:30.  If you haven’t already started to develop flu-like symptoms so you have to leave work early on Tuesday, now would be the time to start preparing your schedule for a 2:00 pm departure.  Make sure the illness lasts for a few days so you can get to the game on Wednesday as well.

*Please forgive the political humor but there is only so much you can do with a 9-1 game in mid-February