Dynamite Win

A dank January afternoon during back-from-vacation week.  Playing right after a rare defeat for the Girls Marauders team.  World Juniors final still hours away (BTW make sure you leave your broken sticks at home next year team Canada – HAHAHAHAHAHA enjoy the couch). Facing a 2-4 Nashua North team after playing a relentless four game stretch of top Division 1 squads in the last two weeks.  The Hanover Marauders were at risk for sleepwalking into today’s afternoon tilt before a large partisan Campion crowd.

And making things even worse, Hanover (with two talented freshman net minders of their own) ran into a hot goalie in the form of Titan freshman goalie Jack Casey who put on a virtuoso performance in the face a hefty three-period Hanover assault.  When it was over however, Hanover had a 5-0 win to make it 5-1 in NHIAA play (6-3 overall) on the 2018-19 campaign.

It was junior Rowan Wilson who had the best early chance when a point blank mid slot wrister sailed high at 1:10. Right on its heels, Sy Oberting was stoned at 2:42 after a quick rush from the left side.  Archer Judd, playing in his first varsity game as a JV call-up, came close several times on wrap arounds early on.  Finally, Hans Williams seemingly put the locals up first at 5:14 but had his in close corn hit called back on a very appropriate goalie interference call.  It was really the Jack Casey goalie show until Will Laycock’s hard saucer from the right circle on a pass from Oberting at 11:26 made it 1-0.  Amherst?  Williams? Talk to the hand – this goal was stellar.  Going into the intermission up 1-0 the question was how long could Casey hold out against the hungry Marauders bearing down on him at every shift.

Into the second it went with Hanover goalie Ben Plottner making two big saves, one on a Titan player’s dangler, to maintain the one goal advantage.  When Nashua was whistled for a defensive glove cover-up resulting in a penalty shot, Matty Gardner proved the maxim “even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes” and put Hanover up 2-0.  With his ankles sore from Gardner’s shootout deke, Casey became a bit more vulnerable and it was Laycock scoring the second goal of his varsity career in close on helpers from Brendan Brigham and Sam Seelig soon thereafter at 11:01 to put the Marauders up 3-0 going into the third.

The “blondy backhander” (thank you for the reference former captain McNulty) Williams lived up to his nickname with a goal-of-the-year candidate backhand roofer unassisted at 2:59.  Finally it was Oberting from the high slot off a face-off win from Gardner on the man-up to finish the scoring 5-0.  It was only through a sheer force of will that Casey was able to keep it at 5-0, most notably on an absolutely stunning glove save on Joey Goff high right deep in the third.

Plottner finished with 12 saves for the Marauders.  Said coach Dick Dodds afterwards “How about Will Laycock?  Hard worker, high energy, big motor, a ball of dynamite.”

Next up for the Marauders is the 6-0 Pinkerton Astros next Saturday at 5:30 at Campion.  The Astros own a 3-1 win over Concord already this year and have been somewhat overlooked in the scuttlebutt around the best NHIAA teams.  Unlike Team Canada whose performance in the world juniors was the worst performance by a Canadian since the last time Justin Bieber tried to sing, expect the Hanover boys to be prepared and bring it next Saturday night (you have to get the digs in where you can against Team Canada).  See you at the rink.

By the way for all of you mom's out there, don't worry.  It's amazing what a semester of college and a trip to the barbers can do for a Hanover hockey player's appearance - see below.