Big Ben

      When it was over, many pundits felt that the most recent Super Bowl was one of the most boring every played, and not just because Maroon V was terrible during the halftime show.  They complained that there was no offense, no excitement, no scoring.  Many have said they same thing after reading Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea – old guy catches a fish, sharks eat fish, old guy is sad – not much plot there.  So what do these two things have in common with this afternoon’s clash between the Crimson Tide and Hanover Marauders that ended in a 0-0 tie?  Well, if you looked at only the box score and weren’t there, you might think that this was a sleeper.  However, if you appreciated the nuance, the subtlety, the little things that made this game great, the incredible defensive play, the missed opportunities, the riled up fans and most of all the absolutely incredible goalie play, it was a subtle masterpiece – kind of like Super Bowl LIII and the Old Man and the Sea (I got us back here eventually but I know it took a while).

      The third game of this season series between these old rivals – each having won once already this year – including Hanover’s stomping of the Tide four days earlier.  Both having played tough games the night before and both tied in the standings bunched up into second place.  Throw in a big Thompson afternoon crowd and a time pressure crunch to get off of the ice to so that warm-ups were truncated, and it had all of the making of a classic.

      So out they came and from the opening tip, it had a very different feeling than the last game.  To teams going toe-to-toe from the get go.  And one got the sense that this would come down to goalie play – would it be Tide junior Parker Taylor or Marauder freshman Ben Plottner, not of the NH Avalanche, who carried the day?  Over the next 53 minutes of hockey, it was the Parker/Plottner show, check that  - it was the Plottner/Parker show, as each team had multiple great scoping opportunities in this one.  From Sam Seelig’s rile from the high slot midway through the first stoned by Parker, to Concord’s scary power play early in the second, both goalies were absolutely stellar.  And on and on it went, neither team giving an inch, and as the fatigue set in, one could see the opportunities develop until the final horn sounded at 0-0.

      So with the Dartmouth athletic department fretting over an overtime that pushed back whatever C level intramural game scheduled afterwards, an 8 minute overtime slugfest ensued.  Hanover had the best of the early going, and a point blank opportunity missed on an empty net (just saving these goals for the playoffs I’m sure) had Hanover fans groaning.  And almost immediately afterwards a defensive zone turnover had Plottner staring down a point blank shot with three minutes left – and like he had all day, he stoned Concord to preserve the shutout.  And there we had it 0-0.  And for the record that is now 98 minutes in a row that Concord has not scored a goal on Hanover.

      The three stars in this game for Hanover therefore go to period 1 Ben Plottner, period 2 Ben Plottner, and period 3 Ben Plottner.  And he gets an extra special star for overtime. An absolutely incredible performance with 22 saves.

      So with the tie, Hanover (12-3-1) falls into a three way tie with Concord and Bedford for second place in NHIAA play.  Bedford is on Thursday, Brady on Saturday – playoff fever is already here.  See you at the rink.