Almost

      In the month since we last saw the Exeter Blue Hawks put a licking on the Hanover Marauders 7-1 at Campion, the teams seem to have gone in different directions.  While Exeter had vaulted to the upper echelon of the NHIAA standings with an 11-2-2 record, Hanover had come down to earth a bit and sat in seventh place at 8-6 coming in to today’s contest.  But the Marauders had demonstrated that they have the grit to beat anyone – as victories over Trinity, Pinkerton and a close game with Bedford could attest.   So with the melodies of Frozen 2 ringing in their ears, the one question on everyone’s mind was whether Hanover could take that game from January 8th and just let it go in this one and put a pounding on the Blue Hawks.

      So the puck dropped just before the 3:00 pm at the site of the infamous danglergate incident and off we went to start the last week of the 2019-20 regular season. And from the beginning this was a different Hanover team. Shortened bench, more get-up in the skate, really putting the Blue Hawks on their heels. You had the captain narrowly avoiding assault charges as he laid out two Exeter defenders on the fore check, Brendan Brigham almost notching one from the point and Ben Plottner stoning all of the few opportunities he faced.  So with the period ending at 0-0 tie with no penalties, Hanover having blanked the potent senior-laden first line of the Blue Hawks, there was sense of good things coming for the locals as they stepped back on the cavernous Supreme rink. Hanover even outshot the Blue Hawks 8-5.

      And into the second it went with a fired-up Hanover team giving the Blue Hawks every bit as much as they took.  A dubious interference call on Exeter had the Marauders on the man-up midway through the period and then on a boarding penalty that in any venue other than a hockey arena would be a case of felonious assault against a minor, Hanover went up on the 5-3.  However, they could not put it home (and narrowly avoided giving up a shorthanded breakaway goal thanks to Plottner) and it was the Blue Hawks who got on the board first just before the second period intermission to make it 1-0.

      Back and forth they went in the third before Cam Woods drove deep into the far corner and passed back to a waiting Jack Stadheim whose rifle ricocheted off of the Exeter net minder to a waiting Curtis Rice who finished it calmly to tie it at 1-1.  And it stayed that way…for about 30 seconds…as an odd-man rush beat Plottner to make it 2-1.  And they battled and battled - the Exeter speed vs the Hanover grinders – and with Hanover pulling for the extra man late, Exeter iced with an empty-netter 3-1. Shots on goal 20-17 Exeter - yeah it was that close.

     So what do you take from this one?  Well Hanover was close and proved they can compete with anyone on their away ice.  They will need that grit as they continue the gauntlet against Trinity and then Bedford next week.  Sitting at 8-7, it will be huge to have the chance to host a home playoff game – a chance that probably comes with winning two out of the last three.  Maybe all it will take is some more team bonding to get us there – Toy Story 4 boys?

     See you at the rink…