Jersey Day

Coming into tonight’s game between 12-3-1 Bedford and the 9-7 Hanover Marauders, everyone knew this would be a good one.  Bedford has historically (well in the last decade) been the class of the NHIAA, and although a little down this year, the sight of those black uniforms can be as intimidating as a meeting with coach Dodds explaining why you were cutting social studies class.  But the two teams have always been similar – classy on the ice and off, incredible coaching, skilled players.  Throw in the fact that Bedford has won three out of the last four state titles, and you get a little jealous of them – plus they even have a Trader Joes now.

But Hanover has been peaking of late with strong performances against Exeter and especially Trinity in their last two.  And the two sides had already done battle once before this year with the Bulldogs taking a Christmas tournament scorcher 2-1 only 8 weeks ago. So it was anyone’s guess how this one would play out.  But one thing was for certain – Hanover had to win the special teams match-ups and stay out of the sin bin, an especially hard task as their recent strong play has been inversely related to their plummeting in the standings for the team Lady Byng.

So before a good Campion crowd for a Wednesday, especially all of those girlfriends wearing their boys’ jerseys which I am sure did not help to maintain the testosterone level within the normal range, Hanover went toe-to-toe all evening long with the Bulldogs.  And with Ben Plottner standing on his head and keeping this one close, Hanover staked a 1-0 lead when Augie Oberting fired one in from the point and was tipped downward by a screening Rowan Wilson just 4:02 in.  But as has been so often this season, Hanover could not capitalize on multiple good opportunities and this would be the last goal of the night for the locals.  And it was the four penalties that hurt hem so badly on the other side, with Bedford knotting up the score 50 seconds into the second and then going ahead in the third on the man-up at 5:57.  A empty netter at the end sealed the deal with a 3-1 victory of the visitors.

With the loss, Hanover drops to 9-8 on the season with Brady on Saturday night for a senior night send-off – then its playoff time starting next week.  I suggest having the moms wear the jerseys from now on – nothing that curbs a teenage boys testosterone more than that.

See you at the Rink…