First Win

There comes a time in a season when the coach needs to push the right button to get the team on track…switch up the lines, change the post-game meal, throw the trash can around the locker room between periods…you get the point.  And sometimes you just need to schedule the right team to try and break a scoring drought.  For coach Dick Dodds and the 0-2 Hanover Marauders, scheduling the Brady Green Giants for a late Wednesday school night game was just that right button to push.  For after a slow start, it was the first scoring line that carried Hanover to a 5-2 victory for their first win of the season.

And like the arena in which they played, this one wasn’t pretty.  And the goals were not especially spectacular.  But each goal came from a first scoring line that needed to get on track and start tickling the twine, especially against a less skilled opponent with Exeter coming up this weekend. With the only benefit of watching on Livebarn not having to deal with the infamous Tritown arena smell, the partisans settled in for a post-jeopardy late game battle.

The first was a back and forth, back and forth.  Clearly Hanover had the speed and size advantage but was stymied at just about every turn.  In fact, it was Brady who scored first at 2:47 beating Luke Ives in close to go up 1-0.  But the announcer had not even finished crediting the winners before an Alex Rockmore feed to Curtis Rice whose wrister on net produced an in close rebound.  Casey Graham sitting in front calmly put back the rebound and there it was 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

The boys came out firing again in the second – leaving very little time with a pucks on the net play of Tom Lyons on a pass from Rockmore putting it on net from the point with Rice poaching in front to wrap around the rebound – 2-1 at 11:43.  But the not-so-jolly Green Giants fought back and made it a game at 8:01 putting in their own rebound in close to make it 2-2 while on the powerplay.  Hanover could not covert on a man-up of their own but at 2:56 it was Rockmore’s chance on the rebound, off a Graham shot with Lyons on the second assist to make it 3-2 at the end of two.

With the outcome in doubt, Hanover came out aggressively in the third, with Rockmore and Rice putting a cap on each of their three point nights with the best goal of the night nifty through pass across the crease for a tap-in by big red to make it 4-2 just 28 seconds in.  The bulk of the third for Hanover was spent killing off three penalties and facing a goalie pull but it was Graham capping off his three point night with an empty netter (I think it was – Live barn feed went out) to seal it as time ticked away.  Ives had 19 saves on the night.

So with the win, Hanover improves to 1-2 on the campaign and faces Exeter on Saturday night.  Exeter has beaten Trinity twice and fallen to evil empire BG 4-3 (BG beat Brady 11-4).  So on paper this should be a fairly well-matched game as the puck drops at 8:30 at the Rinks of Exeter.  And for those of you are interested, there is a Seacoast Spartans U-14 game at 8:30 Saturday night on the second rink at Exeter.  I heard those are fun to go to and the Spartans have a great team this year.  Might we see a large Hanover parent contingent at the Seacoast game?  Tempting isn’t it.

See you at the rink…

PLAYER PROFILE: CASEY GRAHAM

 

Name: Casey Graham

Grade: 11

Number: 23

Position: Forward

Hometown: Etna, NH

Youth Hockey Association: Hanover Wild

Best Youth Hockey Moment: Scoring a hat trick in the Pot O’Gold championship which was also my last youth hockey game

Best High School Hockey Moment: Playing in my first home playoff game

Best Hair on the Team and Why: Nick Lee, because he hasn’t cut it in like two years

Pump up song: Sandstorm by Darude

Least favorite drill: Continuous 2 on 0

Unknown non-hockey talent: video/photo editing

First thing I will do the day the pandemic ends: Go to a Red Sox/Bruins other Boston sports team game

 

PLAYER PROFILE: ALTERNATE CAPTAIN JACK STADHEIM

Name: Jack Stadheim

Grade: 10

Number: 9

Position: Forward

Hometown: Lyme, NH

Youth Hockey Association: NH Avalanche/Hanover Wild

Best Youth Hockey Moment: Winning the President's Day Tournament

Best High School Hockey Moment: Scoring my first goal

Best Hair on the Team and Why: Nick Lee because of his mullet

Pump up song: She’s out of her mind by Blink-182

Least favorite drill: Russian circles

Unknown non-hockey talent: Lethal at Rock Band

First thing I will do the day the pandemic ends: Go to a movie

Rolled Tide

Saturday night at Everett for Concord-Hanover Part II had an eerie sense of similarity to their first game five days ago.  AC/DC blaring, a social-distanced partisan Concord crowd in the stands and the speed of the Tide (2-0) matched up against the brawn of the Marauders (0-1).  So with our only connection to the game via the spotty Livebarn connection coming up from 1-89, the boys played their second game of the pandemic season against the top team in NHIAA Division 1.

And unfortunately for the locals, the first period showed why speed is so often the determining factor in who wins high school hockey games.  While Hanover clearly outbodied the Tide (defenseman Spencer Lawe especially showed more aggression than the expected McGregor-Poirier fight later tonight) it was Concord’s stick-handling and pace that quickly neutralized Hanover.  Despite having two man-ups in the period and killing one, Hanover found themselves down 3-0 heading into the locker room.

However, it was junior Jackson Fisher who finally got Hanover on the board this season.  Stealing the puck from a sloppy Concord clear in their defensive zone, he circled around the top of the near circle and launched a wrister unassisted into the scrum which found its way into the net for Hanover first goal in over seven quarters dating back to last year.  And this why is pucks on the net is so important as Hanover found themselves down 3-1 only 2:04 in the second.  However, Concord is tenacious and Concord is fast and by the period’s end had added two more to the tally to make it 5-1 going into the third. The local’s best chance came on a Tom Lyons point black cannon from the slot on the power play deep into the second.

The third was almost a carbon copy of the second, with Hanover getting the firs goal on a junior Casey Graham dump in close of an assist from Lawe at 6:40 to make it 5-2.  However, this seemed to invigorate the Tide and they poured it on for the reminder of the period, scoring three more to make the final score 8-2. Luke Ives had 29 saves for Hanover with Hanover having a total of 13 shots.

So with the loss, Hanover drops to 0-2 on the young season – but on the bright side has played their toughest opponent in NHIAA division I this season.  They will next travel to Exeter for a Saturday tilt against the Blue Hawks, another Division 1 powerhouse facing a bit of a rebuild this year.  So keep your heads up Marauders, enjoy those 5:00 am practices this week, and wear those masks.  

See you at the rink…

PLAYER PROFILE: BEN WAGNER

 

Name: Ben Wagner

Grade: 12

Number: 8

Position: Forward

Hometown: Hanover

Youth Hockey Association: Hanover Wild

Best Youth Hockey Moment: Learning how to do a crossover in learn-to-play

Best High School Hockey Moment: Coming back.

Best Hair on the Team and Why: Hanko. Man’s goatee is crazy cool.

Pump up song: Random irish jig music.

Least favorite drill: Stickhandling.

Unknown non-hockey talent: Getting Tom to do that awkward thing where he says ‘sorry’ like 5 times in one sentence after he makes a joke.

First thing I will do the day the pandemic ends: Eat a massive mickey-mouse pancake with whipped cream and strawberries inside of Lou’s.

PLAYER PROFILE: ALTERNATE CAPTAIN CURTIS RICE

 

Name: Curtis Rice

Grade: 11

Number: 13

Position: Forward

Hometown: Etna

Youth Hockey Association: Hanover Wild

Best Youth Hockey Moment: Getting in a fight with Terry O'Reilly as a Mite when the Bruins alumni came to Woodstock.

Best High School Hockey Moment: Getting the GWG against Trinity in all three meetings with them last season.

Best Hair on the Team and Why: Jack Lawson - in terms of volume, nobody else can compete.

Pump up song: Anything by Taylor Swift

Least favorite drill: Russian circles

Unknown non-hockey talent: Being good at board games

First thing I will do the day the pandemic ends: Take my dad to get a haircut…  (it’s been 4 months, the pandemic’s taken its toll on all of us)

Solid Start

 

Having been 319 days since their last competitive ice hockey game, the Hanover Marauders finally took the ice to kick off their NHIAA Division 1 season in a rare mid afternoon dust-up with Concord at Everett today.  And while they ended up on the wrong end of a 4-0 decision, there were plenty of positives to take away from today.

Consider…

1.      We were playing a stacked, defending state champion team in the Crimson Tide that looked like it had been put together by Nick Saban himself

2.      Playing your first top drawer Division 1 NHIAA game after your youth hockey career is a little like being in Drivers Ed and getting on the highway for the time – you quickly realize you aren’t driving 25 mph down Lebanon Street anymore.  But once you have been exposed to the speed, it becomes much easier the second time around

3.      We have the best goaltender in the state

Luke Ives - BEAST

So in we rolled to Everett to take on the Crimson tide for the first of the away and away series.  And while the Livebarn feed from Everett made it look like you were watching the game through a fish bowl, nothing better than seeing the Marauder boys get on the ice for warm-ups.  And as the always do, the Everett music crew did not disappoint, with no fewer than four head-splitting AC/DC songs to set the tone during warm-ups (BTW – how many minutes do you think it would take the Campion Arena neighbors to register a complaint after hearing Thunderstruck playing at volume 12 on a Monday afternoon?...but I digress)

And with the puck drop a little before 2:00 pm, the 2020-21 season began for the Marauders, and a little bit of normalcy finally poked its head back into all of our lives.  For the next two hours, the players and coaches could focus on the game, the parents could do their best to pretend to work while following the feed, and probably most importantly, all of those grandparents and friends of the program could tune in remotely to watch those boys play a game we all love.  Not enough thanks can be said to all of those who put the kids first to make this happen and happen safely – the NHIAA, the Hanover school administration and athletic director, and coaches Dodds, Cashman and Alex Dodds.

And really, this game was a lot more competitive than the 4-0 final score, especially given the injuries facing the Marauders.  While it could be said that Concord had a little bit better of the play and had the better finishing ability, this one was hard fought throughout.  Going up 2-0 just over 5 minutes in was probably more indicative of the Hanover rust than the Crimson Tide dominance.  Goaltender Luke Ives who faced 31 shots on the day and at least three in-the-crease checks, was magnificent and stood on his head repeatedly.  Especially in the second period when he shut down 15 of the 16 chances he faced, the junior was the MVP of the game for the Marauders.

We also got to see the grit and toughness of the team that did not back down and made it a game throughout.  The Marauders are generally big boys and the bodying, especially along the boards, really seemed to slow down the Tide and neutralize their speed.  Multiple rushes in the offensive zone, especially by alternate captain Curtis Rice and freshman Wyatt Seelig, kept the pressure up on the Concord D.  While we were outshot 16-5 in the second, the first and third were pretty even with Concord owning only a 15-11 shot advantage.

Hanover also looked good on the kill, shutting down each of Concord’s four power plays, most notable a 5-3 early in the second.  Take away those rusty first five minutes and this one was pretty even – an excellent sign for the locals moving forward.

There aren’t too many positives that can be attributed to the pandemic, but the Division 1 NHIAA hockey schedule is one of them.  Not only will every one of the 12 games be competitive, the away and away game sequence allows these teams to face each other again right away - kind of like the NHL during the days of the original 6.  And with every team making the post-season tourney, all of these games are a warm-up for the big event in March.

So, with this confidence-building game one against the defending state champions under their belt, Hanover vs Concord part II will take place this Saturday night.  So study hard this week Marauders for finals and remember that an Ivy philosophy degree is not worth what it used to be so relax and focus on the big picture, pick C on the multiple choice if you don’t know the answer, and get plenty of rest.  And parents, we don’t want to see any of you getting caught trying to sneak into Everett on Saturday night.

See you at the rink…

PLAYER PROFILE: CAPTAIN TOM LYONS

Bloggers Note: Players will be profiled throughout the season starting with the seniors.  Blogger bears no responsibility for content.

Grade: Senior

Number: 21

Position: Defense

Hometown: Hanover

Youth Hockey Association: Hanover Wild

Best Youth Hockey Moment: Bantam state champs with Alex Dodds

Best High School Hockey Moment: Shutting down Trinity three times in a row last year to give them over half of their losses

Best Hair on the Team and Why: Nick Lee - that s..t flows . He has the best hair flip too. I'd like to think I've edged out Hank for best beard, but he does have a nice goatee. 

Pump Up Song: Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus (mostly a joke) 

Least Favorite Drill: (Anything with) stick handling

Unknown Non-Hockey talent: Eating a lot of food

First thing I Will do the Day the Pandemic Ends: Play a home hockey game

2020-21 Season Preview

Game on… 

It’s hard to fathom how much times have changed since we last saw the Hanover Marauders boy’s competitive ice hockey team take the ice. Who could believe that since last year’s early March 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Pinkerton Astros in the state prelims our world would have been so upended…Chara leaves the Bruins, a team from Florida wins the Cup, and Bayreruther gets traded to Columbus. Crazy times we live in. 

Fortunately, nothing has derailed the Marauders this year as they seek the 10th NHIAA Division 1 state title in program history (most of all New Hampshire schools) under 39th year and New Hampshire Legend of Hockey coach Dick Dodds. Joining Dodds behind the bench again this campaign will be former Hanover captains Dean Cashman running the offense and Alex Dodds on the D. Strength coach Wayne Burwell will also be a critical part of the campaign. The anti-hockey playing lobby was notably left off the coaching staff this year, as their plate was already too full with zoom meetings trying to save the world from their respective basements. 

Fortunately, sanity prevailed and the Marauders will be kicking off the 2020-21 season January 18th with an away tilt against the defending state champion Concord Capitals. It will be the first of many for the locals, as current guidelines necessitate that Hanover play all its 12 games at away rinks, lest the virus sully the pristine Upper Valley environs. But Dodds and his staff are ready. With social distancing in full effect, locker rooms closed down and masks as ubiquitous as bad hair on the boys, it has been a different type of pre-season for the veteran coach. “I am really excited about this group and the camaraderie that has already developed” said Dodds. “This is a solid group with lots of experience. It is nice combination of kids who have played a couple of years and new skilled players that have moved in. I can really tell that this group is going to keep improving.” 

After a December of up-tempo tryouts, Dodds chose a roster this campaign smaller than the usual 20, going with 10 forwards, five blueliners and 2 goalies due to the pandemic. “We have smaller numbers than we usually do due to the limitations of COVID-19. It was the smart thing to do, but there were definitely kids on the JV who could have made this team.” 

Leading the Marauders this year will be power defenseman captain Tom Lyons. A three year varsity veteran, it will be Lyons’s duty to promote the cohesiveness that is so critical to the team sport of competitive ice hockey. Said Lyons “We can’t have locker rooms and can’t have team dinners because we are being really safe with Covid. But I am really excited and we are working hard.” The captain sees the strength of the team being depth and the ability to move the puck. While wearing a mask makes it tougher to play, “we have adapted and are really looking good so far.” 

Rounding out the leadership team will be alternate captains Curtis Rice and Jack Stadheim. Rice, with his monster wrist shot, will be switching to forward this season to anchor a power scoring line of fellow juniors Casey Graham and Alex Rockmore. All three have explosive power and toughness. The best of the brothers in the Lyme family hockey dynasty (no offense Owen and Seth), sophomore Stadheim will be a shifty scoring threat whenever he takes the ice. Senior Ben Wagner will anchor a beefy, big scoring line with junior wingers Jackson Fisher and Matt Walsh – both of whom can fly. Freshmen Angus Frew and Wyatt Seelig should see plenty of time paired with scoring machine junior John Hill.   

On the blue line will be veterans across the board. Joining Lyons will be offensive-minded scoring threat junior Spencer Lawe, best flow on the team nominee junior Nick Lee, please give me the opportunity to check you sophomore Jack Gardner, and newcomer sophomore Satch Bowie. Hank Trimble, Jack Lawson, Ethan Derksen and Jack Wilkinson should also see some action as swing players. 

Forget Paul Newman, the patent on the Cool Hand Luke name is owned by junior goaltender Luke Ives, who will be returning for his third season and looks to be one of the top goaltenders in the state. Joining him in the net will be junior Dill Eisendrath. Dodds is very high on his netminders “We have two solid goaltenders. Luke is very solid and Dill is a breath of fresh air who brings a great attitude.” 

The pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the NHIAA landscape, and the boy’s hockey schedule is no exception. Rather than the usual 18 game season, this year the locals have a 12 game schedule. However, unlike in the typical season, there will be no stats-padding tilts. This year every game figures to be a dogfight, with home and homes (well I guess they now are away and…aways) against the likes of Concord, Exeter, Salem, Windham and evil-empire BG. Just to make sure complacency isn’t an issue, coach Dodds scheduled Pinkerton and Bedford for a few how-ya-doins to compete the season. As of press time, the state tournament is ON, so a 2021 NHIAA Division 1 hockey champion is expected to be crowned. So there it is. 

An experienced skating core, exquisite goaltending, and the best coaching staff your son will ever have. It’s hockey time in Hanover again and it couldn’t come soon enough. Sell those gold cards, set your alarm for 4:30 am, and tend to your lettuce…good luck you beauties. 

See you at the (away) rink…

Endgame

     There are days when things go well, and days when everything seems to go sideways – today for the Hanover Marauders it went nearly vertical as they ended the season with a 7-0 loss to the Pinkerton Astros in the NHIAA Division 1 prelims.  Not much to say really, except that we will miss our seniors and to thank them for their commitment to Hanover Hockey.  I am sure the coaching staff is already getting ready for next year and don’t surprised if the you see coaches Dodds, Cashman, or Alex at a Bantam game this spring with their clipboards out.

     So again seniors – what a run and thanks.  For the underclassman, good luck in your fall hockey team tryouts and make sure you dust off of the skates sometime between now and August.  And for those parents whose life ambition was to write a hockey blog about NH high school hockey, tryouts are open for that position as well.

     See you on the baseball/lacrosse/soccer field…

Senior Night

Forget Jersey Day.  Forget the Holiday tournament.  Forget even the state semifinals.  By far and away the best night in high school hockey is senior night.  One part celebratory, the other part a little sad, it is the night the commitment, sacrifice, and love for hockey is celebrated by those players who gave four years to Hanover High School.  And it is also a tremendous honor to the families of the players whose own sacrifice and love of hockey – not even mentioning the miles on the car, the early sneaking out from work to catch that 5:30 game in Manchester, the overwhelming bag stench living in the mudroom – that made this night possible. 

So tonight at Campion eight warriors for Hanover were honored.  And it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve played on the team, what line you are on, or even how the team is doing this year – this is a night to honor commitment and sacrifice.  Because as fans we see the games but that is only a fraction of what these boys put into bringing so much joy into our lives.  So tonight we thank Carter Auch, Will Brannon, Brendan Brighman, Toño Correa, Patrick Daley, Will Fichman, Archer Judd, Rowan Wilson, and Cam Woods. What an incredibly talented and deep group – and such a pleasure to watch play.

And speaking of playing, there was a game tonight.  And not only a game, but a very important one at that.  Because the Bishop Brady Green Giants were in town, and for any of you who remember last year in which the Giants almost derailed Hanover right before the playoffs, this team posed a significant trap-game challenge.  Because in the hullaballoo of senior night, 9-8 Hanover was at real risk of being distracted in this one. And sitting in 8^th place (owning the tiebreaker with Pinkerton), this win was crucial for the Marauders to possibly nail down the 7^th spot with some shuffling above them after tonight’s NHIAA games.  Pregame trying to figure the seeding possibilities if Hanover lost left us fans with some of the same feelings we get when trying to help the boys with their pre-calculous homework – confused, frightened and generally feeling like the Boomers we pretend we aren’t. So overall better if they just won this one.

So in front of a boisterous Campion Arena came the Hanover seniors and their teammates.  And rumor has it that some of the Brady parent fans were a bit salty as they inappropriately plopped themselves down in the Hanover student section and apparently were distracted by the Fathead cutouts being waved by the Marauder faithful.  One point on this before you complain to the AD - Boomer don’t sit in the student section with your 8 year old on senior night at the visitors rink.

And so on that note the game began and the saltiness seemed to carry over on the ice as despite absolutely destroying the Giants in all facets of the game, Hanover could not punch it in.  Shot after shot was saved and you really had to hand it to the team defense and goalie play of Brady which kept them in this one. But eventually you knew it was coming and as the clock teetered down to the two minute mark, Hanover went on the man-up and it was Mr. Clutch Jack Stadheim top shelf on a cross ice pass from Spencer Lawe from the right slot to put Hanover up 1-0 heading into the intermission.

And into the second it went with Hanover again dominating play but again, unable to knock those Giants off of their beanstalk.  Flying in all facets, they even went on a man-up…but unfortunately gave up a breakaway short-handed to knot it up 1-1.  But it was senior night, and this is the night you ride your seniors, and Carter Auch made sure it was going to end well for Hanover taking a pass from Archer Judd in close and hammering it to go 2-1 heading into the third.

So into the third we had Hanover clinging to the one goal lead.  And again it was a senior, this time Rowan Wilson on the prettiest score of the night, undressing about four Brady defenders through the neutral zone before tickling the twine on a wrist rope to make it 3-1.  And then the floodgates opened and you had Casey Graham high wrister at 120 mph, then Auch stuffing it again close and finally big red Curtis Rice finishing off the Giants with a roar to close it out 6-1. Ben Plottner was steady and strong, facing 8 shots compared to the 52 that Hanover put in on the night.

So with the win, Hanover maintains their spot at 10-8 in the standings with Pinkerton.  As of this writing we await the result of the 10-7 Windham vs Salem game.  If Windham loses that one, we have a three way tie at 7^th and because of the head-to-head Hanover would clinch the home ice 7^th spot and have a prelim home game on Wednesday. With a Windham win, well let’s just say you will need more than an A in Honors Methods class to figure the Hanover playoff picture at that point.

So we wait and we get on the backs of our senior class for the playoff run.  Should be an awesome week of playoff hockey. Thank you seniors and their families!

See you at the rink…

 

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…

   

Trifecta

      After tonight’s NHIAA MMA rumble between the Hanover Marauders and the Trinity Pioneers a few truths have now come into complete clarity.  For one, these two teams absolutely despise each other and it is fortunate that the Saint Anselm Sullivan Arena benches are on the opposite sides of the ice.  Second, truth one is exaggerated when one team beats the other three times and is responsible for 60% of said team’s total season losses.  Third, while one team believes in the whole Book, another puts all of their faith into the third Gospel guy who never disappoints.  And fourth, the whole of NHIAA Division 1 had better pay attention, because Dick Dodds and his staff have Hanover absolutely on overdrive heading into the final week of the season.

     Into cavernous Sullivan Arena, with its multicolored college banners reminding the Saint Anselm students of all the places they didn’t get into college before enrolling, the Marauders and Pioneers squared off for the third time this season.  And as he always is, there was Luke Ives between the pipes for the Marauders, who has killed more Pioneers than a Sierra Nevada winter.  Then the puck dropped and for the first 15 minutes, this one looked like Ives and Marauders were going to get slapped right back up I-89.  The Pioneers were devastating, and at one point they remained in the Hanover defensive zone for nearly four minutes hammering Ives and the beleaguered defense.  They even had a goal disallowed for a high sticking call deep into the first.  But Hanover held, and as the choppiness escalated, they walked into first intermission on the man-up.

      And the second did not diasspoint.  With at times making the Ali vs Frazier series seem like a pillow fight, the teams got progressively more and more physical…and paid the price in penalty time.  However, just a few minutes in, Jack Stadheim drove the corner and won the puck back to Patrick Daly whose cross-ice pass to linemate Spencer Lawes set up a perfect rope from deep and it was the sophomore stud putting Hanover up 1-0.  Now the lead nearly evaporated 30 second later with a pissed Trinity team hitting Ives’s post, but Carter Auch, with his first score of the year, took a pass from Augie Oberting soon thereafter and rifled it in from close to put Hanover up 2-0 just 2:38 in.  As it got more and more physical, Ives got better and better, and made a specialty on the night of getting checked into his net yet making goal line pad saves while being horizontal.  And just when that crucial third goal seemed to be destined for Trinity, Curtis Rice shut down those Trinity prayers and took an ill-fated outlet pass unassisted and stuffed home the breakaway to make it 3-0 Marauders heading in the third.

       And it sure was one heckuva third period between roughing penalties, acrobatics by Ives, Pioneer fans losing their composure, and what we are sure were escalating pleasantries exchanged between the boys on the ice.  And even when Trinity cut it to 3-1, there was no way Ives would relinquish the lead. Pulling the goalie with three minutes left, Trinity was able to punch one in at 14:58 to make it a one-goal game, but the horn sounded, with Hanover taking home the 3-2 victory.

      So with their best win of the season, Hanover climbs to 9-7 (11-8 overall) with a big one against Bedford in 48 hours and then senior night on Saturday.   Hanover now becomes the team that no one sitting above them in the standings wants to tangle with in the playoffs – lots of seniors on their farewell tour, the best coaching staff in the business (I mean forget about moving Curtis to forward – the real genius is using Frozen 2 for motivation – move over Scotty Bowman!) and completely peaking when it matters. Look out NHIAA, the Marauders are dealin now.

       See you at the rink…

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…

Penalty Killed

Tonight's rematch with the Concord Crimson Tide was supposed to be a grudge match between two perennial NHIAA powers.  With the Marauders sitting in seventh place with an 8-5 record, the expectation was that there would be a much better game with the 1st place Tide having overpowered Hanover 7-0 one week ago.


So with a full house at Campion, unusual for a Wednesday afternoon, the Marauders came out with a clear game plan - be aggressive, be disruptive and don't allow the talented Tide to have a clear lane to the net. 


Well the local boys were aggressive, and they were disruptive, but unfortunately they were also penalized.  With the Marauders giving up six penalties on the night, Concord converted on five of them and went on to a 6-1 win that was closer than the final score. The lone bright spots were the play of netminder Ben Plottner and the second period scrum goal by Brendan Brigham assisted by Rowan Wilson and Patrick Daley.


With the victory, Concord remains atop the NHIAA standings with Hanover maintaining a hold on seventh.  The gauntlet continues for Hanover on Saturday at Exeter, then its Trinity, Bedford and Bishop Brady for a senior night ending next week. And I hear that the boys are going to see Frozen 2 tomorrow afternoon - sounds like a brilliant way to get the testosterone back within the normal range to avoid future six-penalty nights.


See you at the rink...

Campion Win

Driving in to today’s NHIAA Division I hockey clash between the Hanover Marauders and Manchester Memorial Crusaders, one could tell change was afoot in the Upper Valley.  Whether it was the Prius with a Trump 2020 sticker and Vermont plates parked in front of Dan and Whit’s, the Dartmouth student who crossed East Wheelock in the crosswalk off of their phone and gave a polite wave of thanks as they hustled to not tie up traffic, or a movie that actually looked worth watching advertised on the Hopkins Center marquee, something seemed a little different.  And walking into Campion confirmed all of the suspicions as the Marauders had gone goofy foot and were on the visitor’s bench for the start of this critical game. 

And you knew the wily Hanover coaching staff needed to do something, anything, because with a goal drought now spanning over two complete games, the locals were getting desperate.  Perhaps shooting for two periods at exercise bikes behind the glass rather than scowling hockey moms and dads living vicariously through their high school children would shake things up for the Marauders.  Throw in line changes that featured more of a twist than the former housekeeper returning to get something she forgot from the Park’s basement (see this year’s Best Picture winning film for esoteric reference) and we had hope for some goals this afternoon.

And as usual, Dick Dodds and his coaching staff pulled all of the right strings as the locals  came away with a 3-1 victory to run their record to 8-5 (10-6 overall) and keep pace with the rest of the upper tier of the division.  With Cool Hand Luke Ives between the pipes, the Marauders came out clearly with a chip on their respective shoulders and hammered Crusader netminder Mason Langevin from the opening horn.  But as has often been the case this season, the visitor’s post seemed to have a magnetic attraction to the puck with Hanover clanging two during the opening period. It was not until freshman Jack Stadheim took a puck deep in his own defensive zone and brought it up the far boards beating two defenders before slipping a cross-ice beauty to Curtis Rice waiting on the door step for the tap-in.  With Rice’s goal and the ensuing no holds barred celly at 14:26, the Hanover goal drought ended at nearly 105 minutes.

Into the second it went and almost immediately it seemed like this was going to be a rout when Spencer Lawe on the point found Brendan Brigham deep whose pass in the slot to John Hill (always seems to be in front of the net doesn’t he?) rifled in a shot on Langevin that rebounded back to him for a blast to make it 2-0 just 48 seconds in.  Now another change that clearly was evident tonight was this was much more of a physical game for the Marauders – almost like tonight they earned the right to wear those tims on their feet.  Lots of aggressive hits both on the fore-check and in the defensive zones.  However, while making for some entertaining spectating, the locals did get whistled for their sins, even going down on a 5-3 which left them vulnerable to a Crusader goal to make it 2-1 at 9:13.  But back and forth it went until it was Rice finding Cam Woods in deep whose outlet to Jack Gardner was sent in on a prayer from the blue line and at 11:46 it was 3-1.

The third was just what you would expect from two teams who clearly had forgotten the lessons of love and harmony from the day before.  Big hits, some injuries, likely some insights shared among the boys about their affection for their respective moms and when it was over, Luke Ives had another great game with 11 saves and the boys walked off with the victory outshooting the Crusaders by 48 shots. A crucial win and a gritty win. Some walking wounded too that we hope are going to be OK for the stretch drive.

So with the victory over the Crusaders, Hanover heads into a four game stretch of Concord, Exeter, Trinity and Bedford that will determine final seeding with the NHIAA playoff looming.  Let’s hope the extra time off on the school vacation week allows for some healing and can’t wait to see what changes are in the works for Concord on Wednesday.

See you at the rink…

 

Rolled Tide

Terrible job by Concord tonight.  Absolutely brutal.  All that hype and they completely fell flat.  Never seen such a disappointing performance by the Crimson Tide at Everett  You expect this sort of thing out of Bow, but not a program like Concord.



I mean seriously, how do you play Louis Prima's Brooklyn Boogie through the entirety of the second period intermission?  Usually love the music coming from the Tide, but tonight we got 1940s-era big band jazz for a high school hockey game.  I know having the new B. Good restaurant down the street makes you feel a bit high brow Concord, but please keep grandpa's clarinet away from the rink.



As for the game, well Concord did much better on that end - 7-0 win - and could have been more. 


With the loss, Hanover drops to 7-5 in league play and limps into Saturday's game against Memorial with no goals in the last 90 minutes of hockey.  Maybe we should borrow a page from the Tide and play something from Benny Goodman during the warm-up.



See you at the rink...

Speak of the Devil

There’s a few facts we now know to be true after tonight’s 6-0 loss to the Salem Blue Devils…1) the Salem Hew Hampshire Supercuts must have gone out of business around October 10^th 2) Lake Canobie must have had to scrap their no mustaches policy this year so they could get enough summer help 3) the now 7-4 Hanover Marauders must immediately switch all of their remaining Saturday night home games from Campion to any other rink in the state – Saturday night road trips to Notre Dame arena anyone?

A brutal loss, but let’s rewind and remember the Marauder stink that emanated from Tri-town last weekend and how the team rebounded so strongly this week against Trinity.  So a chance for redemption on Wednesday against the 1st place Concord Crimson Tide and we can now  look forward to the annual tradition of the Hanover captains parents picking up the pre-game bar tab at Buffalo Wild Wings for all Marauder families traveling to Everett (who says you can't start new traditions?)

See you at the rink…

Death Skate

Coming after what was their worst loss of the season just four days earlier with an uninspired, grit-less, fecal-show against Londonderry, the Hanover Marauders came into this afternoon’s game against Trinity facing a turning point.  With a gaudy 8-1-1 record and in second place in NHIAA Division 1, one would expect the Pioneers to be probably reminiscing about last March at Campion when they ended Hanover’s season with an upset victory in the state quarterfinals.  But little did the Pioneers know as they immigrated up 1-89 that Dick Dodd’s Marauders team – since that Londonderry loss – had not seen one puck in practice.  That compared to the Marauder coaching staff these past few days, Herb Brooks appeared sweeter then Catherine Farrell.  That Wayne Burwell had them all benching twice their weight and that the Hanover parents had fed their boys – even the vegans - nothing but bloody red meat with a side of mean for three straight nights. 

So into that context the now 7-3 (9-4 overall) Marauders came out and put on an ass-whipping (sorry public school censors but your historical overreach does not extend to this blog) on Trinity that sent them back to the Queen City probably wondering how the heck this happened.  Because what we saw tonight shows what happens when you want it more, play more physical, play smarter, coach better – that talent alone doesn’t win hockey games.  Dick Dodd’s Marauders wanted it more tonight, and today they showed that they can beat anyone as they came away with the 3-1 victory.

There wasn’t too much to report in the first except that you could tell the boys had a chip on their shoulder – heck even the Hanover moms looked a little pissed (at least our family’s mom did).  High energy, aggressive fore-check, D holding and Trinity killer Luke Ives between the pipes.  But in the second the boys got it going early when Jack Stadheim kicked it out to Tom Lyons at the point who rifled in a wrister on senior Ryan Brewitt who like Rick-O-Shay kicked it back to a waiting John Hill poaching exactly where he should be in front and hammered it home at 1:22.  But almost immediately thereafter, in a new wrinkle in the hockey rules, Trinity’s Marc L’Herueux gang tackled Ives as he lay sprawled in the net on the goal line having made the save.  However, I guess there is a new position in hockey called fullback and with the goal-line push, Trinity was awarded a dubious goal to tie it at 1-1.  The rest of the period featured strong penalty kills by both teams, with Trinity really owning the better of play to finish the period knotted at 1.

Into the third they went and from the beginning, you could see that all of that controlled anger since the Saturday night massacre at Tri-town was starting to have its effects on the visitors.  Hanover was hitting harder, skating faster, trash-talking more – love this game.  But despite out shooting Trinity 10-2 on the period, Hanover could not finish it.  Both teams had great chances with the Pioneers rattling the post and Cam Woods’s sniping one that Brewitt’s quick glove hand stoned.  But it was deep in the third when the Pioneers committed the Cardinal sin – well maybe not the Cardinal sin but bad enough – and were rung up for the penalty while pressing in their own offensive zone.  Down the puck game to an offensive zone face-off for Hanover, and from there Stadheim collected it at the near left circle, walked it in a few steps and lightning fired it on net with a screening Curtis Rice and Woods in front.  Not sure if it was tipped or not but doesn’t matter – 2-1 Hanover with just over a minute left.  In desperation, Trinity then pulled their goalie and Rowan Wilson iced it with the empty-netter with 2 seconds left.

Ives was awesome and lived up to his Pioneer-killer reputation making 25 saves on the night.

So with the win, Hanover sets up a showdown with Trinity at their place in two and half weeks.  From now until then we get to rumble with Salem, Concord twice and Exeter amongst others.  Tonight we will allow one green bean on the dinner plate, then it’s back to the brown meals until Saturday.  And I have a feeling the boys don't see another puck in practice until Presidents Day.

See you at the rink…

Lanced

Coming in to tonight’s away game pitting the Hanover Marauders against the Londonderry Lancers, on paper this seemed like an easy one for Hanover.  6-2 league record, a win against Pinkerton who had knocked Concord from the unbeaten ranks, and a four game league winning streak going up against a 2-4-1 Lancer team.  However, those records are somewhat deceptive, as Hanover had squeaked by some lesser hyphenated teams while Londonderry owned a tie against Salem, and had really thus far played only the big boys on the NHIAA Division 1 circuit.  And when it was over, we once again learned that the old hockey mantra of “you can’t mail it in against anyone” is unimpeachable, as the Marauders sputtered to a 2-1 loss to fall to 6-3 in league play and 8-4 overall.

Certainly Hanover owned the better of play throughout this one, but again had trouble on the offensive end despite some line shuffling and parental prayers to the goal gods.  But clearly the Hanover boys and their parents have spent too much time over the years going to hockey games on Friday nights and Sunday mornings and not being where they should be, so all of those prayers to the goal gods were promptly ignored and Hanover found themselves knotted at 0-0 after the first.  We got a little love at the beginning of the second, when John Hill found Patrick Daly behind the net and his nifty pass found a wide open Jack Stadheim in the mid slot for a quick wrist shot score to make it 1-0.  But the gods are cruel, and soon thereafter an excruciating one minute span saw the Lancers stuff one in close, get a penalty on the play, and then score on the ensuing power play to completely upend the game sheet.  Despite heavy pressure throughout, including a 6-4 to end the game being on a man-up and pulling goalie Ben Plottner (who had another stellar performance in the loss) that’s how it ended.

And it doesn’t get any easier because once the dust settles and you’ve taken your third shower to finally clean off the Tri-Town arena stench, the boys face Trinity, Salem and Concord. So for those parents who still monitor their son’s google search history, in addition to “JLo” and “Shakira” on the list, be prepared to see search terms like “death skate”, “what is the world record for number of burpees in one hour”, “Miracle skating scene” and “hockey coach torture”. 

See you at the rink…