Third Period Comeback Caps Senior Night Celebration

Junior David Lehmann scored both the tying and winning

goals on Senior Night to propel the Marauders to victory. 

On Senior Night at Campion Rink, a standing-room-only crowd saw the Hanover Marauders come back from a 1-0 third period deficit to defeat the Concord Crimson Tide 3-1. It was the third time the bitter rivals have squared off this season, with the two teams splitting one-goal victories in the previous two contests. The Marauders took the rubber game to keep their home-ice playoff hopes alive. Despite Concord leading for the majority of the game, Hanover outshot the Tide 28-15 on the evening and it was the stellar play of Crimson goaltender Spencer Burgess that nearly stole the victory for the visitors.

Riding the wave of their offensive explosion against Manchester Memorial on Saturday combined with the energy of the packed Senior-Night student section, the Marauders took it to the Tide from the opening faceoff. Hanover dominated the early action, forcing Burgess to make several strong saves to keep the Marauders off the board. Hanover outshot Concord in the early stages of the period, but couldn't break the ice with the game's first goal.

The Crimson Tide regrouped and stormed back in the latter third of the first period to regain a slight lead in shots. With just under three minutes remaining, an aggressive pinch in the Concord zone led to an odd-man rush for the Tide. Defenseman Dan Lebell pushed the puck up the left wing before passing to forward Ethan Donlon. Donlon fired the puck on senior goaltender Gabe Loud, who made the initial save, but Concord forward Cam LaRiviere was left unmarked in the slot and banged home the rebound for the 1-0 Concord lead at 12:35. The Crimson Tide outshot the Marauders 6-4 in the period and headed into the first intermission with the one-goal lead intact.

The second period saw nearly total dominance by the Marauders, who came out of the locker room seemingly determined not to let the visitors spoil their Senior Night. Several end-to-end rushes by defensemen Patrick Logan, TJ Beaver, and Will Smith nearly resulted in goals. Logan came within a late Burgess flashing glove save of tying the game on coast-to-coast carry in the middle of the period. Freshmen phenom Rowan Wilson nearly collected his second goal in as many games when he seemingly tied the game when he fought off two Tide defenders before unleashing a snap shot that seemed to hit the back of the net and bounce out, but the referees thought otherwise. Despite the Marauders doubling-up the Tide in shots on goal with a 14-7 advantage, Burgess was the man of the hour and kept the visitors clinging to their one-goal advantage as the second period drew to a close.

With more Hanover pressure and dominance of puck possession in the third period, but more Burgess saves, it looked as if the evening might end in frustration and disappointment for the Marauders and glory for Burgess in stealing a win on the road. However, the all-underclassmen line of junior David Lehmann, sophomore Elias Zinman, and freshman Owen Stadheim would steal the spotlight on Senior Night and snatch the game from the jaws of defeat. Five minutes into the final frame, Zinman began a breakout play that saw Stadheim break into the Crimson zone before passing the Lehmann who slammed the puck home for the equalizer at 5:31.

Freshman Owen Stadheim set-up both the tying and winning
goals before icing the game with an empty-net insurance goal.

Just three minutes later, it was deja vu for the Marauders as Lehmann struck again on another assist from Stadheim to take the lead. The Crimson Tide play a controversial and frustrating brand of hockey in keeping one forward out of their defensive zone and constantly floating high in hopes of gaining a breakaway. Hanover gave Concord a bitter taste of its own medicine when Stadheim gained control of the puck in his own zone and threaded a perfect lead pass to Lehmann who broke for daylight and went in alone on Burgess. Despite the junior netminder making the initial save, Lehmann pounced on his own rebound and banged it into the twine for the go-ahead goal at 8:36 and the eruption of the jubilant student section.

Despite the slim one-goal lead and Concord's ability to strike at any moment, as they evidenced in their last-minute tying goal in the two teams' previous meeting, the Marauders seemed to have the game in hand with the go-ahead goal, as the hosts were dominating puck possession and shots on goal throughout the period. However, this momentum seemed to be halted when Hanover drew a controversial and puzzling bench minor penalty for too many men on the ice at 11:13 allowing the potent Crimson Tide power play to go to work in the hopes of tying the game. However, the Marauder penalty-kill unit all but shut down the Crimson man-up attack, with Smith, Stadheim, and Logan making several key length-of-the-ice clears to force the Tide to regroup and eating up valuable minutes. In their one dangerous chance on net, Loud made the crucial save and pounced on the rebound to neutralize the threat.

One minute after killing off the penalty, the Marauders again found themselves fending off a man-up Tide when Concord coach Dunc Walsh summoned Burgess to the bench for an extra attacker. However, Logan picked up the puck in his own zone and sprung Stadheim who carried the puck up the left wing and into the Concord zone, fending off two Tide defenders before finding the back of the empty net for the insurance goal that sealed the 3-1 victory for the Marauders.

Loud made 14 saves for the win. Burgess had 25 saves on the losing end. With the win, Hanover improves to 14-6 overall, 11-5 in NHIAA Division I. Concord drops to 15-5 overall, 14-3 in Division I. The Marauders return to Campion on Friday for their final regular-season home game of the season as they host Bishop Brady in a reschedule of last Wednesday's snow-out. Game time is 3:00 PM.

Afternoon Offensive Explosion at JFK

Freshman Rowan Wilson collected his first career goal in the first. 

On a balmy February Saturday afternoon, Hanover returned to JFK arena for the fifth time this season to take on the Crusaders of Manchester Memorial. Any fears of rust settling on the Marauder offense after the ten-day, snow-aided layoff were quickly allayed as the visitors unleashed a torrent of goals and came away with a 12-1 victory, their largest goal total of the season.

Junior forward David Lehmann opened the scoring just 1:50 into the game on the second shift when he tipped in a Braxton McNulty shot from the point. Center Elias Zinman picked up the second assist. 

Just six seconds later, senior captain Patrick Logan doubled the lead when he took the feed off the faceoff from the opening goal, skated up the right wing, and sent a long wrist shot from outside the blue line that beat Memorial goaltender Lauren Calnan high. 

The onslaught continued as McNulty picked up his second point of the game when he scored on a slapshot from the same spot he set-up the opening goal. The junior blueliner took a feed from senior forward Jensen Dodge before unleashing a slapper that blew past Calnan for the 3-0 lead. Junior TJ Beaver collected the second assist.

The Crusaders looked like they might have an opportunity to claw themselves back into the game when Lehmann took an elbowing penalty at 3:58 and Memorial went on their first power play of the game. The Crusaders managed to apply some pressure in the initial moments of the man-up, clanging one shot off the post before the Marauders were able to clear the zone and shut down the pressure for the remainder of the penalty kill. 

When back to even strength, Hanover padded their lead further when freshman Rowan Wilson scored his first career varsity goal at 7:50. After fellow freshman forward Owen Stadheim brought the puck up ice and fed sophomore Charlie Plotter, the latter shot on Calnan who made the initial save and Wilson swooped in to bang in the rebound. 

Memorial freshman defender Ray Custodio picked up a cross-checking penalty at 8:24 allowing the Marauder power play to go to work for the first time on the afternoon. After extended pressure, the man-up unit broke through at 9:55 when senior captain Jonny Goff passed to Logan at the center point, who immediately fed Jake Acker at the right face off circle. The senior forward one-timed a shot past Calnan for the 5-0 lead. 

Two minutes later, the Marauders extended the lead to six when senior defenseman Will Smith walked in alone on Calnan and beat her short-side for the unassisted goal. The Marauders weren't finished as they capped their largest single-period offensive explosion of the year when Plottner picked up his second point of the night, scoring at 14:08. After Stadheim walked in alone on the left wing and took a low, hard shot that Calnan saved, Plottner was there to collect the rebound and bang it into the back of the net.  

Hanover outshot Memorial 20-4 in the opening period and scored more goals in the period than all but one total game so far this year, the 10-1 victory over Nashua North-Souhegan on January 4. 

Hanover picked up where they left off in the second with senior forward Grant Morhun picking off a Crusader breakout attempt and beating replacement goaltender Chuck Degust through the five-hole for the unassisted goal just 1:27 into the period. 

Two minutes later, Logan rushed the puck up right wing, blowing by two Memorial defenders before unleashing a slap shot on Degust. The Crusader net minder made the initial pad save, but left the rebound right in the path of a streaking Acker who banged in the rebound for his second goal of the night a double-digit lead for the Marauders. 

Another busted breakout play allowed Duncan Bailey to collect his second goal of the season just 30 second later. Failing to clear their own zone, a pinching Bailey kept the puck inside the blue line along the left-side boards. Taking a step in, the sophomore defenseman fired a wrist shot that beat Degust high and gave the Marauders their largest goal total of the season to-date with the 11-0 lead. 

The Crusaders spoiled the shutout attempt and got themselves on the board at 8:32 when junior defenseman Eric Langley brought the puck up alone through the middle of the Marauder zone and fired a slap shot that hit Marauder backstop Luke Ratliff in the mask and ricocheted into the Hanover net. 

Hans Williams scored a dazzling breakaway goal in the second.

Hanover would answer and return the lead to 11 when sophomore Hans Williams scored on a dazzling unassisted breakaway at 13:32. Picking off a point-to-point pass inside the Hanover zone, Williams took the puck coast-to-coast and broke in alone on Degust, pulling the Crusader goalie to his left with a deke before roofing the puck over him with a backhander. 

Hanover would outshoot Memorial 11-6 in the second and head into the locker room with the 12-1 advantage. 

With the game firmly in hand, and three crucial games coming up next week, the Marauders kept their starting players on the bench for the duration of the period, with the exception of Dodge who dropped back from forward to defense. Memorial mounted their largest offensive pressure in the third frame, outshooting Hanover 7-3 on the period, but Ratliff turned aside all seven to preserve the 12-1 victory. 

Hanover outshot Memorial 34-17 on the game, with Ratliff making 16 saves, Calnan 13, and Degust finishing with 9. With the victory, the Marauders improve to Record: 13-6, 10-5 in NHIAA Division I. The loss drops the Crusaders to 2-17 overall, 1-15 in Division I play. Next up for the Marauders will be a crucial Division I rematch with Concord at home on Wednesday, February 22. The Marauders hope to take the rubber match on Senior Night after splitting their two matchups with the Crimson Tide so far this season. Game time will be 6:30. 

Tide Shocks Marauders in OT

Sophomore forward Elias Zinman scored the Marauders' first

goal and was a force on the forecheck all evening. 

As always, the Hanover-Concord game was a knock-down, drag-out brawl, with the visiting Marauders coming within 90 seconds of a crucial win on the road only to see first the lead and then the game slip away as they dropped a heartbreaker in overtime to second-place Concord on Wednesday evening at Everett Arena.

The Crimson Tide got on the board early, scoring on just the second shift of the game. Speedy forward Colin Kastle evaded a body check on the left-wing boards, putting the puck through a Hanover defender's legs and circling behind the net. The move got the Hanover defense out of shape, and Kastle sent the puck to defenseman Cormick McGonigle at the right faceoff circle. The blueliner fired the puck on Hanover's Gabe Loud, who made the initial save, but unmarked Trevor Bickford banged in the rebound at 1:49 for the 1-0 Concord lead.

On the other end of the ice, Tide netminder Griffin Gilbert was the star of the show, making 8 saves on the period, but several of them show-stoppers. With two minutes remaining, senior forward Jake Acker nearly tied the game when left alone in the slot and fired a quick wrist shot, but Gilbert made the save. One minute later, Gilbert robbed David Lehmann on a similar play. Lehmann was alone on the doorstep and fired toward an open half of the net, but Gilbert flashed out his glove and snagged the puck out of the air. The teams entered the first intermission with the 1-0 Concord lead intact, and with the Tide holding a slim 9-8 advantage in shots.

Hanover showed their recent second-period surge and tied the game just 2:12 into the middle inning. Sophomore speedster Elias Zinman poked the puck away from a Tide defenseman at the Hanover blue line and took the puck all the way into the Crimson zone on the right wing. Blowing past the last defender and breaking in on Gilbert, Zinman pushed a shot past the lanky goaltender that beat him through the pads and trickled over the goal line.

Nine and half minutes later, Hanover took the lead on a 5-on-3 powerplay goal. With Andy Cole already in the Concord box, Tide captain Alex Marceau took a tripping penalty to put the Marauders two men up for over a minute. Just seconds into the two-man advantage, defenseman Will Smith fed the puck to the point to defenseman Patrick Logan. Logan faked the shot and passed low to Acker, who fed across the slot to senior Jon Goff, who one-timed the puck home for the 2-1 Hanover lead.

With three seconds left in the period, Concord coach Dunc Walsh incurred a bench penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct when the officials had finally had enough of his constant berating. Hanover headed into the final intermission with the 2-1 lead and 1:57 of powerplay remaining to start the third period. Concord again held a one-shot advantage in the second, outshooting the Marauders 11-10.

Despite starting the period with the man advantage, Concord definitely got the better of the Marauders in the third. The hosts outshot the visitors 14-6 on the period  and controlled the puck for the bulk of the period. However, the Hanover defense and Loud kept the Tide off the scoreboard and Hanover hung on to the one-goal lead for nearly the duration of the period. With the clock ticking down to the final minute, it looked as if the Marauders would weather the third-period storm and drive home with a crucial league win. However, with under 90 seconds to play, an odd bounce on a breakout play came straight to Tide forward Drew Livingston at the Hanover blue line. Livingston sent the puck to an open Marceau who walked in alone on Loud and scored low on the near post.

Hanover came into overtime determined to recapture the momentum and created several good scoring chances. However, Gilbert continued to impress and kept the Crimson Tide alive in sudden death. Five minutes into the period, Concord's counterattack launched a shot on Loud, who made the sprawling save. However, the rebound squirted just out of his control, and out of sight of the Marauder defenders. Cole swooped in and banged in the rebound at 5:28 of overtime to snatch the victory for the Tide.

Loud finished with 34 saves on the night, while Gilbert stopped 27. With the loss, Hanover drops to 10-5 overall, 7-4 in NHIAA Division I. Concord improves to 13-3, 12-1 in division play. The Marauders have a rare Saturday night off this week with their next game coming the following Wednesday when they return to Campion to face the Giants of Bishop Brady. Game time is 6:30.