West Lebanon
Nine Hanover seniors were forced to part with their uniforms for the last time on Saturday following Bishop Guertin’s 6-2 NHIAA Division I quarterfinal victory over the Marauders at James Campion Rink.
“It’s my last year,” said senior Casey Starr, a Hanover goalscorer on Saturday. “It’s my friends’ last year. We wanted to keep playing. … I’m never gonna skate again, not like that, so yeah, it certainly hurts.”
Saturday afternoon’s matchup between the No. 4-seeded Marauders (13-6 in NHIAA Division 1, 16-7 overall) and the fifth-seeded Cardinals (12-5-2 in NHIAA) was one-sided early on, with the guests holding a 5-0 lead after two periods.
It was the first contest of the season in which the Marauders gave up more than three goals. Hanover, led by 35th-year coach Dick Dodds, set a program record with only 33 goals allowed on the campaign (besting the previous mark of 38).
The formidable defensive streak was to no avail Saturday against an impressive Bishop Guertin squad which lost to Hanover, 3-2, back on Jan. 21 in West Lebanon.
“The biggest thing was (the Cardinals’) speed and their physical play,” Dodds said. “We had a hard time getting poised and confident with the puck like we had been all year long. They took our time and our space away in a hurry.”
Bishop Guertin, which will advance to face top-seeded defending champion Bedford in the semifinals, scored at the opening period’s 7:20 and 11:54 marks. Cam Fagan and Austin King, respectively, were responsible for the damage.
Hanover’s offensive futility reared its head during one stretch in the first period when Bishop Guertin had two players in the penalty box for 1:37.
The hosts failed to convert during the two-man advantage, then gave up an awkward bouncing-puck goal.
Things got bleaker in the second period when BG’s Ben Peterson scored twice and Fagan added another tally.
“We started out kind of slow,” Starr said. “Their goals kept piling on, and we couldn’t find any rhythm.”
The Marauders — playing before a huge home crowd — broke up Bishop Guertin’s shutout bid with goals from Starr and Rowan Wilson.
Starr’s goal came at the third period’s 7:49 mark when he converted a loose puck directly in front of the Cardinal goal.
“The puck fell right into crease, and I just poked it in,” Starr said. “It was basically my teammates doing all the work for me and me just being in the right place at the right time.”
Pat Logan and Owen Stadheim were credited with the assists.
Wilson scored his goal — from the inside edge of the left circle — with 12:16 elapsed in the third period off a helper from Jonathan Goff. Hanover had pulled its goalie a moment earlier.
“We were trying to still win,” Dodds responded when asked if shattering a would-be shutout motivated his squad late in the contest. “Start at one (goal) and build up. … That was probably our best period. We changed things around a little bit, got a little more offensive, took a couple of more chances and managed to get a couple of goals. I was proud of the way the kids hung with it.”
Hanover goalie Luke Ratliff returned to the ice after the goal, but then vacated again before Ryan Flynn scored a late goal for BG. Ratliff and starter Gabe Loud combined for 21 saves.
Bishop Guertin was penalized seven times (to Hanover’s four), but the Marauders scored just one power-play goal.
Goff, who spoke of his pride for Hanover’s hockey program and the role it plays in his hometown, donned a postseason mullet along with his teammates.
“It started last year,” Goff said. “A few people did it, but this year it really took off and everyone did it.
“This is fixable,” he added, mustering a smile and pointing to his hair.
Notes: The Marauders got their season off to a slow start, losing three of their first five games before a five-game win streak. Hanover rode a four-game win streak into Saturday’s quarterfinal loss. … The Marauders’ last championship was in 2006. They were the runner-up in 2009 and 2011. … Hanover had six players finish with double digits in points: Jake Acker (13 goals and 11 assists), Will Smith (10 goals, 12 assists), Goff (nine goals, 11 assists), Logan (seven goals, 13 assists), David Lehmann (eight goals, 10 assists) and Stadheim (three goals, 12 assists).