CONCORD — Tears continued to flow in the Hanover High girls hockey locker room at Everett Arena on Tuesday, 15 minutes after the fourth-seeded Marauders’ 4-3 NHIAA Division I semifinal loss to top-seeded Concord. The emotion was understandable, for the result snapped Hanover’s 10-year reign as state champion.
“We got beat by a better team,” said Marauders coach John Dodds, whose squad finished the season 12-5-2, with part of its schedule played against out-of-state foes. “Everybody has such high expectations because it’s Hanover and what we’ve done in the past, but this was a new team.
“At the beginning of the year, I don’t think you could expect we’d win the state tournament with all the new players and where we were.”
A scoreless first period gave way to a disastrous second frame for Hanover, which was outshot, 15-3, in the middle stanza and surrendered three goals during a four-minute span. That’s more than the Marauders surrendered in 11 different games this season.
Concord’s first tally came with six minutes remaining in the second period. A failed clearing attempt up the right sidewall led to Joanna Dustin’s quick pass out front to an unguarded Maria Armaganian. She beat goaltender Rebekah Rudd on the glove side at the near post.
The Crimson Tide (18-2-0) doubled its lead two minutes later. Amy Cohen easily passed across the slot from right to left to an open Emma LaRiviere, who shot past Rudd and into the net’s gaping left side. Concord held a 16-4 shot advantage at this point.
The hosts went up, 3-0, with Hanover’s Kali McDonnell in the penalty box for hooking. Diminutive Jaelyn Kelleher, a junior who appeared generously listed at 5-feet-1, threw a long shot at Rudd from the right wall, the puck striking the netminder and going in at the near post.
The Crimson Tide is “quick on the puck, and sometimes we got caught puck-watching,” Dodds said. “We weren’t reacting and our heads weren’t on a swivel and, next thing you know, someone’s uncovered.
“Concord’s very aggressive, with their defense coming into the (offensive) zone. The first game, we took advantage of that with a couple of breakaways, but today we weren’t able to make them pay.”
Hanover started the third period down, 21-6, in shots. The situation became worse when Kelleher roared up the left wing, turned the corner on defender Danielle Rudd and fired the puck along the ice and through Rebekah Rudd’s pads.
What would become the winning strike was Concord’s first shot of the period. It came shorthanded and with fewer than two minutes elapsed.
Hanover rallied when Christina Chow put in the rebound of her own long shot from the right wing with nine minutes remaining. There were three minutes to go when the visitors pulled within 4-2 on Mackenzie Liu’s rush on net from the right side.
The contest’s final tally came 47 seconds later when Sage McGinley-Smith walked in from atop the left circle and unleashed a successful backhand shot.
“I think they just made up their minds they were going to do something,” Dodds said of his players’ late explosion. “I almost felt like once we got one goal, everything opened up, but it was too little, too late.
“I’m awful proud of them. That’s a good group of kids who have come such a long way this year.”
Only when prodded did Dodds address a subject that clearly sticks in his craw. How, when the NHIAA requires neutral sites for semifinal and final contests, did Concord get to play such a game on its home ice?
“I don’t feel good about it, and it’s certainly not fair,” said the 15th-year coach. “There were about five of their fans for every one of ours. I realize it’s hard to find a neutral site, but this is anything but that.”
Notes: Concord finished with a 24-13 shot advantage. … Hanover will lose seniors Chow, Meredith Morhun, Pepper Joseph and Georgia Flynn. … The Marauders, who lost seven seniors after last season, entered the game having won 11 of the 12 NHIAA titles since girls hockey established a formalized postseason in the state. … Hanover played with seven players in their first varsity season this winter. … Concord reached its first state title game since 2008. … Marauders assistant Tessa Hill, who played for the team as a teenager, flew back to New Hampshire from California on Tuesday and was working on an hour’s sleep when the first puck dropped.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.