MANCHESTER — The Hanover High boys were playing their best hockey of the year entering Wednesday evening’s NHIAA Division I semifinal, but even the Bears’ best might not have been a match for top-seeded Concord.
And No. 4 seed Hanover was not at its best Wednesday. The newly rechristened Bears, in head coach Dick Dodds’s words, had their “skates in the mud” early on, falling behind by two goals in the first period and never recovering in a season-ending 5-1 defeat at JFK Memorial Coliseum.
“Their depth is incredible; they move pucks well,” Dodds said of the two-time defending champion Crimson Tide. “It’s a real challenge getting pucks through to the net. Defensively, they’re always on open men, and offensively, they’re two or three plays ahead.”
Hanover (13-8-1) bounced back nicely from a 3-9-0 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, which ended with a first-round playoff loss to Concord. With only one senior last year, the Bears had plenty of returning experience, and after a slow start — including a pair of losses to the Crimson Tide, one of which came in a holiday tournament at JFK — Hanover entered the semifinals with eight wins and a tie in its past nine games.
That tie also came against Concord, as the Bears became the first team to earn a point against the Tide. But in the teams’ fourth meeting of the season, Hanover was quickly outclassed.
Senior goaltender Luke Ives kept things scoreless early with a number of impressive saves — he made 16 in the first period alone — but Concord’s pressure just kept coming. With around six minutes to play in the opening period, senior Matt Walsh turned the puck over in the Bears’ defensive zone, and the Tide’s Cam McGonigle jumped on it and scored the game’s first goal.
Just over two minutes later, Concord co-captain Brooks Craigue was first to reach a loose puck in front of the net and put it home to make it a two-goal game at the first intermission.
“(Ives) played well,” Dodds said. “He’s a very athletic goaltender, and he was tested tonight. He’s played that way for us all year.”
Hanover started the second period with most of a power play left over, but instead of halving the deficit, the Bears allowed a shorthanded goal. Concord’s A.J. Fennelly came on the counterattack and beat Ives with a shot from the left point, and all of a sudden Hanover trailed by three.
The Bears did find the scoreboard shortly thereafter on an unassisted goal by senior Van Bailey, his fifth of the year. Ives helped keep it from getting worse by making several saves on a Crimson Tide power play later in the second, and Hanover was within striking distance with 15 minutes to play.
“We started to turn things around a little bit in the second period, but giving up that shorthanded goal early hurt,” Dodds said. “Our offense started clicking better, but you just can’t play catch-up against Concord. You don’t want to fall behind.”
The Tide restored their three-goal lead just 17 seconds into a power play early in the third, then added a fifth goal for good measure with just under eight minutes to go. Concord will play for its third straight state championship on Saturday as it tries to build a dynasty similar to that of a certain college football team with which it shares a nickname.
Hanover graduates 13 seniors, a core group that has played together for a long time. The Bears last won a title in 2018 — their sixth under Dodds, who just completed his 40th season behind the Hanover bench. Dodds suffered a heart attack in early November and coached practice from off the ice before putting on skates again in early January.
“The season was terrific,” Dodds said. “The boys really turned it around, and that speaks volumes for the seniors and the leadership. The veterans really stepped up and played their hearts out for us this year.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.