WEST LEBANON — Resiliency was the name of the game for Hanover’s boys hockey team as they overcame multiple deficits against Exeter and pulled out a 4-3 victory at James W. Campion III Rink on Wednesday night.
With just under two minutes left in regulation and the Bears on the power play, a rocket of a shot from junior Tim Rudd that appeared to careen off a Blue Hawk defender, found the back of the net to break a 3-3 tie and ultimately give Hanover the win.
“I’m real happy, real proud of the way the boys played today. We kept falling behind… and I think for the third consecutive game we got the game-winning goal in the final couple of minutes,” said Hanover coach Dick Dodds.
“It’s challenging to score but especially so late, so to know that we can do that and to know that we have the grit and the gumption to do that,” he added. “I’m proud of the boys.”
Senior Ronan Przydzielski led the way for the Bears offensively with two goals and an assist on the night. Junior Jonny Woolsey also found the back of the net for his squad, while sophomore Andy Zhang, sophomore Isaac McNaughton, and senior goaltender Jorgen Drent each had an assist.
Things did not start well for the Bears, as Exeter struck first about two and a half minutes into the game on a nice shot from sophomore Cam Knowles to go up 1-0.
The Bears battled to even the game and eventually broke through on a rip by Woolsey to tie the game at 1-1 with 3:48 remaining in the first period.
The tie game was short-lived, though. Two minutes later the Blue Hawks scored again, this time on a shot from senior Noah Bolduc, to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.
Exeter had some golden opportunities to build on its lead early in the second period. None was better than a sequence around the 10:15 mark when a puck took a funny bounce near the crease, and Drent could not locate it.
However, the Blue Hawks could not get the puck past the Bears’ netminder, and they would pay for it. Thirty seconds later, the Bears tied the game on one of Przydzielski’s goals.
The contest remained at a 2-2 stalemate until a few minutes had elapsed in the third period. Once again, Exeter took a lead, this time with 10:33 remaining in regulation.
In the end, it was the Hanover power play, which has not been producing points, that would get the job done.
The Bears took advantage of an Exeter interference infraction, and Przydzielski scored again to tie the game with 6:08 left in the third period.
That set the stage for the game-winner, which also came on the power play as a result of a Blue Hawk trip.
“Our power play has been struggling all year, and tonight it won us the game,” Dodds said. “That was really encouraging to see because we spent a lot of time working on it.”
Hanover’s (4-3) win over Exeter marks their fourth in a row, and the Bears will attempt to keep their streak alive Saturday when they go on the road for a battle with Bedford at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re pretty excited, especially recently… we’re starting to play the game the right way,” Dodds said. “We’re really excited about the rest of the season — we’re really looking forward to it.”
Following the game, members of the Hanover Bears spoke about mental health as Wednesday’s contest was its mental health awareness or “#StickItToStigma” game.
As part of the game, information about mental health was shared between periods, and representatives from Connor’s Climb Foundation were in the Campion lobby with resources.
The foundation’s mission is to “provide suicide prevention education by raising awareness, reducing stigma, and equipping youth, educators, and the community at large with tools and resources focused on the vulnerable age group of 10-24 year-olds, to New Hampshire and bordering communities,” per its website.
“We all know how hard it can be to talk about mental health, and we hope tonight was the start of a new tradition at Hanover High to stick it to stigma and promote conversations about mental health,” Przydzielski said after the game.