WEST LEBANON — The Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal boys hockey team extended its season Wednesday with a 3-2 defeat of Portsmouth-Newmarket during a first-round playoff game at Campion Rink.
Griffin Auch fired the winning shot through a screen in the slot with six minutes to play, sending the eighth-seeded Raiders to face top-seeded Keene on Saturday. Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal upset the sick, shorthanded Blackbirds, 5-0, on Feb. 26 at Campion.
“We do a lot of practice drills where there’s a trailing player and it played out perfectly on that play,” said Raiders coach Jim Damren, whose team improved to 8-9-1 in state play and 8-11-1 overall. “Tonight wasn’t always good, but it was good enough.”
Lebanon rallied from a 1-0, first-period deficit with an Andrew Duany goal off an Auch assist four minutes before the first intermission. Down, 2-1, the Raiders again forged a tie, this time when Will McGee struck off a Brian Daly feed with a minute remaining in the middle stanza.
The winning play began when Duany rushed between the circles but had the puck knocked off his stick. The biscuit kicked back to the high slot while Duany and two defenders became entangled, providing a thicket through which Auch unloaded. The hosts used only two lines most of the way, changing them at almost every whistle.
“We’ve still got a lot of guys sick,” said Damren, who emerged from a locker room rife with coughs, sneezes and retching. “Our guys are in good shape, but 45 seconds is about all we can go at a quality pace.”
Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal, which ended the Clipper Mules’ season at 7-12, is unlikely to receive a warm welcome Saturday at the Keene Community Ice Arena. The Blackbirds are 12-3-2.
“They will have a gigantic fan base and it will be a hostile environment,” Damren said. “They remember what happened a week ago, and they’re going to be champing at the bit to show us it was a fluke.”
WEST LEBANON — An uncharacteristically mediocre season ended with an unhappy thud Wednesday for the Hanover High boys hockey team.
Trailing by a goal after one period, the eighth-seeded Marauders suffered a 7-0 loss to Pinkerton Academy during an NHIAA Division I first-round playoff game.
Ninth-seeded Pinkerton (11-8) began the game with an all-out forecheck, similar to a full-court press in basketball.
All five Astros charged into the Hanover zone, leaving the Marauders scrambling to retain possession and break out of their end.
“That’s the way to do it in playoff hockey,” said Hanover coach Dick Dodds, whose team lost six of its final nine games. “They were physical early and it put us on our heels and it’s tough to play like that the majority of the game.”
The Astros opened the scoring with four minutes remaining in the first period when Scott Cavan raced through the left circle and fired inside the near post against goaltender Ben Plottner.
Pinkerton doubled its lead 51 seconds into the second period when Jack Normand finished a 2 on 1 break inside the right pipe.
“They’re quick and their first line is really good and they put a hurting on us,” Dodds said. “If you’re not sharp, they can put a crooked number up on the scoreboard in a hurry.”
The score moved to 3-0 with seven minutes remaining in the second period, Joseph Mara parking himself at the back door and tapping in a feed.
The visitors notched their fourth tally just 11 seconds into the third period and their fifth slightly more than a minute later.
“We were re-energized and then, boom,” Dodds said. “They got one on the first shift in two periods.”
The final two goals came a minute apart, midway through the final stanza, and prompted running time to begin. Diminutive Hanover freshman Jack Stadheim stood out throughout the game, absorbing a pounding but twice returning to action after suffering injuries.
“He’s pound-for-pound the toughest kid I’ve ever coached,” Dodds said. “He has a huge heart. He’s always the first on the rink at practice, not by five minutes but by 35 minutes.
“Our guys worked hard and Pinkerton earned it. I enjoyed every minute of this season with a group of kids who will go a long ways in life. It was fun to help them grow up just a little bit.”
Pinkerton, which lost to visiting Hanover, 3-2, on Jan. 18, advances to face top-seeded Concord on Saturday night at Everett Arena.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.