WEST LEBANON — A dominant third period and a three-goal, two-assist day from Griffin Auch sent the Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal boys hockey team past a frisky John Stark-Hopkinton squad, 5-1, on Saturday in an NHIAA Division III quarterfinal at Campion Rink.
Coming into Saturday’s contest, Lebanon appeared to be clear favorites on paper over the General Hawks, a team that came into the playoffs sporting a one-win record. However, an opening-round win over Monadnock-Fall Mountain proved the Hawks wouldn’t be an easy team to beat. The Raiders, on the other hand, had a first-round bye after an 8-3-1 regular-season record.
The Raiders kept the pressure on the Hawks’ defense in the opening period, keeping the puck down in the offensive end. Lebanon coach Jim Damren said this was part of the strategy: “We went in wanting to get pucks deep, which would hopefully create offense.”
JS-Hopkinton senior goalie Caysen Allard stopped the aggressive offensive attack, stopping 11 Lebanon shots in the first period, leaving the squads scoreless at the first intermission. Allard eventually finished the night with 32 saves.
“That goalie kept them in the game,” Damren said.
Lebanon broke through early in the second stanza when Auch scored the first of his three goals following assists from senior Andrew Duany and junior Hunter Christian with 10:12 remaining. The Hawks continued to battle, as junior Ethan Molnar sent the puck home on a two-on-one breakaway to pull even just a minute later.
Auch drew an interference penalty with 5:08 remaining in the second, and the only penalty of the game could have spelled doom for the Raiders. Instead, the hosts built momentum: Lebanon killed the JS-Hopkinton power play without allowing a single shot on goal.
From there, the Raiders busted the game wide open, scoring the contest’s final four goals with two more from Auch to complete his hat trick. The other two goals were provided by senior Jake Kriplin.
“Killing the power play definitely gave us a boost,” Damren stated. “Pretty sure we gave up no shots on the power play, which was huge.”
Auch stole the show by scoring or assisting on all five of his team’s goals. Duany finished the game with two assists, while Christian and freshman Paddy Mooney both contributed one.
Damren hopes to see more of the same heading into the next contest.
“That’s our style of play: get pucks deep, play with no whistles,” he said. “The kids did what we asked.”
Toby Cromwell recorded 17 saves in the Raiders’ net. The win moves Lebanon onto the D-III semifinals on Wednesday night at Concord’s Everett Arena.