WEST LEBANON — A defensive-zone faceoff doesn’t seem like a prime scoring opportunity for the team defending. Bishop Guertin High turned that notion on its head in a 6-1 boys hockey win over Hanover at Campion Rink on Wednesday evening.
Back-to-back wins in D-end draws resulted in first-period goals 33 seconds apart to erase an early Marauder advantage. That kick-started a BG charge to victory in the first of two games between the NHIAA Division I foes this week.
Six different skaters dented the net for the Cardinals (8-2-0).
Alex Rockmore provided the only marker for Hanover (3-6-0).
“They’re just really great on the faceoffs, and they did that a lot of times tonight,” Hanover coach Dick Dodds said. “They win a D-zone draw, and four seconds later, the puck is in the back of our net. They’re just explosive, strong kids, physical, fast, and they’re always thinking offense, from every dot.”
Despite spending an extended time in its own end at the start, Hanover hustle resulted in an early 1-0 lead.
Junior wing Jackson Fisher forced a turnover from BG defender Austin Abbott on a forecheck only to lose his edge on a move toward goal.
Fisher maintained his composure enough to shove the puck to a wide-open Rockmore for a one-time, hash-mark finish at 3:11, his team-best sixth goal of the campaign.
The Cards’ faceoff smarts and foot speed turned the game around the first-period’s midway point.
Center Derek Amaral won a draw to goaltender John Casey’s right, stepping around his Hanover opposite and feeding wing Sean Kelley down the left wing once into neutral ice. Kelley sped down the flank and snapped a wrist shot over Hanover goalie Luke Ives (24 saves) to tie the game at 7:59.
Moments later, it happened again.
The win this time came to Casey’s left, and BG spun the puck around to the right wing for Quinn Cepiel, who beat Ives between the wickets at 8:32 after skating in alone from beyond the Hanover blue line.
“We want to win the draw, tie up the opponent and then go away from the crowd,” BG coach Gary Bishop said. “Most kids get it and they want to go right up where there’s 10 people standing. We want our weak-side wing to just get over to the far boards, wrap it around to him and get it out of the zone quickly. If you don’t get it out quickly, it’s going to come back to haunt you.”
Back-to-back minor penalties haunted the Marauders early in the second period.
The Cards’ Declan Wilkie capitalized on the latter, polishing off Dan Woodford’s behind-the net feed on the power play at 5:45 for a 3-1 cushion.
Sophomore Jack Stadheim presented the Marauders with a late second-stanza opportunity with his tenacity, drawing two minor penalties in a 42-second stretch to give Hanover a two-man power play.
Curtis Rice drilled a deflected shot off the outside of the Guertin goal, the closest the Marauders came to converting.
The visitors closed out the game with three third-period strikes, from Christian Millward at 3:41, John Mantone at 9:28 and Amaral at 12:50. Casey recorded 27 saves in the Bishop Guertin goal.
“They caught us flat-footed,” Dodds said. “We made some decisions that are uncharacteristic for us, and they took advantage of them.”
Dodds isn’t looking at Hanover’s record with concern given the NHIAA is holding open tournaments as a COVID-19 pandemic adjustment this season.
Win-loss marks will matter less than how well the veteran coach’s team is playing when the playoffs start in two weeks.
“We want to win; we’re trying to win,” Dodds said. “But at the same time, the idea is just to get better and get used to playing.
“I love our schedule. We play the toughest teams in Division I every night. And some people may not think that’s great, but I love it. I think our kids do, too.”
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Ice Chips: The NHIAA has confirmed neutral sites for the semifinal and championship rounds of its state hockey tournaments. D-I will go to Manchester’s JFK Arena, D-II will be at Dover Arena, and the D-III and girls tourneys will close at Concord’s Everett Arena. … Without access to its usual home rink in Tyngsborough, Mass., the Cards have moved home games to Hudson’s Cyclones Arena. The Marauders will visit BG there on Saturday.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.