Hanover girls hockey blanks Bishop Brady-Trinity-West in battle of top teams

HOOKSETT - After the Bishop Brady-Trinity-Manchester West girls hockey team concluded its regular-season campaign Tuesday afternoon, coach Dan Earley had no doubt who the top squad in the division is. According to Earley, it is eight-time defending champion Hanover.

Earley saw what the Marauders can do firsthand Tuesday when they cruised to a 6-0 triumph over Bishop Brady-Trinity-West at Tri-Town Ice Arena.

“That is the best team,” Earley said of Hanover. “There’s no question in my mind.”

Hanover (14-1-1) scored late in the first period and erupted for three goals in the second frame to take a 4-0 lead into the final 15 minutes.

Hanover spent the majority of each period in the offensive zone, finishing with a 37-9 shots advantage. Bishop Brady-Trinity-West (14-2-1) found itself bottled up in its own end for long stretches and had to rely on counter rushes to generate its few offensive chances.

Emma Tysinger built a 2-0 Hanover advantage 7:07 into the middle period when she scored a power-play goal from the slot off a centering pass from Briland Laycock. Kelly Citera tallied a goal of her own 1:01 after Tysinger’s to build a three-goal Marauders advantage. Laycock, a senior tri-captain, capped Hanover’s second-period scoring at the 9:36 mark.

Earley felt Hanover’s depth advantage came into play in the second period. The Marauders roll three offensive lines. Bishop Brady-Trinity-West’s top line of Mary Anne Wiley, Sydney Herrington and Lauren Trippiedi played nearly the entire game.

“They beat you down,” Earley said of the Marauders. “They have three lines that keep coming.”

Hanover senior tri-captain Cate Wagner, who finished with two goals and an assist, scored on the power play and freshman Sage McGinley-Smith added an even-strength tally over the opening 6:47 of the third period. McGinley-Smith’s tally sent the game into running time.

The Marauders’ scoring frenzy began with their late first-period goal.

It took Hanover 14 tries but it finally put the puck past Bishop Brady-Trinity-West freshman goaltender Emily Senko (31 saves) with 2:01 left in the first period to open the game’s scoring. Wagner redirected a Bryn Kable blast from the right point into the lower right corner of the Bishop Brady-Trinity-West goal.

“Their goalie was playing well. We missed the net a few times and then when we finally got one, it kind of relaxed us a little bit,” Hanover coach John Dodds said. “Sometimes that helps. And then they came out a little bit more urgency in the second period.”

Senior linemates Mary Anne Wiley and Sydney Herrington had the best chances to put Bishop Brady-Trinity-West on the board.

Wiley shot wide right of goal following her and Herrington’s two-on-one counter rush with 3:30 remaining in the opening period. Herrington was denied from the doorstep by a pad save from Hanover freshman netminder Rebekah Rudd (nine saves) at the 2:30 mark of the second frame. Herrington’s second-period chance was set up by a pass from Wiley.

The Marauders often had two skaters pressure Wiley, Herrington or Trippiedi whenever one of them had the puck. Dodds said Herrington is a threat whenever she is on the ice and he felt the Marauders did a good job of not giving her too much space to get loose.

“They didn’t let us have any open ice,” Earley said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”