Written by March 05, 2023 – NHIAA Hockey Final Four 2024. Check out the NHIAA Hockey Tournament Brackets.
Goffstown at Oyster River. Whittemore Center. UNH. 2024. (Photo by Meagan Tarrier)
It’s NHIAA Hockey Tournament time!
D1 Boys NHIAA Hockey Final Four –
#8 Keene kept their win-to-see-another-day streak alive and got past #9 Salem, 3-2, but then were shut down by #1 Windham, 3-0. #5 Hanover went down to Skate 3 and took out #4 Bishop Guertin by a score of 5-2. Hanover will face Windham in the first SemiFinal at JFK.
#10 Pinkerton got by #7 Manchester, 3-2, then they were run out of the building, 7-0 by #2 Londonderry. #11 Exeter upset #6 Bow, 4-1, and then had to play #3 Concord. Exeter beat Concord, 4-3 in OT to advance. Exeter beat Concord, 4-3 in the 3rd place game at the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Tournament as well. Exeter will play Londonderry in the second SF at JFK.
D2 Boys NHIAA Hockey Final Four –
Sometimes playoff hockey looks like this. Like a team literally had nothing left to give just to get a playoff win. On Wednesday night, (#8) Spaulding needed overtime to beat (#9) Somersworth-Coe-Brown, 3-2, just for the chance to play the #1 team on Saturday.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, and well into the evening, (#8) Spaulding and (#1) Merrimack left everything on the ice, in the stands, and everywhere else, as Spaulding won, 3-2 in the 2nd OT. Incredible battle of wills and skills.
Or it looks like, (#5) Dover going up north to play (#4) Lebanon-Stevens in the quarterfinals after losing to them just two weeks earlier. Then Carter Bell scores for Dover to go up, 2-1 in the second period, and the defending champs made that stand up, on the road.
How about (#6) Alvirne-Milford traveling over to Phillips Exeter, getting outshot 50-18, scoring 3 goals in four and half minutes, and upsetting (#3) Winnacunnet on their home ice? The Admirals had lost 4-2 at Winnacunnet in January. It’s Playoff hockey.
In the first SemiFinal at Everett Arena, #8 Spaulding will play #5 Dover. Spaulding tied Dover, 3-3 on December 20th, then two months later, Dover spanked the Red Raiders, 7-3.
In the second SF at Everett, #2 Oyster River will play #6 Alvirne-Milford. Oyster River beat my beloved Grizzlies, 4-2 in the QF. During the season, the Bobcats scored a pair of 3rd period goals on the road, to beat the Admirals, 3-2 on February 3rd.
D3 Boys NHIAA Hockey Final Four –
#5 Kingswood upset #4 Kennett, 1-0. Kennett had beaten Kingswood twice in the regular season. They will meet #1, and undefeated Berlin-Gorham who had a bye. They will play in the first SemiFinal at Plymouth State University.
#2 Pembroke-Campbell beat #7 Hollis Brookline-Derryfield, 2-0. They will play against #6 Kearsarge-Plymouth who traveled to Merrill Fay and beat #3 Belmont-Gilford, 4-3. Kearsarge-Plymouth had lost five straight games to finish the season, including one to Belmont-Gilford. Pembroke-Campbell outscored the Cats, 9-1 during the season, winning both games. But this is playoff hockey. They will play the second SF at PSU.
D1 Girls NHIAA Hockey Final Four –
#1 Pinkerton handled #9 Kingswood-Prospect Mtn., 6-3 after allowing a pair of power play goals in the 3rd period. Kingswood had knocked off #8 Bishop Brady-Trinity-Londonderry, 4-3 in the first round. #4 Oyster River-Portsmouth beat #5 Berlin-Gorham-Kennett, 3-2 in OT, in the strangest ending to a game that I have ever seen. Honestly, I am not sure that Berlin-Gorham-Kennett didn’t actually win that game. Either way, in the first SemiFinal (Tonight) at Everett Arena, Pinkerton will play Oyster River-Portsmouth, unless the Berlin team shows up instead. Oyster River-Portsmouth crushed Pinkerton in the playoffs last season, 10-2.
#7 Lebanon-Stevens-Kearsarge won, 2-0 in their first round win, then they were shutout, 3-0 by #2 Hanover in the QF. #6 Exeter beat #11 Concord, 3-1, and then they fell to #3 Bishop Guertin, 4-1 on Friday. Hanover hasn’t lost to a NH team this season, while allowing 8 total goals against. Hanover will play Bishop Guertin in the second SF tonight.
I do know this, that whether a school, or combination of schools, has a history of winning NHIAA Hockey titles or not, there are always outstanding games, performances, and surprises in every tournament. Every single season, players and teams are making history.
Get out to the venues and see some tremendous high school hockey and support these outstanding student athletes having the times of their lives. Best wishes to all the teams competing for the title in their respective divisions.
Now, Go and get it!
NHIAA Hockey Tournament Bracket D1 – Girls Ice Hockey
NHIAA Hockey Tournament Bracket D1 – Boys Ice Hockey
NHIAA Hockey Tournament Bracket D2 – Boys Ice Hockey
NHIAA Hockey Tournament Bracket D3 – Boys Ice Hockey
The symmetry and design of Everett Arena always intrigues me. It’s a great place to watch hockey. © 1inawesomewonder 2022.
The current look at my ‘hockey office’. So many hours spent in this space, tracking numbers and capturing season after season. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2023.
The beginning of every article. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2017.
The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors, mostly mine, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the schools, coaches, players, or characters listed in any of these blog posts. Or, maybe they do, but you would have to ask them directly.
Either way, “It’s a great day for hockey” ~ the late “Badger” Bob Johnson.
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