Written by March 07, 2023 – NHIAA Hockey Finals 2024 – SNHU Arena. Check out the NHIAA Hockey Tournament Brackets.
There is one day left in the 2023-2024 NHIAA Hockey season. And everything will be decided on the ice at SNHU Arena on Saturday, March 9th.
It’s NHIAA Hockey Tournament time! Teams have played, battled, given all, and now the Finals are set! On to SNHU Arena.
D1 Boys NHIAA Hockey Finals 2024 –
Is this the classic scenario of #1 plays #2 for the Championship? Then add the fact that Mammoth Road, where Londonderry High School sits, also runs right through Windham. Then, not long ago, Windham kids went to school at Pinkerton, and of course everyone know about the Londonderry vs. Pinkerton rivalry. These two schools are less than 6 miles apart as the crow flies, and they will both travel to Manchester on Saturday.
Anyways, #1 Windham finished the regular season on a 12-0-1 roll. They beat #2 Londonderry, 4-0 during the season. And in fact, they have thrown up 7 shutouts this season. But the Lancers are clicking right now, with a 13-1 scoring advantage through two playoff games. Something will have to give in the Final. These two teams will meet in the last game of the day, at 5:00 pm on Saturday, March 9th, at SNHU Arena.
D2 Boys NHIAA Hockey Finals 2024 –
Sometimes playoff hockey looks like this. #8 Spaulding upset #5 Dover (Defending Champs), 3-1 in the SF. The Red Raiders have won 3 games in the playoffs already. Here are some interesting facts that make the last sentence almost inconceivable. Spaulding lost 6 of their last 8 games to finish the regular season. And get this, they had exactly ONE win against the D2 Playoff field during the season, a 5-4 win over Alvirne-Milford back in January. Yet, here they are in the D2 Final.
The other Finalist in D2 is #2 Oyster River. Now, the Bobcats, they are on a run of a different kind. They had a regular season record of, 13-3-2. Their 3 losses came against the #1, #3, and #4 teams in the standings. They won their last 8 games of the regular season.
These teams played twice in the regular season. At Spaulding they played to a 1-1 tie in early January. Then five weeks later, Oyster River won, 2-1 at home. The Bobcats are 5-1 in one-goal games this season, while Spaulding does one-goal games all the time, with a record of 5-6. These teams will meet at 12:15 pm on Saturday, March 9th, at SNHU Arena.
D3 Boys NHIAA Hockey Finals 2024 –
Here we have another case of #1 vs. #2. #1 Berlin-Gorham scored late in the 3rd period of the SF to beat Kingswood, 1-0, and advance to their 5th straight D3 Championship game. They had a bye in the QF round. The most storied town in NH high school hockey history hasn’t lost a league game since last season’s Final.
Then there is #2 Pembroke-Campbell. They went 13-4-0 during the regular season and edged #3 Belmont-Gilford by a margin of 0.0032 points in the ratings to get the #2 seed. The PAC Spartans-Cougars only lost 4 games this season and they all came against B-G (Berlin-Gorham and Belmont-Gilford).
To my knowledge, this is the first ice hockey Finals appearance for Pembroke-Campbell. They are 2-0 in the playoffs, winning by a combined, 7-0 advantage. You will have to show up and see what gives on Saturday, when #1 Berlin-Gorham plays #2 Pembroke-Campbell at 2:45 pm, March 9th, at SNHU Arena.
D1 Girls NHIAA Hockey Finals 2024 –
I have only watched half a dozen or so Girls hockey games this season. In that sample size, I would say that #2 Hanover and #4 Oyster River-Portsmouth have the two best overall skating rosters that I have seen.
This doesn’t happen too often, if ever. The top 4 teams all had 56 points in the NHIAA league standings.
Well, I think it would be difficult not to pick Hanover as the favorite in the Final. They haven’t lost to a New Hampshire team this season, and they have won their two playoff games, by a combined score of 9-0. Not only that, #2 Hanover beat the #4 Clipper Cats, 4-2 back in December, and then walloped them, 10-1 just two weeks ago.
You never know though. Oyster River-Portsmouth already beat one team in the playoffs that they lost to in the regular season. Then they piled up 51 shots on goal in a 5-2 win over #1 Pinkerton in the SF.
Then you have the unknown factors, like the Oyster River Girls and Boys playing back-to-back on Saturday. How will those crowds factor into the action on the ice? #2 Hanover plays #4 Oyster River-Portsmouth at 10 am, Saturday, March 9th, at SNHU Arena. Anything can happen.
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! I hope SNHU Arena is packed all day!
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
Jen Webber Photography
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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