Saturday’s 3-1 Patriot League win over fellow Div. 3 threat Scituate was a positive step in Hanover’s direction as a title contender.
Hanover boys hockey head coach Johnny Abban isn’t looking for his team to be playing its best hockey at this stage of the season.
But coming off an overtime loss to defending Div. 3 state champion No. 19 Nauset last week, and a tie against Quincy/North Quincy, Saturday’s 3-1 Patriot League win over fellow Div. 3 threat Scituate was a positive step in the No. 22 Hawks’ (9-1-1) direction as a title contender.
Three different scorers gave Hanover a big lead after two periods, while Ryan McArdle (26 saves) and a sound defensive performance disrupted much of what the potent Sailors (6-4-2) threw at them.
As of Friday, the Hawks ranked No. 1 in the latest MIAA Div. 3 power rankings. Scituate, who is now 7-4-1 against Hanover since 2021, ranked No. 5.
“We’ve had some unbelievable, epic games over the years against Scituate, so any time you can beat them, you take that,” Abban said. “Every day is different. But I like the leadership we have, I like (that) we’re doing a lot of the little things right. And that’s important.
