New Hampshire Boys D2 Top 8
| Rank | Team | W | L | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester Memorial | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Dover | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Oyster River | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | St. Thomas Aquinas | 4 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Merrimack | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | Somersworth/Coe-Brown | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 7 | Winnacunnet | 7 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Goffstown | 8 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
 | |||||
When Chuck Goss took over as head coach at Manchester Memorial this season he politely declined a detailed pre-season evaluation of the Crusaders simply because he hadn’t been around the team much and didn’t know the players. Fair enough.
It’s pretty clear now what kind of team he has. When a team drops down a division to recalibrate its program, wins nine games against teams from that higher division while finishing undefeated and outscoring its opponents, 73-20, it gets top billing. Period. Full stop.
Having said that, No. 1 Memorial (11-0-0) didn’t play D1’s top-tier teams, but did sweep both Bp. Brady and Keene. There is also no way of knowing where the Crusaders fit in the D2 picture since they played one D2 game, defeating Merrimack, 6-5. Those answers will come in the playoffs.
When No. 2 Dover (11-1-0) plays in next Saturday’s quarterfinal round of the Region Two Sectional, it will not have seen game action since Feb. 20. The Green Wave closed with an eight-game winning streak and outscored opponents, 64-16.
No. 3 Oyster River (10-2-0) split the season series with Dover and swept St. Thomas Aquinas. The Bobcats’ three-win final week included Saturday’s 2-1 takedown of D1 Bedford. They also won their final eight and were plus-31 (53-22).
After losing 3-of-4 coming out of a two-week layoff, No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-3-0) closed with a three-win final week. A pair of wins against D3 Sanborn/Epping served as bookends for Friday’s shutout of D1 Keene.
No. 5 Merrimack (6-4-0) split games against D1 opponents, falling to Keene but besting Bow.
No. 6 Somersworth/Coe-Brown (7-4-1) concluded its regular season more than a week ago.
No. 7 Winnacunnet (5-7-1) crossed the state line and stopped York, ME, 6-2, in its finale.
No. 8 Goffstown (5-7-0) won its final two games against D3 Hollis-Brookline/Derryfield and D1 Manchester Central/West.
