HNIB News High School Hockey's Best Coverage | Est. 1972
New Hampshire Boys D2 Final Top 8 Poll
| Rank | Team | PR* | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dover | 2 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Somersworth/Coe-Brown | 6 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| 3 | Oyster River | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Merrimack | 5 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | Manchester Memorial | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | St. Thomas Aquinas | 4 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | Goffstown | 8 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | Winnacunnet | 7 | 6 | 8 | 1 |
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No. 1 Dover’s (14-1-0) dash to the program’s seventh State Title almost seemed pre-determined. Aside from splitting a pair of one-goal games with Oyster River in the season’s second week, the Green Wave wasn’t threatened again until a 2-1 semifinal win against OR and their 2-1 OT win against Somersworth/Coe-Brown in the title match. Otherwise, close games were few and far between as the Green Wave closed on a 12-game roll.
No. 2 Somersworth/Coe Brown (10-5-1) was bound and determined to prove itself a far better team than the one shut out by Dover, 5-0 and 7-0, in consecutive games in January and certainly did that in the title game. In the process the Bearcats very nearly won their first D2 crown to go along with a single D3 championship. It was a season of streaks for SCB, which won five in a row before that final loss.
When two of your three losses are to the eventual State Champion, such as was the case for No. 3 Oyster River (11-3-0), one might expect some level of satisfaction with how the season played out. Probably not though since Durham, where OR is located, and Dover are border towns. Nevertheless, the Bobcats rattled off nine straight wins before that semifinal loss to their neighbors.
No. 4 Merrimack (8-5-0) was the epitome of a streaky team. The Tomahawks never won more than three in a row and never lost more than two in a row. It easily could have been Merrimack in the title game as SCB required a late ENG to seal a 5-3 semifinal win.
No. 5 Manchester Memorial’s (11-1-0) first D2 season was certainly strange. After dropping down from D1, Memorial played only two D2 opponents during the regular season before getting bounced by Merrimack in the quarterfinals.
No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (9-4-0), a 2020 declared co-champion, suffered a quarterfinal exit at the hands of SCB in OT, 2-1.
No. 7 Goffstown (6-8-0) and No. 8 Winnacunnet (6-8-1), both quarterfinalists, round it out.
Kevin Doyle
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- New Hampshire Division 1 Boys Hockey – Final Top 10 Rankings: Mission Accomplished For State Champion Concord - March 19, 2021
