It evens out for Hanover in 2 OTs
BOURNE — Considering the way the Hanover boys’ hockey team started Sunday afternoon’s Division 4 semifinal, it took longer to celebrate than anticipated, but Cam Melone saw to it that the sixth-seeded Hawks found their way to TD Garden next week.
The sophomore forward stole the puck in the Stoneham zone, skated in, and snapped off a forehand shot that beat Spartans goalie Jacob Utter glove side at 2:52 of three-onthree double overtime for his second goal of the game, giving Hanover a 4-3 win over No. 10 Stoneham at Gallo Arena.
“I saw the opportunity when the kid cut to the middle, and I took advantage of that,” Melone said. “I poked at it, went on a breakaway and finished the job.”
The next job for the Hawks will be next Sunday in the Division 4 state final against No. 5 Dover-Sherborn. This will mark their fifth time playing at the Garden since 2014 — every even-numbered year — and would have included a sixth if the 2020 state final had not been wiped out by the pandemic. Hanover captured Division 3 state titles in 2014 and 2022 and was declared co-champ in 2020.
“The even numbers work for us,” said Hanover coach Jonny Abban, who won his 200th career game Sunday.
Melone opened the scoring just two minutes into the contest, intercepting a pass behind the Spartans net, coming out front, and burying the Hawks’ first shot of the game.
Hanover (15-9-0) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and made Stoneham pay for every mistake it made.
Melone led a three-on-two break after winning the puck at his blue line and ripped a shot from the left circle. Utter made the save, but sophomore Henry Phillips crashed the net and was first to the rebound to double the Hawks’ lead at 4:40.
Freshman Joe Galvin made it 3-0 with a perfectly placed shot into the top right corner from the outside edge of the left circle with 4:50 to go in the first period.
The Spartans (11-12-1) showed plenty of grit to get back into the game and dominated the second and third periods. A Jack Sullivan shot from above the right circle took a deflection to sneak past Thomas Perkins just past the midway point of the second period to get Stoneham on the board.
Mike Taranto, who scored twice in Stoneham’s quarterfinal win over Nantucket, tied the game in the third period with a pair of goals 68 seconds apart, the second coming at 4:06.