Dover boys hockey captains want a Division II state championship of their own

DOVER — Legendary, memorable and adversity. Those words came to mind for Dover High School boys hockey head coach Mike Young and the team captains as they talked about the 2022-23 championship season.

In short, Dover started the season with a record of 4-6. Then 11 games later — all wins — Dover was the last team standing. The Gree Wave hoisted the NHIAA Division II state championship trophy with a 4-2 win over Merrimack at Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester.

It was Dover's second championship in three years, and the program's eighth overall.

"The boys were saying (legendary) in the locker room and I never expected us to come out on top," Dover junior captain and forward Carter Bell said. "But we put in the work and the effort, and we did."

"It was a fun ride," Young said. "We're ready to turn the page to this year. We'll never forget it, but it's a new year."

The Green Wave lost nine seniors to graduation from last season's championship team. Key pieces like Jacob Lapierre and Logan Spagna - whose goals broke a 2-2 tie against Merrimack - are gone, among many other valuable players.

But don't tell the "new" group of Green Wave players they can't go back-to-back in 2023-24 and celebrate again come March.

Hungry group of skaters

Young said this year's team has a good mix of young players who were able to experience a lot last season. Some played more than others, but still being a part of the everyday process first-hand and seeing what it's like to achieve success will prove beneficial to all.

"Excited for this year, excited for the opportunity for a lot of these kids to be a part of this," Young said. "A lot of them were a part of the team last year, and now they want to be a part of it in a bigger way and fill some roles of key guys."

Young added, "It's going to be a long season, we're looking to just kind of build off of last year and improve everyday in practice, that's our goal,"

Dover opens the season at Dover Ice Arena on Dec. 13 against Oyster River.

Senior captain Owen Culcasi recognizes the loss of the nine seniors, but his confidence in the team's ability to put together another run remains

"It's going to take a lot of new guys to come up," he said. "We lost nine seniors, so we're going to need sophomores and juniors to step up. I do think we have (enough). Once we find our lines this year, we should be rolling again."

Senior captains Culcasi, Marasca put in the offseason work

Culcasi showed his potential in last year's tournament, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists in Dover's 3-0 Division II quarterfinal win over Somersworth/Coe-Brown.

Culcasi said he attacked the off-season, knowing he would have an even larger role this season.

"I definitely wanted to focus on my shot," Culcasi said. "As a senior, I should be able to pick some goalies apart. I think my shot is definitely better, and it's where I need it to be."

Senior Caleb Marasca, Dover's third captain, also worked on his game in the offseason.

"We're going to have to work very hard," Marasca said on the team's chances to repeat. "We're going to need the younger guys to step up. We're going to have to win all of those puck battles and take shots."

Marasca mentioned sophomore forward Nick Carrier as someone to keep an eye on, and someone who provided extra depth to last year's team.

"He works very hard, and I think he's pretty good," Marasca said. "He's going to help us out a lot."

On what will it take this year, Bell talked about the importance of what the game is largely about - putting the stick on the puck.

"We're going to have to shoot a lot because we lost a lot of our goal scorers," Bell said. "I'd say just getting shots on net and scoring some goals."

This year's team 'wants (a title) of their own'

A lot of the players this year had roles, whether large or small, last year and played a part in the championship run. Young said this year's returning players were "a huge part of our success" last year.

"They were practicing with us every day, but they didn't necessarily see the ice in some important games down the stretch," Young said. "And like I said, not to take anything away, they were part of the team, but speaking with a lot of them individually, and they want (a championship) of their own, they want some success of their own. They saw what it took, they know it's not easy and a lot of teams are gunning for us this year because of all of the success we had last year. We're looking forward to it."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover boys hockey looks to repeat as Division II state champions