MANCHESTER — Hanover High girls ice hockey coach John Dodds instructed his players to pack a snack for Saturday’s NHIAA title game against Oyster River-Portsmouth at SNHU Arena.

“I said the game before ours might go into overtime,” said Dodds, who’s held his job for 20 seasons. “I just didn’t think it would be four overtimes.”

Incredibly, that’s how long the Division I boys contest — in which Concord beat Bishop Guertin — lasted. Some girls stood in their skates for nearly two hours, waiting to take the ice. By the time the Crimson Tide won the boys clash with its 66th shot, the girls game’s 5 p.m. start time had long since passed.

“It was definitely not ideal, but we never really lost focus,” said Hanover goaltender Eleanor Edson, who backstopped the Bears to a 6-1 victory and their second consecutive title with 17 saves. “We didn’t try to get too hyped early on.

“One of our goals is to set the pace early and play our own game. We’re ready to fight for the puck from the first faceoff.”

That motivated poise sparked a run of three goals in fewer than six minutes and put Hanover up, 3-0, after a period. The Bears led, 5-1, after two stanzas and added a shorthanded goal in the third period, along with eight Edson saves, to claim the program’s 14th title since the NHIAA began sanctioning a postseason in 2008.

Nora Bradley had two goals, Casey Wilkinson had a goal and three assists, Hannah Gardener posted a goal and two assists and Julia Lawe and Rachel Rockmore each scored once for Hanover. Lucy Braga, Abby Lindsay and Pauline Rudd each had a single assist.

“Our start was huge,” Dodds said, noting that Hanover’s first two goals came from members of its seven-player senior group. “That class took charge and provided an example right away.”

Oyster River-Portsmouth was top-seeded despite having lost twice to third-seeded Hanover by a combined 10-3 during the regular season. The Bears annually substitute games against the weakest New Hampshire teams for out-of-state contests against strong foes. They often result in losses that are counted in the NHIAA standings.

“Those are the games I have so much fun playing in,” Edson said. “I get so much more action and those teams push us to match their game by moving the puck with speed.”

Edson was hardly bombarded Saturday but made several crucial saves that sapped any ClipperCats momentum that might have been building. She denied two breakaways and made a spectacular kick-out save to her right that was split-second reaction.

“I thought she had one of her best games of the season,” Dodds said. “She stopped them a bunch of times when they had the puck in good position.”

The coach was happy to see Bradley, his do-it-all center, score twice. A senior committed to play lacrosse next year at New York’s Skidmore College, Bradley is superb defensively, unselfish on offense and put up 17 goals and 24 assists this winter.

“Nora chewed (Oyster River-Portsmouth) up this season; she had at least two goals in every game against them,” Dodds said of his co-captain. “She’s constantly communicating with her teammates in practices and games, which is something girls everywhere don’t do well.”

Gardner, who blasted a slap shot home for the second goal, finished with 10 tallies, 31 assists and a reputation not to be messed with around her goaltender.

Wilkinson, who describes herself as “scrappy,” was certainly that, providing harassment on the forecheck and firing in a shot from between the circles.

Freshman Katharine Moseley, who led Hanover with an eye-popping 30 goals, was kept off the scoresheet Saturday after tallying five times during the semifinals. So deep is the Bears’ roster, however, that it made no difference.

Hanover’s postgame celebration was a bit muted, given the score, but the Bears took so long celebrating in the locker room that arena staff made their parents and other fans leave the arena, as it was being closed for the night.

Hundreds of photos with each other and the championship plaque were taken and a series of traditional cheers were undertaken that have accumulated during the last 17 years.

“The most gratifying thing is getting someone when they’re a freshman and maybe playing a small part and helping them grow as a hockey player and human being,” said Dodds, himself once a Hanover hockey playoff star. “Some of our seniors didn’t see much ice time in the beginning.”

Edson, who split games with a senior as a freshman, said the fact that she’ll never again don her No. 29 jersey for a game hasn’t quite sunk in.

“I’m sure when it does, there will be a lot of tears,” she said.

Notes: The day’s four championship hockey games at SNHU Arena stretched so long the concession stands began to run out of items. … Edson dedicated the game to her backup, fellow senior J.J. Masland. “She had never played hockey at all until high school, but she’s always cracking jokes and cheering,” Edson said. “She’s the heartbeat of our team.” … Hanover’s assistant coaches both played college hockey and work for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Matti Hartman competed for Northeastern and Hannah Systrom for Williams. The former is a physician’s assistant and the latter is a physician. … Hanover has won three of the last four state titles and had a 10-year run of crowns from 2010-2019. It has also never lost a D-I girls hockey title game.

Tris Wykes can be reached at ctwykes@aol.com.