Hanover made an impressive comeback in the Div. 3 boys ice hockey state semifinals, scoring three goals in the final period to claim a 3-1 victory.

The fifth-seeded Rams played an intense game, but top-seeded Hanover held them off long enough with a strong defense and a terrific effort in net from goalie Ryan McArdle.

Down 1-0 heading to the third, the Hawks drew even at just 1:45 in the period as Joe Galvin scored for the Hawks.

“I got a great pass from Jack Dougherty, and it just got the momentum going,” Galvin said.

From there, Hanover took advantage of the momentum and kept the pressure on. Hanover junior Ran Kisiel scored a second goal with 6:50 remaining then followed with an empty-net marker with just 1.1 seconds to go to send the Hawks back to the title game, where they will face No. 3 Medfield, a 5-0 winner over Nauset in its semifinal matchup, on Sunday at TD Garden.

The Rams came out swinging with several shots. None of this seemed to faze McArdle, whose efforts held off Shawsheen until Jake Banda tipped in a shot from Josh Baker on the power play with 1:42 left in the first period.

The goal happened after the Hawks saw captain Cam Melone briefly go down with an injury. Galvin said this motivated Hanover to play for their captain.

“We saw our senior captain go down,” Galvin said. “It’s not going to be his last game that he’s going to watch us play, we fought for him.”

Just as Hanover was starting to pick up the pace, Shawsheen head coach Chuck Baker said his team lost its stride.

“Once (Hanover) scored their first goal, we lost control,” Baker said. “We couldn’t allow a team as confident as (Hanover) to take control of the game.”

Hanover coach Jonny Abban said the team has had comebacks before, and he had faith in the team as they came alive in the third period.

“I knew we could do it… we were able to pull it together in the third and live for another day,” Abban said.

Hanover returns to the title game for the first time since 2024, when it fell to Dover-Sherborn/Weston in the Div. 4 championship. The program last won a state title in 2022.