Written by Last night the NH Avalanche 2000 team traveled to Concord, Mass. to play the Assabet Valley Patriots at the Valley Sports Arena. The was the first game the Avalanche had played since high school tryouts had been decided earlier in the week. The Avs had a few kids missing so they called up some players, three to be exact, from the Bantam Minor Elite team. The players called up for this game were, Maxwell Dorrington, Mason Drouin, and Eric Favreau.
The night was most definitely not one for the memoirs as far as the Avs were concerned. The final score ended up being 10-1, with the Avs getting a late third period goal, but it was a little too late to make such a comeback.
Things we may have learned, or even reaffirmed from Sunday night’s game, in no particular order.
- Dorrington, Drouin, and Favreau can all skate. They played hard, hustled, and tested the waters against a much larger, more experienced team.
- #26 on Assabet Valley wasn’t on their roster, but he alone was bigger than some of the hybrid vehicles I see on the roads these days, and he could play.
- Against teams like the Patriots, any game the Avalanche play, short of solid, sound, and structured will likely result in scores similar to last night.
- Goaltending must be sharp to save the teams’ bacon on mistakes made out in front of the crease. Some times it’s not fair, but chances still remain to save the day.
- Turnovers happen, and minimizing them are a must against Assabet Valley. If a turnover, or mistake does happen, and they will, heady hustle should be the response in order to offset the error.
- When this Avalanche team moves the puck well, they can get chances to score against anyone.
- The Avs can be effective on the forecheck when they are willing to put some skin in the game and not just skate ‘fly-bys’ or go through the motions. See the goal scored by Sebastian Beal , set up by Eric Favreau. The two players picked off the puck on the forecheck and put it in the net.
- It’s always better when the scoreboard operates the way it’s supposed to.
Any how, it’s on to the next game, and that is the beauty of a new day. Anything can happen.