Written by March 13, 2022. 2010 Flames: Fed Tourney 2022 – The Season And Beyond.
I stood at the bottom of the stairs, on the first floor of what was obviously once a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge. I had already packed our vehicle and I stood there motionless on a carpet that might be 50+ years old. My youngest son was next to me when I shook hands with one and hugged another to say good-bye, exiting from another hockey weekend. That is just when I think it hit all three of us, that this might be the last good-bye.
Circa 2003. Built in 1967.
Circa 2003. It was the Mayflower Tavern. This is now a Mexican restaurant, unofficially known for their large pineapple drinks, and authentic sombreros.
See, our season had just ended on the ice, the afternoon before, and this particular morning, well, we were all headed to our respective homes. Like we always do. But this time was different, like it is every season, because not only had the season ended, but tryouts for next season’s teams were the following evening. There are no guarantees with tryouts.
So, a lump formed in my throat as I shook my friend’s (friends from tryouts 3 seasons ago) hand, and hugged his wife, good-bye. A good-bye until when? Tryouts? Next fall? On the same team? A different team? Weight hung all of the sudden on my shoulders, like I was holding up the second floor, and the ‘rumored’ third floor. What was happening? It was a cold, sunny, Sunday morning and we were leaving another hockey weekend, like so many before. But this was the last weekend. The last game of the season. The last of the three year run together for seven of these kids? That part remains to be seen.
Thankfully, we all made it home safely, and a few distracted hours later, life had simmered down to a recognizable form of normalcy. Then the quiet stewing of an unknown outcome grasped our son as bed time came and went. Fortunately, my wife had a recent, pertinent, real-life story that she shared, as only she can, and it calmed his nerves long enough for sleep to take over.
Tony “The Cell Phone Guy” popped by for a visit. I asked if I could take a picture of him so he took his normal pose for this one. I asked him what team he was with and he said, “Hey Google give me directions to ice level”. I don’t know.
Hockey season. Hockey families. Hockey bonds and connections. Hockey weekends. Hockey trips. Hockey smells. Hockey gatherings. The aggregate has it’s ups and downs. We are fortunate because the ups have dwarfed the downs by an incalculable amount these three seasons that our son has played hockey. We are richly blessed.
Back to the reality of the last two weekends. The EHF 12U Lower Gold Hockey Tournament came to an end on Sunday, and the 2010 Flames finished play Saturday, losing 4-2 to the eventual Champions, the Northern Cyclones in the second Semifinal. The Flames dug a 4-0 hole for themselves. Then they stopped digging the hole, and started working toward a comeback. They battled until the final whistle, as they always do.
The tournament started last weekend, with games played in Manchester. The Flames lost on Saturday morning, 3-2 to the Cyclones in an excellently played game. Then they came to life in the final period against the Crimson (West) squad and wrenched a 9-1 win from that contest. On Sunday afternoon, the 2010 Flames finally, grabbed a 1-0 lead only to give up a 2-on-1 goal in the last two minutes of the game. They tied the Jr. Terriers, 1-1. This weekend outcome sent the 2010 Flames to Final Weekend at The Bog in Kingston, Mass.
And that is from where I returned yesterday, arriving at home right around 12 noon. I wanted to jump into this recap immediately, but I think God wanted me to breathe for a count or several hundred before I wrote anything. Virtually everything got in my way, between me and the keyboard. That’s okay, I don’t know that much, but I do know when my time, is not the right time.
So, I waited. I slept, in a loose interpretation of the word sleep. I arose and went to work. I watched the sun rise and create colors and shades of sky that only could be described by sitting next to me while it happens. I drove for several hours. I thought. I re-thought. Then I brushed those thoughts aside and made new ones. Eventually, I returned to the keyboard, and you are in the midst of the mess I created somewhere between my mind’s eye and whatever my fingers typed in this space.
Game 1: vs. Cyclones
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- The Flames gather at the bench for some last minute direction, but were baffled by the angelic delivery of ‘Ave Maria’.
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- Similarly, Coach Nick cleans up pretty well. And let’s just say, the man can bellow precisely with the best of them.
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- Cool center ice art. Cooler 2010 team. That’s saying a lot considering this is a picture of ice.
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- Cam “The Contortionist” Desruisseaux fires a shot from the left-wing against the Cyclones.
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- This one is on me. I didn’t have to introduce Teddy to Gold Rush, Civil War Gold, metal detecting, or digging on the beaches wherever we have been. But what about the potential of buried treasure? Or a Flames goal?
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- Darn it Pear Tree! Spread out! Our spacing is showing. Er uh, Jordan looks for some options while carrying the puck.
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- Well this one didn’t go our way but I liked the picture and I might have been too tired to nix it.
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- Teddy breaks up a play and leads a rush up ice for the Flames. Yup, just hockey stuff.
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- At 8:43am on a Saturday morning, defense can appear in many different forms.
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- Sometimes pictures are better than reality. Like here, where the old, “You have a little something on your cheek” line would be priceless.
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- In a series of “The Most Interesting Goalie in the World” commercials, this one went like so: “I don’t always flash my glove in public, but when I do, I make sure everyone can see it.”
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- The Flames lost this one, 3-2. They certainly did have chances though.
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- In another take of “The Most Interesting Goalie in the World” commercials, this one went like so: “I don’t always go apple picking with my family, but when I do, I bring my glove and pick fruit like this.”
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- Down a goal in the final period, puck on your stick to tie the game. It doesn’t always go your way, but keep working to always want the puck in that moment.
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- Six skaters, one puck. Pressing to tie the game. The puck has a mind of it’s own.
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- The Flames trailed, 3-2. They kept competing. This quality is one of their most endearing.
The Flames dropped this decision, 3-2. It was an excellent game, well played by both teams. The Flames trailed 2-0, in the first period when Soucy sent a pass back to the left point, the house where The Mighty Fin resides. Finley put a shot to the front of the net where Cam wrestled the puck into submission and squeezed a backhander into the net. The Flames trailed, 2-1 after one, and trailed, 3-1 after two despite an awesome attack in the second period. The Flames got to within, 3-2 with a power play goal late in the third. It was a beautiful play that looked so repeatable when executed with good pace and space. Cam wrapped the puck around the boards, through the corner, and toward the house of Dunn. Fin stepped up to the half wall and ripped a shot to the crease where Soucy perfectly deflected the shot in front of the goaltender, and into the net. Awesome goal! The Flames pulled their goaltender, and even though the Flames had the better of the play for the last two periods, they could not get another one to go, losing, 3-2.
Game 2: vs. Crimson
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- Any shooter can attest to this statement that someone might have said once, “If Travis can’t reach it, then it ain’t hitting the net brother.”
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- A long time ago, I lost a bet to a “Mr. Cage”. So now I am “obligated” to include a ‘certain’ number of face-off pictures each season. Stay cool Ghost Rider.
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- Forget ‘Ave Maria”, we’re bustin some rhymes now! “Yo, yo, yo, y’all know that we’re playin Crimson West. Now let’s go Flames, hit ’em like a cardiac arrest!” On second thought, stick with Schubert.
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- Kids, this is a tough one. On the pilot for the game show, “It could’ve been!”. This could’ve been a hook, or it could’ve been a Christmas ’21 favorite, ‘your own collapsible McGee’. (It was a hook)
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- Here Alex notices that the Crimson defenders’ GPS tail beacon has led the player slightly astray, so he fires at will.
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- This puck is my minivan trying to get from NH to Kingston, Ma. in Friday afternoon traffic.
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- Do you remember the story of William Tell? Me either. Alex gently placed this shot atop the goalies helmet simply because he could.
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- I think it was the ‘not great’ philosopher, Soucy, that said, “Nothing is better than having a chance…except more chances.”
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- Will announced to the capacity crowd, “For this next one, I will take it sitting down. Hold my calls.”
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- The Flames turned a 2-1 lead after two periods into a walloping. Take em while you can get em.
This game was ugly in too many ways to mention all of them. We also introduced Jimmy “The Coma” to the world in this one. Icing, offsides, and many basics of the hockey ruledom (I made that word up, inspired by “The Coma”) were reinvented in this game. Anyway, the Flames ended up running away with this one, but it wasn’t that way through the first two periods.
The Flames did get the first two goals early on. First, Cam scored on an awesome 2-on-1 created by the Flames at center ice. Soucy tipped a 50/50 puck to Casimiro at center ice. Jacob skated the puck ahead into the O-zone, creating the 2-on-1 with Desruisseaux on his left. Cas held the puck just long enough to draw the D before sliding the pass to a wide open Cam, for the goal. A few minutes later the Flames were on the board again when Casimiro took a loose puck from The Freight Train. Jacob ripped a shot to the stick side for another beautiful Flames goal! Go to LiveBarn and watch March 5th at 11:09am (West Side) to see Logan burst through 3 defenders like they were a wall of mist. Flames led, 2-0 after one. The Flames led, 2-1 after two. They had something like 67 shots in the period, hit a crossbar, hit a post, parked a puck on the goal line, and had a goal in the back of the net, under the apron, and was out of sight so “The Coma” called it nothing really, he just didn’t identify it as a goal. I may have been quoted as saying, “If that second period doesn’t open the floodgates in the third period, then I am quitting Hockey Dadding (verb)”.
Well, thankfully, my friends down on the ice baled me out on the opening shift of the 3rd. Even though the Flames were shorthanded, Caleb Powers threw a puck from the D-Zone to center ice for “The Contortionist”, and Cam skated in on the left side and pumped a shot off of the goalie’s glove. The puck fell into the slot and “Cool as Cas” calmly turned his back and lifted a backhand shot over the goaltender’s shoulder to give the Flames a 3-1 lead. A few minutes later, Casimiro pushed the puck to the doorstep of #77 Dunn St. and Fin delivered another shot on net. The shot hit the goalie’s glove with Cam causing a minor visual disturbance, or what they call a screen. The puck ricocheted right to Sean McGee who was skating through on a tour of the offensive zone and he casually chopped the puck into the open side of the net. The route was on.
Logan from the slot on passes from Soucy and Cam, 5-1. Brayden backhand flip to the front, Petrie stuff shot, Hawkes pounces on the rebound, 6-1. McGee with a cool backhand goal off a sweet one-touch pass from Teddy, that came from a shot by “Panitz at the Disco”, 7-1. I think I gave my Mom an assist on this play in the group chat, because I feel that we all had a hand in that goal. Powers rips a wrister in from the face-off circle from Cam and Soucy, 8-1. Then the capper after a cross-check to Teddy’s neck. McCain got a shot through from the left point, and Cam kept the puck alive behind the net when Soucy skated through and scored a semi-wrap around goal, 9-1. Check please. We had to get back up to Wolfeboro.
Game 2: vs. Crimson – Editor’s Cut
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- This may be the only puck ever to be inside the post but not over the line as The Freight Train inadvertently trained his puck to, “Stay”.
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- I have often wondered why the Crimson West goalie had just another run of the mill, no name, maroon jersey. Look at that puck.
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- The Freight Train starts to celebrate. Somewhere Teddy is about to rush on to the ice to celebrate a goal that didn’t happen. And Jimmy “The Coma” was upright but not responsive.
Game 3: vs. Terriers
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- Squatter’s constitution: If a child stands in the same place amid a seating area for two or more consecutive days in a public place, then all other children who enter the area are required to stand, or to move along, but absolutely must not sit. That’s what I heard anyway.
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- This was not exactly a shot on goal. But it was timed perfectly with the goalie hailing a cab. Are cabs even hailed anymore?
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- Knowing what I know, I cannot even. Finley, “The Mighty Fin” Dunn. No words.
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- That’s a lot of Flames right there. They are, and have been, awesome. My favorite team.
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- Will makes a huge pad save against the Terriers to keep the Flames in the lead.
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- Remember that song by Genesis? “See the lonely man there in the slot, What he’s waiting for, I don’t know. But he waits every shift now, He’s just waiting for the puck to show…” I love the version they went with in the studio.
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- After watching the Olympics and being mesmerized by Curling, Teddy applied some sweeping techniques he picked up.
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- Alex lets go of a shot against the Terriers that has this defender thinking twice about the meaning of ‘defend’. Resist an attack made on (someone or something); protect from harm or danger.
This shot was taken just before I headed over to stand next to the lonely Terrier squatter for a few minutes. Meanwhile Scott had taken a spot usually reserved for Tony “The Cell Phone Guy” up on the railing. Also, in today’s world, the thought that one can put themselves ahead of an entire section of spectators because he stood there once before is rather absurd. We all have rights I suppose, but selfishness isn’t one that I’d show off.
After playing four games in less than 24 hours, a pizza party in a 200 year old barn, and a good night’s sleep. The 2010 Flames were back at West Side Arena for a game with the Terriers. This one was tight. The game was scoreless after two periods. Goaltending was awesome. Soucy scored from Cam and Jacob just after a Terriers penalty had expired. It was another nice passing play with this trio. Flames led, 1-0 with 7:50 to play. The Terriers took advantage of a swing and miss at a nice deke, and turned a 2-on-1 into the tying goal with 1:34 left. The game would end in a 1-1 tie.
SF: vs. Cyclones
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- Why did the teams all wear their dark uniforms for Finals weekend? It only looked good before they took the ice.
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- Oh, right. This was a 2-on-1 if you couldn’t tell by the file names.
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- I was deep sea fishing off the coast, down by Plymouth Rock and it took me 3 days to work myself free from the netting that I became entangled in.
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- But thankfully, my camera captured some of the action like this awesome save Travis made. He calls this one his, “Upward facing right pad save, Dawg!”
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- This was a Cyclones goal on a great pass to the crease. All the red and black confused me for a moment.
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- Brudder bought a puck for a dime or thereabout. Get the pad to post and kick the puck out.
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- I know that John Muir lived a long time ago, but it’s really unfortunate when his, “I hear the mountains calling, and I must go…” words echo into the arena during a game. Cam heard the call.
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- While I was still trying to free myself from the netting, this other little rink appeared to me. They looked like they were having a blast! So I followed this debacle for a moment or two.
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- One of the reasons we feel the way that we do. You’re down 4-0 in the final period, so the Flames keep competing. They keep on playing hockey.
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- Will perfects the no rebound on a pad save technique by efficiently saving the puck and allowing no rebound, while yelling, “Look Ma, No hands!”
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- The Flames kept playing, cut it to 4-2. They kept competing and everyone knew they wouldn’t be done until the officials told them time was up.
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- I didn’t hear a buzzer yet, so let’s fight, battle, scrap, do whatever we can do to keep on competing.
The 2010 Flames could have mailed it in and just given up. They dug themselves a huge hole against a balanced team. The Cyclones led, 1-0 after one period, on a beautiful rush and pass to the crease. In the second period, the Flames had a handful of chances at one end, only to give up a breakaway goal at the other end, 2-0. The Flames changed goalies midway through as they always do, but they didn’t move their feet any better. The Flames watched as the Cyclones scored after skating through traffic cones for their third goal and then cashed in when the Flames couldn’t clear the zone to go up, 4-0 after two periods.
The third period was a different story. The 2010 Flames started skating. They drew penalties by being in constant motion. Rolling three lines no matter the scenario (a trademark of Coach Nick’s team) was paying off. The Flames looked better and better while the Cyclones (who have the better skaters top to bottom) started to tire. Nine minutes into the final period and it was still, 4-0, but the tide had turned dramatically, just a little too late. Brayden threw a puck wide of the net, Jordan found Teddy with a pass.
Will perfects the no rebound on a pad save technique by efficiently saving the puck and allowing no rebound, while yelling, “Look Ma, No hands!”
Teddy’s shot was tied up for an offensive zone face-off. Line change. Cam won the face-off and the Alex helped keep the puck in the zone to Jacob. Casimiro threw a shot at the net which hit traffic and bounced to Logan who pinched in from the blue line. McCain snapped a perfect wrist shot into the top corner where Nana hides her Holiday flask. 4-1, with 5:41 left. A few minutes later, Petrie made a nice outlet pass that stretched the D and the Flames just kept attacking. Caleb Powers corralled a puck in the defensive end and hit Beal with a pass. Teddy skated from his own blue line with the puck and sent a nice pass to Petrie at the offensive zone blue line but the pass got through Gavin. With good spacing the play was onside and Sean used his wheels to run down the pass in the corner before he turned to the net and snuck a shot inside the near post. 4-2, with 2:41 left.
The Flames had another chance in tight, immediately after the face-off, but the puck was denied entrance to the net. The Cyclones transitioned quickly and #11 went to coast-to-coast only to be denied by Will’s right pad. 2:20 left. The Flames pulled Will and had a good chance in the crease with about 30 seconds left, but couldn’t cash in. Beal stole a puck on the end boards and centered it but it was not to be. The Cyclones held on to the lead they had built, and won it, 4-2. The Cyclones advanced to the Championship Game on Sunday afternoon, a game they would win against the Crimson.
Seasons ending are not my strength. Over the years, I have struggled to transition from the rush and controlled mayhem of multiple hockey seasons and into a new routine when they are done. I wrestle with the ebb that is a reduced load in my calendar, for the time being. I battle for words and thoughts to contrast the finality of seasons, school years, graduations, childhood, and lost loved ones. I have contended with these since I was a little boy. On days like these, at season’s end, I find that I am still very much that little boy. In some ways, I hold on to all that has happened before our eyes by trying to be the keeper of the words, thinker of the thoughts, and collector of the memories in pictures and descriptions. No matter what though, I cannot halt time nor bring it back around. I am forced like all others, to move along. To move forward. So, I downshift, to neutral. To zero. To right now. To the truth. I determine that I will take the next right step. But until I do, I will wallow in the sentimentality. I often will squint my eyes as tears form, creating a blurry frame of what I still see in my mind’s eye. I fight the pull that is my heart racing like it has suddenly found a better place to be. And I let my mind trail behind, grazing on the lush pastures of smiles, joyous occasions, outrageous hilarity, and achievement earned by those who had yet to believe they were able, until they did it. All of it done, often created from not much at all, in the presence of me, of us, along life’s high speed highway. I feel I could write about this sentiment, maybe forever, because forever is the only limit on how long the memory of these things should last. The pain is only powerful because of its’ proportion to how strongly I feel about these people, these moments, and better yet, that they were shared outside of my self. In the end, the pleasure is mine. Truly, mine. I fall every time, for the hope, for the mystery of the yet unknown and unseen. I will always fall for it, because there are not many things in a lifetime that are better than buying into something that is greater than yourself with every fiber of your being. Thank you letting me ride along with all of you.
Pressure is a privilege. It means that what you are doing means a lot to others. Also, watching you play and grow, has truly been our privilege.
A few notes.
- Feel free to subscribe to this page right through the blog site, so that you don’t have to count on social media, or the chance of me forgetting to post stuff somewhere else. It’s simple, just throw your email address in there and that is it.
- Please, click on the pictures, enlarge them and look around.
- Remember, it is ALWAYS about the kids, and if you read lessons being taught or relayed through these posts, then good, we can learn a lot from kids.
- It wasn’t too long ago, we were all once kids and if you didn’t like your childhood, I’m sorry. I loved mine and wouldn’t trade it for the world. Plus, there’s still a chance of you experiencing childhood joys so don’t mess it up for anyone else.
Our kids win and lose just like we did growing up. They laugh and play, and can’t wait for time off of the ice to be somewhere together, doing whatever they do. Every game, or every day isn’t our best day, but that’s exactly the perspective we need to know to recognize when days are truly awesome! Then you might look back and realize that your bad day wasn’t so bad after all. Society all around us wants to tear us down, or to poke holes in our sincere pleasures, or even lift themselves up at the expense of us or our kids. That’s where we have the edge, in my opinion. Because we have each other, for shallow or for deep, but either way, we have each other’s backs. Good people making good contributions to the betterment of our hockey family experience. How else should it be done?
Thank you all. For, just as I told the team that it takes each of us to make the difference for all of us; it’s no different for us. Thank you.
… How do I say goodbye to what we had? The good times that made us laugh, Outweigh the bad. … I thought we’d get to see forever, But forever’s gone away. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday…
I have said my piece. I have used some of my words. But I honestly was not prepared for the words that were shared by you, our hockey family in our group chat yesterday. I have paraphrased to keep identities private. I cannot express in my voice the volumes that you all shared these last few days of our season. Seriously, this sentiment DOES NOT happen everywhere. It happens RARELY, anywhere.
2010 Flames 2021-2022 Roster
00 – Will Rosenbeck
Will Rosenbeck – Goalie – #00
06 – Teddy Beal
Teddy Beal – Forward – #06
07 – Gavin Petrie
Gavin Petrie – Forward – #07
09 – Jordan Hawkes
Jordan Hawkes – Forward – #09
10 – Cam Desruisseaux
Cam Desruisseaux – Forward – #10
12 – Sean McGee
Sean McGee – Forward – #12
21 – Jacob Casimiro
Jacob Casimiro – Forward – #21
31 – Travis Ingalls
Travis Ingalls – Goalie – #31
34 – Alex Panitz
Alex Panitz – Defense – #34
37 – Brayden Gillies
Brayden Gillies – Forward – #37
63 – Andy Soucy
Andy Soucy – Forward – #63
77 – Finley Dunn
Finley Dunn – Defense – #77
86 – Garrett Warren
Garrett Warren – Forward – #86
87 – Caleb Powers
Caleb Powers – Defense – #87
91 – Logan McCain
Logan McCain – Defense – #91
***About the featured image for this article: It was Friday afternoon, October 22, 2021, at Niagara Falls, on the deck of Maid of the Mist. It was not the nicest day from which one of the greatest hockey family moments of my time happened, but it was magnificent. I will never forget the Pink 47.***
The beginning of every article. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2017.
The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors, mostly mine, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the schools, coaches, players, or characters listed in any of these blog posts. Or, maybe they do, but you would have to ask them directly.
Either way, “It’s a great day for hockey” ~ the late “Badger” Bob Johnson.