December 9: @ Flames 3 vs. Keene 1

The Pee Wee Major Flames had a chance to rebound from a loss yesterday with a home game this afternoon. The Flames hosted a Granite State League game vs. Keene (0-4-1), looking to even their record in GSL play. The Flames came in to the game with a 4-5-1 record in the GSL overall, but have gone 3-0-1 in their last four league games. The Flames did rebound well, they earned a 3-1 victory versus a pesky, hard-working Keene team. It may also be worth noting that the Flames did play more than 25 minutes of hockey before being called for a penalty. This was a team effort all the way around, so let’s get to the action.

1^st Period: The Flames opened the first period with good intensity. They fore checked well and made it difficult for Keene to sustain any offense. To that point there has been a recurring theme develop recently and I will get to that later. The Flames did score the only goal of the period and it was a pretty passing play that showed teamwork, visual awareness, hand-eye coordination and skill. After carrying play for most of the period, something the Flames often do, but have trouble finishing at times, the Flames got on the board with sustained offensive pressure. After cycling the puck successfully, Zachary Bayer fed the puck back to the right point where Patrick Goren wasted no time getting a shot towards net. Sean Moore was in the slot and one-timed the puck, redirecting it just inside the near post and past the goaltender who was still sliding from side to side. It was a quick goal, a pretty play, and a reminder that the puck moves it’s fastest when passed rather than skated from point A to point B. The period ended 1-0 in favor of the Flames, who also held an 8-4 advantage in shots.

2^nd Period: In the second period, the Flames once again would win the shots battle 8-4, but they lost the period 1-0 on the scoreboard. Back to the recent development of a recurring theme, the Flames didn’t allow constant pressure from Keene, but the chances they did get were better than they should have been. Or, maybe a play develops into a scoring chance that should have otherwise been an easy play to defend. The front of net presence has been lacking on both ends of the ice, but especially in front of their own net. That’s not to say that Keenan Alnahas and Anders Lindberg haven’t been good, because they’ve both played quite well. It’s more about opponents getting wide open shots on plays when Flame defenders are around, but are either not engaged or not in position, leaving the goaltending tandem on their own. Keene got an open look from an innocent dump in, and buried the shot. The period ended with the score tied 1-1 despite the Flames getting twice as many shots as their opponent.

3^rd Period: The third period started with a tie score and only 3 penalties had been called, all going to Keene. Keene played well in the period; they outhustled the home team and worked harder for loose pucks. They even had a shot towards net that appeared to hit the inside of the post where the net attaches to the iron before it bounced out, but nobody ever called it a goal. Ryan Douthart and Kyle O’Flaherty both played with intensity, getting directly in shooting lanes, fore checking, and making sure to disrupt any attempts of structured play from Keene. Brendan Courtney used his long reach and playmaking tendencies along with Sebastian Beal to keep pucks in the zone of feed pucks to forwards at every chance. Wil and Sam Hebert were a constant threat to bust loose and generate a scoring chance, and Christian Levesque even sprang for a rush up ice. Like much of yesterday’s game, the Flames played well for long portions of each period, and not just some of the team, all of the team. Early in the third period Jackson Puzzo pounced on a rebound, scoring the eventual game winning goal. His goal was set up after the Flames held possession in the offensive zone for a while. Ashlie Killen got a shot/pass toward the net and Zachary Bayer had a nice look at the net, firing a shot that was saved, but Puzzo beat the defender to the puck and scored the goal. With 1:02 left to play, the Flames, after facing an extra attacker, finally relieved the pressure when Douthart back checked a player, tipping the puck back to Sebastian Beal. Beal swept a banked clearing pass up the right wing boards to Bayer who had just come on for his shift and he skated in, easily scoring the goal on an empty net. The Flames held on and won 3-1 while improving their Granite State record to 5-5-1 overall. The Flames held a 23-14 shots advantage in the win.

The Flames played their 30^th game of the season on Sunday afternoon. Overall they are 16-13-1 and have outscored their opponents 100-80. Ander Lindberg lowered his Goals Against Average (GAA) to just 1.69 in GSL games. In GSL play the Flames are all even with a 5-5-1 record and have scored 24 goals while allowing 24 goals.

On Tap: According to the MRYHA Website the Flames play two games on Saturday next week, but no game on Sunday.