NH Avalanche 2000 vs. Seacoast Spartans - Ice Den

Over the weekend the NH Avalanche 2000 team hosted the Seacoast Spartans for a game at the Ice Den. Previously, the Avs had traveled to Exeter and played the Spartans to a 5-5 tie after entering the third period with a 5-3 lead. That game had been a pretty physical affair and full of offense.

Both teams were missing players from the previous meeting between these two teams, but eventually, there was some physical play and a stretch of time during the third period where some players forgot about the puck being on the ice. Overall, this was a good game.

The Spartans took an early 1-0 lead but Tyler Whiting sent a well placed feed to Nicholas Gagne who skated down the right side and scored a nice goal to tie the game just minutes later. Late in the opening period, on the power play, the Avalanche scored again, taking a 2-1 lead. Whiting and Gagne teamed up again, this time getting a pass out front to Cody Sullivan who slammed the puck home, converting on a pretty play with the man advantage.

The second period saw the Spartans tie the game at 2 apiece on their second power play goal. The Avs lost a defensive zone face off and the Spartan center made a quick pass to the crease for a tap in goal. Outside of that though, the Avs carried the play for almost the entire middle stanza. They showed great teamwork and structure while generating scoring chance after scoring chance, but could not find the back of the net.

For more than 14 minutes, the third period was played in a 2-2 tie. Both teams had chances. The Spartan goaltender made a couple of saves that were flat-out robbery. The game got a little chippy as mentioned earlier, but both teams defended their ends of the ice pretty well. Then with just 55.8 seconds remaining, the Spartans took advantage of a turnover at their offensive blue line and scored the game winning goal.

As I said, the game was a good game, played pretty evenly. The Avalanche had some great chances throughout the second half of this game but it wasn’t to be. This isn’t about missed chances, this is about how the Avs played together, moved the puck, covered for one another, and virtually everyone on the roster had chances to score.

The Avalanche will be on the ice quite a bit this coming weekend, all of which will be at The Ice Den Arena.