Hockey: Goffstown 6 vs. Alvirne-Milford 1

Goffstown returned to home ice for the first time in four weeks, and they played like it was good to be home. The Grizzlies got a pair of goals from Griffin Cook in the opening 2 minutes and never looked back.

The opening period was a little odd because Goffstown led 2-0 very early and then didn’t score again in the frame. They scored on their first two shots but over the final 13 minutes of the period, they outshot the Alvirne-Milford Admirals just 12-9. Actually, the Admirals had several chances to score in the opening period but Madeline Sage held them scoreless. First, Cook scored from Colby Gamache and Colin Burke at 0:41, on a nice possession and series of passes. Then Cook netted an unassisted goal at 2:00. I know that the final score ended up being 6-1 in favor of the home team, but somehow I don’t feel it really sums up the body of action that played out on the ice at Sullivan Arena. At 9:21 of the period Sage made a great save on a break in by Anthony Viola when he took the puck from Jacob Noonan on another failed D to D bid. At 11:08 of the period Alvirne-Milford turned nothing into a scoring bid and they ripped a shot past Sage in the net but the puck smacked the crossbar and caromed away. The Admirals also had a pair of crossing passes for one-timers right at the crease which were either broken up on the shot or whiffed on entirely by the offensive players. Goffstown led 2-0 at the break yet, the lead wasn’t even that big.

In the second period, which has been a nemesis of sorts for Goffstown this year, things looked bad again, very early. First, Colby Gamache took a slashing penalty and the Admirals had the first 3 shots of the period, and quickly. Maddie Sage made the saves and at the end of the penalty kill, Brett Lassonde broke free off of a Sage save and almost sprung for a breakaway chance. Anthony Viola never quit hustling and somehow caught Lassonde from behind and poke-checked the puck away at the last second while not committing a penalty. Less than a minute later Colin Burke tried to jump into the offensive play but the puck eluded his stick and the Admirals were off and running. Again, Sage made a nice save and more importantly did not allow a rebound with a pair Admirals right in front of her. One thing about this club from Alvirne-Milford, they don’t stop skating, and quite frankly, they skate really well.

Midway through the period, Goffstown had really stemmed the tide and turned the offensive chances largely in their favor. The Grizzlies were piling up chances one after another. Sebastian Beal finally scored a nice goal set up by Griffin Cook and Colby Gamache at 7:37 to give the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead. At 10:13, just 3 seconds after Damien Barahona had exited the penalty box after serving his time, Jacob Noonan picked off a clearing attempt at the left point and flipped a shot off of the crossbar. The referee was waving his arms, saying no goal, when the rebound was scooped up by Calvin Sage and deposited into the net. Then at 12:02 of the period Goffstown struck again when Colin Burke wrapped the puck hard around the end boards to Griffin Cook on the other side of the ice. Cook broke the puck out of the zone and cut toward the middle then hit Sebastian Beal with a head-man pass right through the middle. Beal moved to his right to create a quick 2-on-1 with Colby Gamache. Beal fed the puck across to Gamache and Colby lifted a shot into the back of the net. Alvirne-Milford would end the period with just 4 shots after starting the period with 3 quick shots. Goffstown had 14 more and led the shot total, 28-13 after two periods.

The third period was one of those weird timeframes where the home team led by five goals, so the lines get used at depth, and maybe some things get juggled. Then again, this Admirals club doesn’t ever quit so the outcome isn’t really decided until all things play out. See last year’s game when trailing 9-2, Alvirne scored 4 goals in the final period to make things interesting.

So, as it would go, Levi Griffin barrelled into the offensive end and scored a goal for the Admirals at 0:56. The goal was set up by Anthony Viola. Big deal, right? 5-1 game in the third period. Again, Alvirne-Milford had numerous point-blank chances in the final period where a connection on a one-timer could have added a goal, or two, maybe even three. The chances were definitely there. Goffstown’s Grady Chretien scored an unassisted goal at 4:18 to bring the lead back to five goals. Jackson Dowd spelled Zach Partridge in net for the Admirals after Partridge made 23 saves on 28 shots after 30 minutes. Dowd even took one of the three Admiral penalties they received in the final period, which certainly stemmed any come back bid. Goffstown was poised though, not reacting too much to chippy play, or contact being made after the whistle. To Alvirne-Milford’s defense though, they had chances throughout the game to be much more physical and possibly chippy, and until the last 7 minutes of the game, they mostly took the high road. Goffstown led in shots again, 9-6, but there were probably another 6 shots that the Admirals either missed the net or failed to connect on the shot. The Grizzlies returned to home ice with a 6-1 win against an opponent they’ll see again at the end of the regular season.

Goffstown plays another home game on Wednesday night the 16th, against a much improved Merrimack squad. Then, of course, the 7th Annual Comedy Night happens on the 19th. Goffstown will have some time off after Wednesday’s game and won’t play until they travel to play Portsmouth-Newmarket on January 25th.

Around the league last night, Keene got goals from four different goal scorers to beat Merrimack 4-0. Dover stayed undefeated with 4-0 win against rival Spaulding. Portsmouth-Newmarket improved to 4-1-1 beating Winnacunnet 2-1 in OT. Lebanon-Stevens-Mt. Royal went to Kingswood and left town with a 1-0 win.

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NHIAA Hockey:

Updated Records:

Goffstown (6-1-1)

Alvirne-Milford (3-3-1)