Written by From Thomas F. Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH – January 3, 2020
The student section for the first game back after the break. (Jen Webber Photography)
Friday night Goffstown returned to league action after the holidays and played host to a Division I team, Windham. Windham entered play with an 0-3 record in Division I so far. They seem to be getting better with every game though.
After Goffstown scored a pair of first period goals Windham made some adjustments and allowed only 10 shots on goal in the final two periods while scoring 3 unanswered goals on 24 shots themselves. The Jaguars earned their first win of the season with a 4-2 decision over the Grizzlies. Windham lost two games in the Tuscan Kitchen Blue Devil Classic Christmas Tournament by the identical scores of 3-2 to both Pinkerton and Salem.
James Amorelli made 32 saves but it wasn’t enough to get the Grizzlies a win. (Jen Webber Photography)
The Grizzlies got two goals in the first period on near perfect shots from Grady Chretien. Jackson Burke pushed a pass ahead to Chretien in the neutral zone and they tried to execute a 2-on-1. Chretien tried a return pass to Burke in front of the net, but the puck hit the defender and came right back to Chretien who roofed the shot up under the crossbar to give Goffstown a 1-0 lead at 6:31. Jack Flanagan would tie the game on a breakaway bid set up by Owen Brea at 8:29. Chretien would score from the slot on a nice pass from Colby Gamache at 11:58 to give Goffstown a 2-1 lead. That’s how the period would end. Windham had 12 shots to Goffstown’s 6 in the period. James Amorelli made 11 saves in the opening period.
Colby Gamache looks for some room to operate against a tight checking Windham team. (Jen Webber Photography)
The second period would end with the score tied at 2-2 if it weren’t for Amorelli and some help clearing a few rebounds. Windham laid the pressure on thick for the entire period. Sophomore goaltender James Amorelli made some huge saves along the way to keep Goffstown in the lead for most of the period. At 2:40 of the period he got his shoulder on a shot that glanced off of him, then off of the crossbar and over the net. Amorelli also kept the hometown fans, his coaches, and interested onlookers on the edge of their seats with some of his head first dives at pucks that either eluded his grasp or slid under him unsecured. But it didn’t cost him on the scoreboard. At 6:37 of the period he dove back to his right to make a tremendous right arm save during a scrum in front of the net. Everyone in the building thought the puck had gone in the net but he held it out. Amorelli continued to make saves until one shot got past him at 9:25 of the period when a Windham player made a sensational deflection of a shot from the blue line, except that he made contact with the puck above the crossbar and the goal was waved off. Finally, after a high-sticking penalty called on Eric Purcell the Jaguars tied the game at the 11:00 mark. Owen Brea struck for his first goal of the night on a quick shot that was set in motion on passes from Jack Flanagan and Aiden Gravell. In the final seconds of the period another Windham shot hit the post and kicked wide. After two periods, the score was 2-2, with Windham leading in shots 23-10, by an even wider margin in momentum.
After a pair of goals in the first period, everywhere the Grizzlies went, a Jaguar was sure to follow. (Jen Webber Photography)
The Grizzlies started the 3rd period shorthanded after Theo Milianes was called on a tripping call with 1:07 to play in the middle period. Milianes looked to be after redemption on a questionable hit or two by Windham players that weren’t called. With Goffstown hanging on for dear life, a penalty kill seemed like it might be the straw that would break the camel’s back. Amorelli again made a fantastic save on a re-directed shot at point blank range while the Jaguars were on the power play in the 3rd period. Goffstown continued to make errant or ill-advised breakout passes against the Windham pressure and sometime they did with no pressure at all. The result was an onslaught of Windham rushes, offensive zone pressure, and scoring chances. Amorelli held the fort the best way he knew how, but at 9:53 Owen Brea turned on the jets for his second goal of the night on a superior move down low that was set in motion on passes from Charlie Breen and Bobby DiCicco. The goal came at 9:53 of the period and gave Windham a lead they would not relinquish. Goffstown had scoring chances in the final two periods but could not sustain any offensive pressure or beat Vito Mancini when they did get shots on goal. After calling a timeout and getting possession of the puck, the Grizzlies pulled Amorelli at 13:39 for an extra attacker.
Grizzlies line up for a face-off against Windham. (Jen Webber Photography)
Brea broke free, kind of, 25 seconds later and out-finessed a pair of Goffstown players to get a shot on the empty net and score his third goal of the game. The game would end with Goffstown losing their first NHIAA League game of the season, and Windham getting their first win of the same kind.
It was great to see Drew O’Brien and Jackson Burke back in the line-up for the Grizzlies after both had missed multiple games with injuries recently. David Martineau will be out for quite a bit longer as he broke a bone in the Father-Son-Daughter Christmas Eve Family Skate when a former Goffstown player checked him in the annual skate for fun. Isaac McGregor continues to work toward returning to the lineup having missed the last 7 games for the Grizzlies.
Goffstown gets right back on the ice with a tilt against Division I opponent, Nashua North-Souhegan on Monday afternoon at 5:00 pm. Then a big game against Keene (who trounced Somersworth-Coe-Brown, 8-0 today) on Wednesday at 5:00 pm. The Grizzlies finish out the busy week with a Friday afternoon game at 4:30 pm against undefeated Dover and then host Somersworth-Coe-Brown on Saturday at noon. All games this week are at Sullivan Arena.
NHIAA Hockey:
Updated records.
Goffstown (4-4-0) vs. Windham (1-5-0)
Thomas F. Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH
Friday, January 3, 2020. 7:49 PM Start:
Summary:
Goals:
Goffstown: 2-0-0 = 2
Windham: 1-1-2 = 4
Shots:
Goffstown: 06-04-06 = 16
Windham: 12-11-13 = 36
Scoring:
1st Goffstown at 6:31. Even. Grady Chretien (7) from Jackson Burke (3).
1st Windham at 8:29. Even. Jack Flanagan from Owen Brea.
1st Goffstown at 11:58. Even. Grady Chretien (8) from Colby Gamache (7).
2nd Windham at 11:00. PPG. Owen Brea from Jack Flanagan and Aiden Gravell.
3rd Windham at 9:53. Even. Owen Brea from Charlie Breen and Bobby DiCicco.
3rd Windham at 14:04. Empty. Owen Brea unassisted.
Special Teams:
Goffstown Power Play: 0 for 1.
Windham Power Play: 1 for 2.
Saves:
Goffstown: James Amorelli 32 of 35. (44:35)
Windham: Vito Mancini 14 of 16 (45:00)
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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.