What a nice surprise the addition of Drew O’Brien has been to the Grizzlies program this season. (Sage Photo)

From Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH – Sunday, February 16, 2020

Perhaps the best thing about the shellacking that the Grizzlies took out in Keene on Saturday night was that they had less than 24 hours to think about it as they had to return to the ice for another game. Yesterday afternoon, at Sullivan Arena, Goffstown welcomed the Clipper Mules of Portsmouth-Newmarket for the only game in Division II hockey. Goffstown held their opponents to one shot on goal in the first period. Then scored five goals over ten minutes in the middle period to go on and earn a much needed 8-5 victory when all was said and done.

Maybe it was just a good night’s sleep or maybe a self reflection and renewal to taking care of the details. Either way, the Grizzlies came out and  played an outstanding first period of hockey against the visitors from Portsmouth-Newmarket. Goffstown held the Clipper Mules to one shot on goal, which didn’t come until the 14:00 mark, and created 13 shots of their own. Jackson Burke who was flying all over the place all afternoon ripped a slick backhand off of the post at 2:47 of the period, but that counted for neither a shot, nor a goal. The Grizzlies lost another player to injury at the 10:56 mark of the first period when David Blodgett hit David Martineau just behind the shoulders and drove him head first into the boards behind the net. With an official looking right at the play, there was no call. Martineau did not return to the ice for the rest of the night. Goffstown got on the board at 11:25 of the period when Eric DesRuisseaux led a nice breakout and pass to Drew O’Brien. The puck ended up on Grady Chretien’s stick and Grady pushed the puck past Jack Bussiere in net to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead. The first period would end the score 1-0, and Goffstown out shooting the Clipper Mules, 13-1.

Eric DesRuisseaux and the defensive unit had a great game on Sunday, save the penalty kill. (Sage Photo)

In the second period Goffstown had 13 shots again but this time many of their scoring chances were vastly improved. Despite the tremendous offensive outburst, a sign of things to come showed up in the first 90 seconds of the period. Goffstown took their second minor penalty of the game, and this time, Portsmouth-Newmarket cashed in with a goal. It took the Clipper Mules just 20 seconds of power play time to tie the game at 1-1. Andrew Madden scored from Jack Suhesky on a nice move, shot, and rebound play at 1:26. Goffstown took the lead for good at 4:13 of the period after Jackson Burke used his speed and determination to get to the offensive zone before dishing a beautiful pass to Grady Chretien who finished the play from the doorstep. At 6:51 of the period, on the power play, the Grizzlies scored on Eric Purcell’s first career goal. Purcell tucked the puck home on a rebound of a Colby Gamache backhand shot that almost went in on its’ own. Then at 8:31 Drew O’Brien scored after a great pass from Grady Chretien to give the Grizzlies a 4-1 lead. First, Colby Wright did a great job to keep the puck in the zone at the left point. The puck kicked ahead to Gamache and right on to Chretien’s stick. Chretien slid the backhand pass across to O’Brien who made a nifty play with his skate to control the pass and backhand the puck into the net.

Later in the period, on back-to-back shifts, Jackson Burke scored a pair of goals, at 12:16 and 14:36 respectively. The first one came on a bit of a defensive miscue between Bussiere and his defense. Luc Ouellette stepped in and disrupted the play before sliding a pass/shot into the crease that came out to Burke who fired the puck home. The second came after a nice touch pass from Theo Milianes. To start the play, Xavier Bibaud wrapped the puck from behind his net toward the corner and out of harm’s way. Travis Perkins stepped in and tried controlling the puck with his skate but missed it completely. Milianes grabbed the puck and flipped a soft pass to the open ice in front of Burke just before Mike Durkin could pinch in and break up the play. The pass and pinching defenseman, gave Jackson 100+ feet of open ice and sent him in on a complete breakaway all alone. Burke made a perfect shot, bar down, to score the shorthanded goal for the Grizzlies. There is no doubt that Jackson is an exciting player to watch, already possessing outrageous skills. He plays with great speed and a near reckless abandon. He is a player to watch as he matures and grows stronger, and if he ever masters the old, give the pick up to get it back approach he could be unstoppable. Goffstown led 6-1 after two periods. They outshot the Clipper Mules 13-7 in the second period.

Here, I unveil the nickname, Jackson “Breakaway” Burke. He had a big game against the Clipper Mules. (Sage Photo)

The third period wasn’t a total surprise from the standpoint of Portsmouth-Newmarket’s compete level despite trailing by five goals. Look at their schedule, they compete and battle every single night. So, when they scored on the power play, again, just 38 seconds into the period, their resolve earned a boost. Luke Suhesky scored the goal on a set up from Jack Suhesky and Mike Durkin. Durkin made a gorgeous shot-pass that was redirected on net by Jack Suhesky. Amorelli made a sensational save on the redirection but the rebound came right to Luke Suhesky who scored the goal from point-blank range. Goffstown answered quickly with a highlight reel worthy goal scored by Colby Gamache on a breakaway. Trailing by 4 goals at the time, Portsmouth-Newmarket started taking more risks trying to get back in the game and Grady Chretien made them pay with a pilfer off of a Gamache poke check and a great pass to set up Colby’s dash at 1:55. The Clipper Mules kept coming on though, scoring goals at 7:11, 8:51, and 13:44, all on the power play. For some reason it seemed like the Grizzlies were taking out every little injustice they ever felt, including any happening in the present, and somehow turned it into a wild west lack of discipline. Did the officials miss any calls that were worthy of penalties on Portsmouth-Newmarket? Of course. But even on a day when things were overwhelmingly going their way it seemed like the Grizzlies wanted to retaliate and/or sulk about the treatment. This is where leadership, maturity, and the choices made in reacting to adversity come in to play. It is conceivable that if the Grizzlies stayed out of the box through better decision making they may have had a running time third period in their favor just as it had gone against them a night earlier. That’s not to take anything away from the Clipper Mules. I realize that it takes another team to draw penalties and Portsmouth-Newmarket just kept attacking.

Colby Wright is another sleek skating member of the Grizzlies this season. (Sage Photo)

After Noah Foster scored on a slight redirection of a shot Skyler Mikolaities that was set up by Mike Durkin; and Madden scored from the Suhesky’s; and David Blodgett scored on a great passing play from Madden and Durkin; the Grizzlies only led 7-5 with 1:16 to play.

Portsmouth-Newmarket called their timeout and pulled Jack Bussiere from the net after the timeout. It took twenty seconds for Goffstown to slam the door when Grady Chretien nailed an empty net goal on a nice pass from Drew O’Brien after Xavier Bibaud broke up the play in the his own corner and pushed the puck toward the half wall. All in all, the Grizzlies had 40 shots on goal to just 19 for the group from the seacoast. On the other hand, Portsmouth-Newmarket didn’t need a lot of shots to cash in on 4 of 6 power plays.

NHIAA Hockey:

Updated records.

Goffstown (11-7-0) vs. Portsmouth-Newmarket  (5-10-0)

Sullivan Arena, Goffstown, NH

Sunday, February 16, 2020. 4:30 PM Start:

Summary:

Goals:

Goffstown: 1-5-2 = 8

Portsmouth-Newmarket: 0-1-4 = 5

Shots:

Goffstown: 13-13-14 = 40

Portsmouth-Newmarket: 01-07-11 = 19

Scoring:

1st Goffstown at 11:25. Even. Grady Chretien (34) from Drew O’Brien (13) and Eric DesRuisseaux (12).

2nd Portsmouth-Newmarket at 1:26. PPG. Andrew Madden from Jack Suhesky.

2nd Goffstown at 4:13. Even. Grady Chretien (35) from Jackson Burke (9).

2nd Goffstown at 6:51. PPG. Eric Purcell (1) from Colby Gamache (24).

2nd Goffstown at 8:31. Even. Drew O’Brien (5) from Grady Chretien (10) and Colby Gamache (25).

2nd Goffstown at 12:16. Even. Jackson Burke (9) from Luc Ouellette (4).

2nd Goffstown at 14:36. SHG. Jackson Burke (10) from Theo Milianes (12) and Xavier Bibaud (12).

3rd Portsmouth-Newmarket at 0:38. PPG. Luke Suhesky from Jack Suhesky and Mike Durkin.

3rd Goffstown at 1:55. Even. Colby Gamache (17) from Grady Chretien (11).

3rd Portsmouth-Newmarket at 7:11. PPG. Noah Foster from Skyler Mikolaities and Mike Durkin.

3rd Portsmouth-Newmarket at 8:51. PPG. Andrew Madden from Luke Suhesky and Jack Suhesky.

3rd Portsmouth-Newmarket at 13:44. PPG. David Blodgett from Mike Durkin and Andrew Madden.

3rd Goffstown at 14:04. Empty. Grady Chretien (36) from Drew O’Brien (14) and Xavier Bibaud (13).

Special Teams:

Goffstown Power Play: 1 for 3

Portsmouth-Newmarket Power Play: 4 for 6.

Saves:

Goffstown: James Amorelli  14 of 19. (44:53)

Portsmouth-Newmarket: Jack Bussiere 32 of 39. (44:40)

Standings: Boys Ice Hockey Division II

NOTE: The following are not official NHIAA standings. They are only the accumulation of game results as reported by the athletic directors and coaches.

Click here to view the schedules for all of the teams below.

Sage Page

~ Thank you Maureen, your photos are fantastic!

Honestly these articles are so much better with your contributions.

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