Written by I think that I speak for most of us when I say that we are thrilled to see all of these kids playing a sport that they love. There is healing for everyone in the spaces found in and around youth sports if you are willing to look.
Especially, if the focus is entirely on allowing the kids to be kids. Yes, parents, we adults, we already had our time, and it’s more than okay to allow our kids to be kids, with much less intervention from us. Watching this Flames team figure things out in real time, right in front of our eyes, is both trying and exciting. The hard part is to let them be, and to allow them the space and room for their own thought process to figure these matters out. They will. We did. Let them be.
On Saturday, over at the friendly confines of JFK, the Flames earned a 6-2 win over the Boston Jr. Terriers (White). Manchester had contributions from just about everyone in their team effort. Sunday, the Bay State Breakers came knocking at West Side Arena. The Breakers were the better skating, better structured team and eked out a 3-1 win with a pair of goals in the final 4 minutes of the game. The margin wasn’t large, and the Flames really fought to the final whistle, a lesson in some adversity that should serve them well moving forward.
The Flames travel to the Commonwealth for a pair of games this coming weekend. They play at Ristuccia Memorial Arena on Saturday morning at 8am, one parent only allowed in the rink. Sunday they can sleep in for a few minutes before a 2:20pm game at The Bog, one parent allowed in the rink here as well.
Please enjoy the gallery of pictures below. The captions are not too serious usually, and I hope you like the coverage of a bunch of kids playing a kids game. Click on the pictures to open them up and zoom in if you wish. Smile, and have some fun.
Between The Pipes
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- Travis played a solid game at JFK in Saturday’s win.
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- His pads were flailing and he kept most of the pucks out of the net.
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- Then again, there’s Murphy…
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- …and all of his laws.
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- In the Bay State game, Travis was busy, but he put his head down and got to work.Travis
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- The Breaker player is in all alone…
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- …but those big pads came in handy on a tremendous save.
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- Travis muttered, “This here door is closed”.
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- Sometimes the best defense is…
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- …when the pass is just a little to far out in front.
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- Bright sunshine outside, and placid reflections inside.
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- This is what it looks like when “Remember, stay out of the box”, is forgotten on the first shift of the game.
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- Quite a few players found their way into this photo, in a small space.
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- Boston has everyone back on D, while Pear Tree digs for the puck.
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- Soucy lets fly on a vicious backhand shot.
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- And his shot was on target, just under the bar.
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- Here we see the preparation for the backhand attempt.
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- This time the puck stayed on the ice and slid into traffic out in front of the net.
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- Here Jax, tries the old bank shot, trying to bank it off of Murphy, then a tap from Beal on the ice, and finally to Cam in front of the net.
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- Jacob avoids the player doing a Russian push-up and gets a shot on goal.
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- As it turns out, the puck slid right under the left pad for a Flames goal.
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- Flames face-off photo. Just line up and play.
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- Colby lifts a shot toward the net. Actually, this was nowhere near the net, but that’s alright.
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- Another shot fired by Soucy.
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- Ian gets a shot on net against Boston.
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- Ian’s shot might have snuck into the net except for some help from Boston’s defense.
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- Opening face-off. Some feet are already moving.
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- In the Bay State game, Travis was busy, but he put his head down and got to work.Travis
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- The Mighty Finn fires a shot on net.
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- Caleb looks for some room to skate free against Bay State.
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- Powers shot with some friendly traffic in front.
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- So close, but just wide of the net.
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- Garrett gets a shot through the defense.
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- With everyone in full retreat, Travis covers the puck, or so he thinks.
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- But the puck was loose and he made a phenomenal save to bail himself out.
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- The Breaker player is in all alone…
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- …but those big pads came in handy on a tremendous save.
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- Caleb beats the pressure with the old ‘D to D’ pass over to Jax.
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- Jax receives the pass and loads to fire.
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- The shot is along the ice with Teddy and Cam in the area.
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- Teddy got a stick on the shot and the puck changed direction.
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- But the Breaker goaltender scrambled to make the save.
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- The Little Engine That Could, sped to the net with under 20 seconds left in the 2nd period.
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- And the game was tied at 1-1, assist to McCain.
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- Travis muttered, “This here door is closed”.
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- Sometimes the best defense is…
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- …when the pass is just a little to far out in front.
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- The Breakers won 3-1. I just like this group of kids and coaches, and the effort they all put in.