Written by It was a gorgeous autumn morning and the only folks heading south from the foliage, pumpkins, and warm spicy concoctions throughout New Hampshire to the busy routes of Massachusetts were likely going to Ristuccia Memorial Rink. The Flames and their partial families arrived in the parking lot with smiles and lots of energy on this sunny Saturday morning.
After a few rounds of the new hit show “Guess This Week’s Scorekeeper”, the puck was dropped for another youth hockey game. As it turned out, the game was excellent. Both teams competed hard, and neither one gave an inch. It was an intense game with lots of chances for both teams. Overall, the Flames had the better of the play, but the outcome was in question right into the final seconds of the game. I will tell more of the story in the pictures below, but before I do, I want to recognize the goaltender for the Shamrocks who made some huge saves throughout the game. I will get to the Flames goalie in a little bit.
Due to social distancing, I had to take pictures through the gillnet from an undisclosed location high above the ice surface. Even so, I encourage you to click on the pictures to zoom in and see some of the detail evident in a true game of inches. Enjoy!
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- The Flames break the pre-game huddle and take the ice.
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- The opening faceoff finally happened after a live studio audience watched “Guess This Week’s Scorekeeper”. Good fun.
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- After the opening faceoff, they had another faceoff because some folks weren’t sitting on their assigned ‘X’s’.
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- Cam takes a shot at the goal and adds a degree of difficulty just to challenge himself.
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- The follow through is fantastic! This puck clanked off of the post though.
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- Sean hit the same post too, because he didn’t want to show up Cam. Teammates.
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- Cam takes a more traditional shot after a beautiful feed from Jacob.
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- By the time anyone knew that the puck was in the net, Cam was almost out of my picture.
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- Teddy celebrates a goal on his shot from out front, after which he charged the goalie.
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- Cam carries the puck out of the defensive end.
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- This weeks entry from the prestigious Soucy Backhand Collection.
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- Here, Soucy sneaks in for a shot on goal.
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- This shot was handled by the Shamrock goaltender.
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- Since the Flames were taking accurate shooting contests at the post, Cam stepped things up.
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- Here we see Cam’s shot hit the opponent right in the face mask.
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- I found out that this was not on purpose and I am pretty sure the other player was okay.
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- The Might Fin lets a shot go in traffic.
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- Ian had a nice quick shot off of a rebound but it just missed the net.
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- Soucy extends himself to get a quick shot away.
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- Believe it or not, this shot ended up beating the goalie, and hitting the far post.
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- Yup, you guessed it. This shot hit the post too.
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- Logan plays some defense behind the net. There is actually a player between him and the boards.
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- Nothing to see here. Colby played a great game.
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- After being set up by Soucy and Pear Tree, Cam gets a shot on goal.
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- If you zoom in on this it looks like the goaltender got his stick on Cam’s shot.
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- Again, with the zoom, you will see the puck just gets past the goalie’s glove. This was the game-winner.
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- Some of the Flames wanted to play some knee hockey, so they did.
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- Finley wore a practice jersey to the game so she could work on her shot.
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- Jax and Fin back on defense in front of Travis.
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- Loose puck! The Flames had a lot of chances around the front of the net all game.
Between The Pipes
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- Travis makes a pad save early in the game while working on poses for this years’ hockey card.
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- Here he points to a puck sailing wide of the net to tell his mom who just got a new hockey app on her phone, “This one is an attempt, not a shot Mom.”
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- With the score, 3-2 in favor of the Flames…
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- …And only 32 seconds left in the game…
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- Travis makes a HUGE pad save on a 2-on-0 break to hold the lead. Awesome! (Zoom in on this one)
Oh, and by the way, kids listen to your coaches. They try really hard to put you all in the best possible position to be successful. They coach in direct terms, not merely suggestions.
- If you are directed to get to the far post, then got there, quickly, all the way there. Be in position. Good things will happen.
- If they are calling for pressure on an opponent, then get there fast because they know that opponent gets just as rattled under pressure as you do, and maybe even more so.
- If they’re yelling “Skate”, then go to your top speed immediately. Use your hockey stops as a last resort to not pulverize someone. If you’re tired, get off the ice, that’s why you have teammates.
- If they tell you that you did a great job, believe them, and know it means as much to them as it does to you.
Great game today Flames! You played well. You played hard. You played like a team. You should be proud. See you all tomorrow!