Written by On a snowy, freezing rain type of afternoon over at Tri-Town Ice Arena the Grizzlies played a home game at their third different home venue this season. They hosted the Bow Falcons in their second game in three days, both home games, both at different rinks. After falling behind, 1-0, and then 2-1 going into the final period, the Grizzlies erupted for five third period goals.
That’s right! Goffstown scored five goals in the third period and they skated off of the North Rink with a 6-3 victory. Jake Webber made a whopping 35 saves en route to his third career varsity win, and first start this season. He was brilliant enough to give Goffstown a chance to make their offense stand up and take the lead as opposed to playing catch up.
The Grizzlies are all geared up and ready to take on the Falcons. (Sage Photo)
Bow swarmed the offensive end at times, getting clusters of shots at the net almost in rapid-fire succession. The Falcons would end up with 38 shots on goal in the game. As a matter of fact, all three of their goals were scored after Jake Webber made a save on the initial shot or even more shots to follow.
Bow took the lead, 1-0 in the first period when Dominik Jurcins sent a pass back to the right point to Cole Billow who fired a shot on net. Webber made the save and the puck bounced up and out into traffic in the slot. Ethan Tobeler grabbed the loose puck and shoved it back toward the net and in, for the goal at 3:49 of the period. That would be the only goal of the period with Bow getting 11 shots on goal to Goffstown’s 10.
See here kids, this is exactly how something can bend, but not break. You know, like the Grizzlies did last night. (Sage Photo)
Grady Chretien tied the game for the Grizzlies at 1-1 when he picked off a pass at center ice and skated in alone to score the first of many goals for him on the night. The game was tied at 6:40 of the period. The Goffstown joy faded fast as Jurcins won the face-off at center ice and the Falcons made consecutive passes up the ice. First, Finnegan Benoit took the face-off win and made a short pass over to his ‘D’ partner, Cole Billow. Billow just made an innocent backhand bank pass into the neutral zone off of the boards. From there, Joshua Billow grabbed the puck and made a nice, short, quick pass to Jurcins, to get by a pinching Colby Wright which created a 2-on-1 with Tobeler. Jurcins walked and fired a tough shot on net that Jake Webber saved with his shoulder, but the rebound came right back to Jurcins who pounded the puck into the net. All of that took exactly 10 seconds, and Bow was back in front at 6:50 of the period.
The second period would end with the Falcons leading 2-1. Bow outshot Goffstown 12-5 in the middle period and mostly dominated the play. Webber made several key saves to keep the Grizzlies in the game. It should also be noted that freshman goaltender, Mason Marquis for Bow, made a few rather amazing saves of his own in this game. He made a couple of toe saves on low, hard shots on goal that looked destined for the twine, but his quick feet and pads were equal to the task.
Last night, the officials came to the booth to give every vocal, visual, and mental message to me they could, and they all included the number 7. (Sage Photo)
Entering the third period, the Grizzlies had been outplayed overall, but were still very much in the game, trailing by a single goal. Bow would maintain an offensive barrage in the final period, getting another 15 shots on goal, but persistence paid off for the Grizzlies. I don’t know how to say this without sounding one-sided, or even biased toward a player, but the final period of this game could be a highlight reel for dogged determination in perfect balance with skill mastery and creating opportunities of which to take advantage. Grady Chretien scored four times in the final period, and five times in the game. All five goals were unassisted, but I dare say, that none were selfish. I have been thinking, if not saying, this for four years, the young man just knows where to be on the ice when the puck gets there. Watch the video. He is in motion, moving toward pucks and open spaces before either are obvious to everyone else. Add his determination and incredible skating ability and you get the third period he and the Grizzlies had on the North Rink yesterday.
Nick DiMarzio, Luc Ouellette and Jackson Burke were instrumental in Goffstown’s goals on the night even if not on the scoresheet. They presented threats to score, and even more effectively, they also applied pressure on the forecheck which created opponents’ mistakes. First Goffstown goal of the night, Burke denies a passing lane, Ouellette forces a defender to move the puck, Chretien reads the play and the open space, steals the pass and walks in to score. Second goal for the Grizzlies, Nick DiMarzio and Burke on the forecheck leads to a sloppy clearing attempt resulting in Chretien swiping the puck and ultimately led to Ouellette’s goal after he came on for DiMarzio.
In a difficult time period it’s awesome to celebrate our youth overcoming obstacles and achieving together. (Sage Photo)
Back to the third period, the Grizzlies tied the game at 4:44 of the final period when Luc Ouellette ripped a shot into the net after corralling a pass from Chretien. The third GHS goal came after Jake Webber made 4 consecutive saves to keep the score tied, then Grady stole the puck with his skate, and from there, well, you would just have to watch for yourself. He changed direction at least three times all while somehow gaining speed and making moves which led to a simply ridiculous goal on a shot that hit a sliver of an opening and rested inside the goal. Goffstown led 3-2 at 5:31 of the period.
As I said earlier though, Bow was creating one chance after another and they cashed in at 11:07 of the period to tie the game. Webber made at least three straight saves starting with a shot from the point by Cole Billow, but the Grizzlies could not clear rebounds or Falcons looking for them. Eventually, Finnegan Benoit centered a pass-shot to the goal mouth that Ethan Tobeler deflected and Aidan Labrecque collected the remnants, burying a shot up under the crossbar where the fine china is stored. So, with less than five minutes to play, the game was back to even at 3-3. Despite having a pair of goals and an assist already, nobody could have seen that Chretien still had a hat trick left to score over the next three and a half minutes. At 11:35 of the period, Grady gathered a loose puck that had been bouncing all over the place at center ice and with some slight of hand, ever moving forward, found himself behind four defenders. He calmly moved the puck to his backhand and put the puck in the net, giving Goffstown a 4-3 lead.
Like I said, isn’t everything better when the old gang is all here? (Sage Photo)
Chretien added to his magical evening on the ice at 12:55 of the period, when he ripped a turn-around wrist shot into the net after willing himself to control the puck for a shot. Grizzlies now led, 5-3. With 1:19 left to play, Bow pulled Marquis from their net in favor of an extra attacker. At 14:36 Chretien capped off the night with an empty net goal, but it didn’t happen without help. With Bow in the middle of an offensive attack, Chretien took the defensive zone face-off and pushed the puck to the open space on the opposite side of the ice out by the blue line. As the Falcon player raced for the puck he looked over his shoulder to see Luc Ouellette right on him. The players flipped the puck out to center ice in desperation just before Ouellette crushed him into the Grizzlies bench. Bow had a defenseman back at center ice to get the puck and he tried a one-touch pass up the ice to catch the Grizzlies by surprise and create an odd-man rush. But there was #7, Grady Chretien, who read the play, intercepted the pass and skated in by himself to score the empty net goal. Goffstown held on to win it, 6-3, after an explosion of third period goals. What a night at the rink!
I realize the Grady will get most, if not all, of the press for last night’s game. He certainly earned it. I also know that individual greatness doesn’t happen in a vacuum in team sports. The ebb and flow, the rest between shifts, and the contagious spirit that is the unyielding desire to persist and give your best effort all factor into the end result. It takes everyone on the roster to play their role to the best of their abilities to achieve team success, and even individual greatness. It always has. It always will. So keep working hard, keep working together. As I heard Coach Walsh reminding his Falcon players last night, “Every shift matters”, I reiterate the same. It all matters. So measure it, work at it, and improve. It only takes everyone.
Goffstown plays next on Wednesday afternoon down in Hudson at 3:30pm against Alvirne-Milford at Cyclones Arena.
Please check out this clip (click on the link) that the talented Adam McCune (GTV) put together that more than exceeded my request. Thank you so much Adam! You are awesome! Around here, we call 9 goals in two games, a “Grady“.
Updated records.
Goffstown (2-6-0) vs. Bow (2-6-0)
Tri-Town North Rink, Hooksett, NH
Monday, February 15, 2021. 4:33 PM Start:
Summary:
Goals:
Goffstown: 0-1-5 = 6
Bow: 1-1-1 = 3
Shots:
Goffstown: 10-05-12 = 27
Bow: 11-12-15 = 38
Scoring:
1st Bow at 3:49. Even. Ethan Tobeler from Cole Billow and Dominic Jurcins.
2nd Goffstown at 6:40. Even. Grady Chretien (11) unassisted.
2nd Bow at 6:50. Even. Dominic Jurcins from Joshua Billow and Cole Billow.
3rd Goffstown at 4:44. Even. Luc Ouellette (2) from Grady Chretien (4).
3rd Goffstown at 5:31. Even. Grady Chretien (12) unassisted.
3rd Bow at 11:07. Even. Aidan Labrecque from Ethan Tobeler and Finnegan Benoit.
3rd Goffstown at 11:35. Even. Grady Chretien (13) unassisted.
3rd Goffstown at 12:55. Even. Grady Chretien (14) unassisted.
3rd Goffstown at 14:36. Empty. Grady Chretien (15) unassisted.
Special Teams:
Goffstown Power Play: 0 for 0.
Bow Power Play: 0 for 2.
Saves:
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.