2010 Flames Win the 2021 Winter Classic Title

All game long, the 2010 Flames were on the attack in the offensive zone. They hounded their opponent, and pounded the net with shots of all descriptions. On Sunday they finished each of their two games, with the puck, in the zone, and never allowed either team to pull their goalie in favor of a sixth attacker. The Flames received timely, quality goaltending throughout their run to a 5-0 record in the tournament. In the championship game, the 2010 Flames beat Presque Isle, 2-0 to capture the 2021 Winter Classic Tournament title.

 

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For a game that only featured two goals scored, there certainly seemed to be a lot of action from start to finish. Mostly, it was the Flames getting scoring chances against the Presque Isle Wildcats, and then refusing to give up their siege of the offensive zone. It was one of those games when five shots on goal that should have gone in were saved or just missed, and then the first goal was a shot that hit two Wildcats players before going into the net.

The Presque Isle Wildcats were certainly the worthy opponent. A team that played well, was well coached, and never gave up. They did get some chances in the game as well, but the Flames goaltending tandem of Travis Ingalls and Will Rosenbeck answered the call every time they needed to. It was a good championship game between the best two teams that I saw in the tournament. #1 vs. #2, a classic match up. Presque Isle was 4-0 in the tournament coming in to the Final, outscoring their opponents, 19-4. The Flames were also 4-0, outscoring opponents, 23-4.

 

 

The first goal of the game was scored by Finley Dunn (Tournament MVP) on a shot that hit a defender in the shooting lane which caused the puck to look like it would go wide of the net. Then the puck hit a defenseman’s leg and bounced into the net. Jordan Hawkes started the play with a pass back to the right point where Caleb Powers slid a pass across to Dunn at the left point. Dunn fired a good hard shot toward the net and after the good bounces, the Flames led, 1-0.

The second goal came in the second period when the Flames pursued a loose puck in the right wing corner and came out of the fray with possession. This time, Powers moved the puck to Hawkes who slid a quick pass to the slot. Brayden Gillies took the pass and fired a shot on net from the slot. The shot was saved and looked like it might be tied up. What we didn’t see, that Brayden and the ref on that side of the ice saw, was that the puck was still loose. Gillies quickly reversed his direction and poked the puck past the goaltender, giving the Flames a 2-0 lead.

That was it. There was no more scoring in the game despite the offensive onslaught from the Flames. I don’t have rosters, or names of the players or coaches for the team from Aroostook County, but their goaltender was outstanding. In a game that could have easily been 5 or 6 to nothing, this youngster played well enough to give the Wildcats a chance to win. I told this young goaltender after the trophies had been handed out, “You were absolutely outstanding today. You did a tremendous job!” I meant it. I told one of their coaches that I would have a hard time cheering against Presque Isle, or that part of Maine in anything. I wish all kids could have shared in what I share next. It was a simple time, as in, simply awesome.

Presque Isle, Maine and Aroostook County, Maine have been near and dear to me my whole life. My Dad was from Mars Hill, Maine and my Mom from Centreville, NB, Canada. I spent a lot of time up that way in my growing up years. My parents were in New Brunswick at the old family farm for Christmas. I wasn’t due to be born for another 4 weeks, but I was born early. So, in an ice storm in the middle of the night, my Dad drove my Mom across the border and up to Caribou, Maine where I was born. We were back at the farm a few days after Christmas.

Then as my Dad preached (Yes, he was a pastor and a sports fan) at camps around northern Maine during the summer months year after year, I often times found myself at basketball or sports camps for a week at a time. Our family would be together, in Aroostook County, getting to know kids from Mars Hill to Wytopitlock, and all around Mapleton, Caribou, and Presque Isle. I am terrible with remembering names but many of these kids went on to play sports at U-Maine Presque Isle, or U-Maine Orono. Then when camp was done we would usually spend a couple of weeks back in New Brunswick on the farm.

Before I got to my high school years here in NH, my Dad used to take my closest brother and I to the Maine High School Basketball Tournament at the Bangor Auditorium. It was an all day affair with no fewer than 8 games on the schedule. I remember the radio booth set up high in the bleachers among a packed house where the games were broadcast all over Maine on AM radio. I cheered for the teams from Aroostook County, primarily Caribou and Presque Isle. I know you will find it hard to believe that I had my Dad buy me the program for the day so I could score the games on the little score cards printed in the magazine. But I did, field goals, free throws, rebounds, assists, fouls, all of it. I remember some great games and some huge crowds. But what I remember most, is just getting to share those long rides to Bangor and back with my Dad and my brother, both of whom are now together in our Lord’s presence. It was a treat to us to stay in some motel in the area for a late night hanging out with Dad, and a breakfast doughnut at a counter in some small diner. Which reminds me of Al’s Diner in Mars Hill where Route 1 and Route 1A come together. My Dad would take me across the border from the farm in Centreville sometimes to get a home made sugar doughnut. I thought it was so cool to sit with my Dad on stools at a counter in a diner and read the sports page while my Dad drank his coffee and chatted God’s love for us, potatoes, and sports with family men he knew his whole life. Absolutely, the best!

So, yes, it was very cool to me, that in a small holiday tournament in Southern New Hampshire, decades removed from another era in time, my youngest son got to play a team from Presque Isle, Maine in the Championship Game no less. I am blessed. We are blessed, and I remind you all to be present always, counting our blessings along the way. And sometimes, we can count them again from years gone by when they are brought to mind, for they are blessings for all time.

 

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Enjoy a few pictures the Final game of the Tournament. Click on them to open them up and zoom in.

 

 

 

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Team scoring: Game 5: Sunday afternoon at Tri-Town Arena.

Wildcats: 0-0-0 = 0

Flames: 1-1-0 = 2

Flames scoring: Dunn from Powers and Hawkes, Gillies from Hawkes and Powers.

Travis Ingalls and Will Rosenbeck combined to pitch another shutout, this time against the Wildcats. This shutout allowed the Flames to capture the Championship of the 2021 Winter Classic.

 

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