Written by After a lackluster effort down in Nashua on Wednesday night, the Grizzlies traveled to Dover to play the Portsmouth-Newmarket Clipper Mules in a Saturday morning game. What could go wrong? A morning game against a team that had won four straight games and entered Saturday with a 6-1 record on the season.
The Grizzlies celebrate one of their goals on the road at Portsmouth-Newmarket. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
I wasn’t able to cover the game in person as I had a date with Rockland, Mass. for a pair of youth hockey games with the 2010 Flames. I did get to watch some of the first half of the game on the Grizzlies Facebook page before hitting the road. What I saw for myself, mixed among the messages and updates I received from folks out in Dover at the game had me beaming! The Grizzlies raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first 12:07 of the opening period. What?!?!
Goffstown would end up taking a beating on the shots on goal count, 38-16, but they certainly made up for it where it counted most, on the scoreboard. Goffstown skated out of Dover with an impressive 4-2 win over the Clipper Mules. The victory on Saturday morning (January 15, 2022) was enough in its’ own right, but to add in the feeling coming from the Wednesday night debacle in Nashua made it all the more impressive.
Luc Ouellette scored first, at 2:01 of the 1st, set up by Brandon Bograd and Max Ouellette. Bograd generally centers the MLB line and won an offensive zone face-off which led directly to the first goal. Just sixteen seconds later, the Grizzlies were on the board again. This time it was Max to Luc to Brandon, shot, rebound, score. Bograd from the Ouellette’s at 2:17. Goffstown would be outshot 16-7 in the first period, but Jake Webber was up to the task all day long, to the final whistle and beyond. Colby Wright scored a goal for the visitors at 12:07 of the opening period to stretch the lead to 3-0. Luc Ouellette took the offensive zone face-off and won it back toward the left point. Wright stepped in like a flash and whistled a one-touch, wicked wrister into the net from the top of the circle. Goffstown led 3-0 with less than three minutes left in the period. Portsmouth-Newmarket got on the board at 14:21 of the period. The Clipper Mules caught a defenseman too deep and turned it into a 2-on-2 transition goal with a great pass to the doorstep. Hobie Rolfe from Finn Bussiere and Skylar Mikolaities. Goffstown won the period, 3-1.
Something about Grizzlies gathering. Gets me every time. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
The only goal of the second period was scored by the visitors. Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice Webber saved all 10 shots he faced to keep the Clipper Mules largely hamstrung. Goffstown scored on their first shift of the game after losing the opening face-off. Portsmouth-Newmarket got the puck deep, as every coach would instruct, and Xavier Bibaud retrieved it off of the end boards behind his own net. He passed the puck up the right wing to Max Ouellette who busted through a road block along the boards. Max picked up speed and glided into the right wing circle for a shot on goal. He ripped a shot that was saved but it left a juicy rebound for Brandon Bograd to pounce on. Bograd shot once, got his own rebound and poked the puck into the net giving Goffstown a 4-1 lead with nearly two full periods of hockey left to play. Each of the teams took a pair of penalties during the remainder of the period, but the Grizzlies would still have a 4-1 lead with one period left to play.
In the final period, the home team threw everything they could into a comeback bid. They outshot the Grizzlies, 12-2 and scored the only goal of the period. Luke Suhesky scored from Bussiere and Travis Perkins on another nice feed to open space in the slot. Goffstown had a defenseman and center out of position on the play, getting trapped out by the blue line while the Clipper Mules sprinted into the zone for the goal at 11:06 of the period. Goffstown led, 4-2 and would hold that score until time expired. Jake Webber ended the game making 36 saves on 38 shots, a stellar .947 save rate. The Grizzlies improved to 5-3 while the home team dropped to 6-2 on the season thus far. The Grizzlies played with energy, and a sense of camaraderie that didn’t seem to exist on Wednesday night. Goffstown left Dover, feeling good, and looking forward to their first home game in 12 days. Timberlane is next on the schedule, Monday night, January 17, at 7:00pm.
Please feel free to click on any of the pictures to open them up and zoom in for a closer look. Thank you to Jen Webber for her graciousness and generosity, allowing me to bring these photos to life in story and recap.
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- Jake didn’t leave much for the Clipper Mules to shoot at on Saturday. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
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- For a big sheet of ice, things get a bit crowded at times. Nothing to see here, ref. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
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- My, oh my! I am surprised to see you too! (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
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- This bench party is so good that the ref wanted to check it out. By the way, how many hands does that ref have? (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
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- Celebrate with your teammates! These moments pass by way too fast. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
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- Final score in the win column. Old Glory. Happy Grizzlies. And a reminder that you can get there from here, or even from Wednesday night in Nashua. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
Long ago, folks much wiser than I told me to let my actions speak for me, on or off the playing surface. I have always tried to do that. Sometimes, in response to heckling and undermining, we take small pleasure to remind certain folks of the results of our actions. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)
NHIAA Hockey:
Updated records.
Goffstown (5-3-0) at Portsmouth-Newmarket (6-2-0)
Holt Rink, Dover Arena, Dover, NH
Saturday, January 15, 2022. 11:00 AM Start:
Summary:
Goals:
Goffstown: 3-1-0 = 4
Portsmouth-Newmarket: 1-0-1 = 2
Shots:
Goffstown: 07-07-02 = 16
Portsmouth-Newmarket: 16-10-12 = 38
Scoring:
1st Goffstown at 2:01. Even. Luc Ouellette from Max Ouellette and Brandon Bograd.
1st Goffstown at 2:17. Even. Brandon Bograd from Luc Ouellette and Max Ouellette.
1st Goffstown at 12:07. Even. Colby Wright from Luc Ouellette.
1st Portsmouth-Newmarket at 14:21. Even. Hobie Rolfe from Finn Bussiere and Skylar Mikolaities.
2nd Goffstown at 0:21. Even. Brandon Bograd from Max Ouellette and Xavier Bibaud.
3rd Portsmouth-Newmarket at 11:06. Even. Luke Suhesky from Finn Bussiere and Travis Perkins.
Special Teams:
Goffstown Power Play: 0 for 1.
Portsmouth-Newmarket Power Play: 0 for 3.
Saves:
Goffstown: Jake Webber 36 of 38 (.947). (45:00)
Portsmouth-Newmarket: Jack Bussiere 12 of 16 (.750). (45:00)
Remembering Jen Cheney:
The Jen Cheney Memorial Scholarship and Sportsmanship Award (awarded each season)
As a sixteen-year-old junior, Jen was a manager for the very first Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team in the 1999-2000 club season. Her infectious smile and friendly nature was a joy for everyone fortunate to know her. Jen is now our eternal team angel. The spirit of Jen lives on…our team champions an angel memorial patch sewn to each uniform jersey.
On Thursday, May 18th, 2000, Jen was killed by a drunk driver. We are dedicated to memorialize Jen’s life with the Jen Cheney Memorial Scholarship and Sportsmanship Award. But we also want to deliver a message from our team angel… simply…if you choose to drink, don’t drive.
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.