Hockey: Goffstown 10 vs. Timberlane 2

Grizzlies Return Home and Celebrate With a Ten Goal Outburst

After four straight road games, the Grizzlies returned home to play the Timberlane Owls hockey team on Monday night. Goffstown was able to win three out of four games over eight days, and looked forward to coming back to Sullivan Arena. Timberlane High School hasn’t fielded a varsity hockey team in each of the last two seasons. So, this visiting group from Plaistow is trying to get back into the swing of NHIAA hockey with a young team.

The Grizzlies welcomed the Owls back to NHIAA hockey in part by scoring five goals over a four minute span in the opening period. Goffstown finished the evening, piling up ten goals, in a 10-2 win over the visitors. Timberlane returned to varsity play this season after two seasons with no team. They have 10 freshmen on their roster and are playing a D-II schedule this season. The Owls won the D-II State Championship back in 2009 and were a tough team to play for a long time. I am glad to see them back in the mix. They have roughly 1100 students over in Plaistow and I hope they can keep a team on the ice for years to come. If more parents would just realize how good the high school hockey experience is in NH, there could be less full-season commitments and more kids playing for their town/school during the best days of their lives. This is how their parents did it, and their grand parents too, and I would bet most of them wouldn’t trade those days gone by for anything.

Goffstown came out and pumped 15 shots on net in the opening period. They added 17 more shots in the second period before pulling back in the third period. It’s tough to play games like this sometimes. While everyone calls for respect and sportsmanship regarding the opponent, there must also be respect for the game and the season you find yourself in. With this game on Monday night sandwiched in between back to back Saturday opponents of Portsmouth-Newmarket and Bishop Brady, it’s difficult to pull back on the throttle sometimes.

There were some ‘career firsts’ for the Grizzlies in this game, and that’s always exciting. The first goal of the game was scored by Brandon Bograd, set up by freshman, Gavin Diodati (1st career assist) and Brennan Pierce. Pierce made a nice outlet pass to Diodati at center ice. The freshman skated across the blue line and ripped a shot that might have been wide but Sanseverino gloved the shot, or at least tried to. The puck glanced off his his glove and landed right where Bograd could sweep it into the net. The Grizzlies led, 1-0 at 4:41 of the period. On the next shift, Max Ouellette scored on a breakway bid set up by a nice touch pass from Luc Ouellette to put Goffstown up 2-0 with just 5:04 played. Jakobi Sanseverino is a freshman goaltender for the Owls, and he plays on the same Manchester Flames team with three Goffstown freshmen, Diodati, Dylan Desruisseaux, and Austin Campbell.

Goffstown went up 3-0 when Bograd scored his second of the night. Luc Ouellette stole a pass at center ice and skated in for a quick shot. The shot was blocked came back to Luc who slid a backhand pass to Bograd who shot the puck inside the far post as he got decked on the play. It was a shorthanded goal for the Grizzlies. Just as the Goffstown penalty expired, Colby Wright made a brilliant aerial pass from his own goal line out to center ice that hit Max Ouellette in stride coming off of the bench for the penalized player. Ouellette handled the pass perfectly and skated in all alone before outwaiting the goaltender and firing the puck into the nylon strings. Goffstown led, 4-0 at 7:57 of the period. The Grizzlies scored their final goal of the period when Brandon Bograd tipped a clearing attempt by the Owls.

The puck was pilfered at the blue line by Colby Wright and he skated to the left wing circle and wired a shot inside the far post for the 5th Grizzlies goal. Timberlane got on the board at 12:45 of the period. Dylan Desruisseaux lost a defensive zone face-off to Billy Shanley after an icing call. Cam Ingram pounced on the puck like a panther and backhanded a shot toward the net but the puck hit Brennan Pierce in the skates. Ingram quickly spun, grabbed the puck, and fired all in one motion, and labeled a perfect shot in the top far-side corner, up under the bar where grandma hides the sugared doughnuts. It was the first goal of the season for the Owls and it was a splendid shot. The period would end with Goffstown owning a 5-1 lead on the scoreboard and a shot advantage of 15-6.

The second period features 3 goals from the Grizzlies and 1 penalty apiece to each team. Two of the Goffstown goals in the period would be ‘1st career goals’ for the players that scored them. But first, the Goffstown power play was on display for the only time in the game, and they made it count. After what seemed like several minutes of the Grizzlies playing pass and catch with the puck, they got a clean shot from the slot. Colby Wright kept the puck in the zone out at the top of the right wing circle, flipping a backhand pass to Luc Ouellette in the corner. Ouellette retreated up the half wall and fed a beautiful touch pass, to his brother who wasn’t open yet. As the pass slid past a pair of defenders, Max Ouellette skated into the open space and blasted a shot from the slot and into the net. It was a gorgeous play, and Goffstown led, 6-1 at 7:12 of the second period.

The next two goals will always be remembered by the players that scored them. Corbin Huntley had missed a few games to injury and was getting back into the lineup. He had played really well and looked strong on his skates the day before in the JV game played at Sullivan Arena. Brennan Pierce started the play with a nice long diagonal pass from his own end out to Huntley at center ice. Huntley gained the blue line with some contact and chipped the puck into the zone where Jake Klardie took control. Klardie skated up the left wing boards and curled toward the dot. As he did, he dropped a backhand pass to Huntley who was motoring toward the slot. The pass froze the defenseman and Huntley fired a bullet inside the far post for his a first career goal, and it was a beauty.

Shortly thereafter, Goffstown won an offensive zone face-off with the All-Freshmen Line (Campbell, Desruisseaux, Diodati) on the ice. Desruisseaux won the draw back to Colby Wright who whipped a pass over to his D partner, Xavier Bibaud. Bibaud took a wrist shot from the right point that Sanseverino saved and almost held, but the puck squirted loose to his right. It was just enough of an opening for Desruisseaux to pick up the rebound at the goal mouth and push it across the line for his first career goal. Goffstown led, 8-1 at 9:16 of the second period. Through two periods the Grizzlies had a 32-10 shot advantage, with an awful lot of their shots coming from freshmen and sophomores.

In the final period, Goffstown had long since pulled back. To Timberlane’s credit, they kept skating, pushing, changing on the fly, and playing hockey, all as it should be. The Grizzlies did score a pair of goals in the first 3:09 of the period, but they were not pressing the play as they had early on. The Owls continued to work on their game and to battle as they could. Andrew Skora scored for the Grizzlies at 1:49, when he blocked a shot out at the point and followed the bouncing puck into center ice. Skora hit center ice with the puck and speed to break in all alone. As Andrew hit the slot area at full throttle he ripped a shot to the stick side of Sanseverino and found the net inside the far side post. Goffstown led, 9-1. Skora, who had some solid numbers last year (14 games, 2 goals, 6 assists) in limited playing time as a freshman had started slowly this season, but over the last week I have seen this player really start to build some positive momentum for himself. It’s a great sign for him and for the Grizzlies.

Goffstown grabbed another goal at 3:09 of the period when Xavier Bibaud, a solid defenseman, showed off some offensive skills with a rush, a deke or two, and a little slight of hand in the crease. The play started well away from the net when Brandon Bograd simply tapped a pass back to his own blue line to Owen Matatall who reset the play in the Grizzlies defensive zone. Matatall dropped a short little pass to his D partner, Bibaud who had turned to head up ice and was already accelerating. Bibaud flew through center ice and maneuvered deftly around all defensive pressure to the front of the ice before sliding a one-hand backhand shot inside the left post as he went right. It was a defenseman’s goal to brag upon if ever there was one. It was a beauty, eh!

Timberlane scored the final goal of the game at 10:44. It was a pretty nice goal as well. Devin Hurton tipped a puck off of, and past, Nick Caldwell at the blue line and skated in with great speed and an even better shot. He ripped a wrist shot from the left wing circle over Ethan Santoro’s shoulder into the far side top corner. Hurton showed some great skating ability all night long for the Owls. After his goal, the score was 10-2, with 4:16 left to play. There were a few penalties called late in the game, and Timberlane even pulled Sanseverino for an extra attacker over the final 80 seconds of the game to work on that scenario as a team. With running time in the final period, it went by quickly. Timberlane outshot Goffstown, 6-5 in the third period.

The Grizzlies had a had a few career ‘firsts’ in the game, one each for Gavin Diodati, Dylan Desruisseaux, and Corbin Huntley. Ethan Santoro played well in net for Goffstown, saving 14 of 16 shots en route to his second career varsity win between the pipes. For Goffstown, their fans, and all of the volunteers who bring game night to you all, it was good to be back at Sullivan Arena for a home game.

We will work to correct the microphone/sound issue that we faced during the pregame presentation on Monday night. Goffstown’s game presentation is known to be among the very best in the state. I personally count on all of us in the Goffstown hockey family to bring professionalism and a sense of gratitude and respect to whatever role any of us play in presenting home games to any and all. Somebody is always watching, while players and coaches, and even officials might be having the best, or worse, night of their careers. It is up to us all to remain positive and professional as we deliver an experience that could impact others for just a moment, or even a lifetime. I think back into my own childhood and remember fondly, the experiences of walking into stadiums, fields, courts, or arenas to watch anyone from my Dad or uncles or brothers, to pros and everyone in between.

I remember the pageantry if you will, displayed or portrayed in some old gymnasium or ice rink, or an old ballpark that opened in 1912, wherever games were being played and I was there to watch. I loved it then. I love it now, for love of the game. For love of the kids, the players who give us reason to be there in the first place. Do it right, do it well. Leave it better than you found it. After all, isn’t it all about the kids? And what young player doesn’t enjoy hearing their name announced along side their teammates, to be counted, to be noticed, to be lifted up. There enough things in life that will try to beat you down, so while we have a say, even if it’s a small say; say it well, say it for always.

Goffstown hits the road again, although they won’t have to travel very far, when they storm into Tri-Town Arena for a battle with the D-I Bishop Brady Giants. Game time is 6:20pm on Saturday night, January 22nd. We will see if the Grizzlies can build on their win at Portsmouth-Newmarket last Saturday, bolstered by this win at home and some days off to prepare.

 

---

---

---

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.