Turned And Tied – Goffstown 5 vs. St. Thomas 5

January 14, 2023 – Did anyone see it coming? The game was turned and tied – four times.

It started like we might have expected, getting pummeled by a count of 19 shots to 5. With St. Thomas scoring a goal in the last 30 seconds to take a 2-1 lead to the break. 341 days earlier, the Grizzlies were outshot 36-5 after the first period while hosting the Saints. But, on Saturday, Goffstown got the game turned and tied.

Jake makes an early save. He had 35 saves in 53:00 of hockey. (Jen Webber Photography)

Hope and belief play a pretty big role in pursuing the best version of yourself, or even the best version of a team’s capabilities. Hope and belief may have been boosted in a big way for the Goffstown hockey team when Max Ouellette netted his second goal of the game, to tie the score at 2-2 early in the second period.

Goffstown was on the power play and the puck was out high, near the blue line in the offensive zone. Jackson Estes was caught up with Nick Caldwell and Brandon Bograd battling for possession. Colin Chrisom had flown the zone hoping for a shorthanded chance I presume. Caldwell tipped the puck, Bograd got a good shot away from the slot, and Max Ouellette was on the doorstep to put home the rebound.

Ouellette had scored the lone Grizzlie goal in the first period when he straight up robbed the puck from Brendan Chrisom at the point and skated in, beating Gavan Bullen to the slot for a shot and a score against Nate Lavoie. Interestingly, Chrisom made no effort whatsoever to chase down Ouellette on the play. Everyone who knows anything about St. Thomas hockey knows about the Chrisom twins. They are both closing in on 100-career-points, they skate like they needed to be somewhere five minutes ago, and they can stickhandle and shoot. Maybe Brendan (who had already scored) thought there were plenty of Saints goals still to come. I don’t know. It did look odd though.

In the first period the St. Thomas Saints had a 5-minute power play advantage when Tyler Lessard was called for boarding. During the power play, the Saints pounded 8 shots on net, and Jake Webber saved 7 of them. As a matter of fact, Webber made 17 saves in the opening period which may have been how the game started to get turned and tied. I will get back to Webber later, but his 1st period performance also had to add to Goffstown’s hope and belief as he was outstanding.

Max Ouellette and the Grizzlies greet each other after a game-tying goal. (Jen Webber Photography)

After Ouellette scored on the power play (they were 1 for 3 on the PP for the game), the Grizzlies scored again. I mean, they scored right after, 19 seconds after the Ouellette goal. It was another uncharacteristic thing for a St. Thomas Saints team that happened and led directly to a Goffstown goal. The Saints D pair muffed a pass while trying to reset against some light pressure and the puck caromed off of the half wall right to the circle to Lavoie’s left. Jake Klardie beat everyone to the puck and fired the puck into the net at 3:27 of the period, against the Saints top line.

Goffstown led, 3-2. Goffstown would take that lead to the intermission while outshooting St. Thomas, 9-6 in the period.

The St. Thomas Saints have won, or shared, the NHIAA D2 Hockey Championship three out of the last four years. They also entered Saturday’s game, undefeated, at 6-0. So everyone expected them to really impose their will in the final period. They did just that. Kind of.

Sometimes the unexpected captures your attention more than the expected. That’s how a lot of us felt in the final period. Yes, just 4:05 into the third, St. Thomas had already scored twice and taken a 4-3 lead. They scored a power play goal after the Grizzlies had too many skaters on the ice. And the Grizzlies defenders all watched as Jackson Estes skated through the lack of defense en route to a shot on Webber at full speed. I am not saying they wouldn’t have scored on that power play, but Estes had the puck for about 160 feet and nobody remotely came close to stopping him.

Back to Webber, I think Jake would say he could have two, if not all three, shots back that beat him in the final period. Put it this way, Jake kept the Grizzlies in the game in the first period, and things leveled out a bit in the final period.

Here’s the thing though, Goffstown did keep attacking and getting great chances. They even outshot the Saints, 16-11 in the 3rd.

Another interesting fact, obviously Jake Webber was on the ice for all 10 of the goals scored in the game, five aside. Jake Klardie was on the ice for 8 of the goals scored in the game, 3 for the Grizzlies and all 5 of the Saints goals. If Webber doesn’t hold the fort in the 1st, then Klardie’s natural hat trick probably doesn’t mean all that much. But Klardie scored the last 3 Goffstown goals, including the goal to tie the game at 10:07 of the third period.

And this is why it takes everyone to win as a team, to be your best as a team. Bograd, Ouellette, Brock Bennett, Xavier Bibaud, and Zack Tarrier were the only Goffstown players with a ‘+’ rating in the +/- rating system for the game.

Goffstown had the puck in the offensive end for some time as Klardie, Tarrier, Andrew Skora teamed up with Brennan Pierce and Nick Caldwell to keep the puck in the zone. Eventually, Skora cut the defenseman off and made him change direction with the puck. This led to a loose puck along the end boards where Tarrier calmly slipped a pass to Klardie outside the crease, and Klardie didn’t miss. This goal tied the game, 4-4 at 6:03 of the third.

The St. Thomas Saints took the lead again at 9:06 of the period, with George Dannecker scoring through traffic on a shot from the point. I am guessing this was his first career goal, as they retrieved the puck for him after the goal. St. Thomas was flying high again, because, well, they just don’t lose. They had not lost a game since January of 2021 I believe. So they would hold the lead, or score more, and win. Right? Once again, the game would be turned and tied.

61 seconds after Dannecker’s first goal, Jake Klardie scored his 3rd goal of the game. This time they scored against the Saints top line. Tyler Lessard funneled a player along the boards on the forecheck, with Xavier Bibaud looming at the point. This forced a puck reversal again. And again, Zack Tarrier was there to feed Klardie on the other side this time, and Klardie popped the bottle for the game-tying goal.

Goffstown had a power play at 13:54 of the third period when Brendan Chrisom was called for interference. The Grizzlies had chances to win the game on the power play but could not get a puck to go. The game went to Overtime. Turned and Tied.

Bograd gets cross-checked in the head, while Skora gets hit while the puck skids away along the end boards.

In the overtime, St. Thomas had 4 shots on goal while the Grizzlies had 3. Colin Chrisom took over in the OT winning 8 of the 9 face-offs he took. Webber made a huge shoulder save in the last minute on Weston Trahan. The game ended in a 5-5 tie. Goffstown scored 4 different times in the game, to tie the score. A shocker for sure. Goffstown hockey isn’t predicted to do much of anything this season, and there is a lot of season left. Of course St. Thomas is defending champs and they will get better as the season progresses.

Adversity shows traits that aren’t always the best side of people, and that needs to be recognized. It’s not an excuse for anyone’s behavior, but the way the Saints skated off of the ice at Sullivan Arena 341 days ago, was quite different than it was on Saturday. I have a lot of respect for Dan Strabone (Head Coach for the Saints) and I am sure that he will do everything he can to get the St. Thomas Saints showing class and discipline on the ice, in the box, and off the ice as well.

I know that Coach Slocum has been looking for his team to move the puck more effectively. He has always asked his players to give it all they have and not be lazy on their ice assignments. There is definitely room for improvement, but this Goffstown hockey team is talented and if they play with their utmost intensity at both ends of the ice, they will be a tough team to play night after night.

The Goffstown hockey team celebrates Jake after earning a tie against the St. Thomas Saints. (Jen Webber Photography)

*** Update From The Game At Merrimack ***

High school careers are short, they go by so fast. Games like these should last in the memory bank for a long time. And what a great venue the Grizzlies are able to play in. We are blessed folks. Count your blessings. (Jen Webber Photography)

OT Period: None

---

---

---

 

The spirit of Jen lives on…our team champions an angel memorial patch sewn to each uniform jersey. (Jen Webber Photography)

 

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.