April 17, 2023 – Come back to Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey. This is a look back at the 2022-2023 hockey season. A wonderful season! It’s a tribute to the last eight seasons and the coach who rejuvenated the hockey program. This is also a call to action on behalf of high school sports.

Goffstown Grizzlies. Hockey Fights Cancer. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Come Back

“…I have been planning out all that I’d say to you
Since you slipped away, know that I still remain true
I’ve been wishing out the days…”

In my mind, I have been contemplating stopping this writing run for the Grizzlies hockey team since 2019 (more seriously since 2021). But something has always pulled me back in. Primarily, my allegiance to Coach Ben Slocum, the unpredictable awesomeness of Goffstown Hockey teams, and a legacy I started (intentionally or otherwise) back in December, 2015.

The first; my first Goffstown Hockey article was written on December 6, 2015, and was posted at 10:33 pm. It wasn’t much. But it was a start.

Here we are, 8 seasons later, 95 wins later. And to be honest, for the 8th straight year, the Grizzlies hockey team was a pleasant surprise. The Goffstown hockey team qualified for the postseason for the 16th straight year, but that wasn’t all of the surprise. This team showed that they could play with the best teams in all of D-II hockey. At times they were wildly inconsistent in their level of effort and execution of play. But for most the season, especially after Christmas break, they showed that they were a legit threat to compete with the best, score on anyone, and get goaltending to shut down just about any team.

Opening Night. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

December 2022

Goffstown hockey by the numbers:

• Record: 2-3-0
• Goals for: 13
• Goals against: 19
• Shots for: 131
• Shots against: 179
• Goalies Save %: 89.89%
• Penalties in Minutes: 54 

• Zack Tarrier, Tyler Lessard, and Connor Bernard all scored their First Career Goals in December. Tarrier scored out in Rochester against Somersworth. Lessard struck twice at JFK against Hanover. Bernard scored for the Grizzlies at JFK against Manchester.
• Goalies, Jake Webber, Ethan Santoro, and Alex Veary all played well in their December appearances. They made 160 saves in the five games.
• The Grizzlies hockey team had two wins in the month. Jake Klardie and Tyler Lessard had the game-winning goals in those two games. Brennan Pierce led the way with 6 points in December (2 goals, both on the power play, and 4 assists). Lessard led the team with 3 goals scored in December.
• On opening night against Alvirne, the Grizzlies hockey team put up 6 goals and collected 10 assists. Pierce and Nick DiMarzio each piled up 4 points in the win. DiMarzio dishing out 4 assists on the evening.  Klardie had a pair of goals with an assist while Xavier Bibaud had 2 assists on the night. Brandon Bograd, Max Ouellette, and Zack Tarrier all added a point apiece. The 2022-2023 Season was underway, and the latest version of the Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey history was being written in the books.
• Out in Rochester, the Grizzlies lost, but Tarrier scored on the power play, Bibaud scored, and Brock Bennett recorded his first career assist (he would return to Rochester a few weeks later and record another memory).
• Then against Hanover in the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Tournament, the Goffstown hockey team rode Ethan Santoro’s 40 saves to a 3-2 come back win. It was their first Christmas Tournament win since the 2018-2019 season.

You can read about these events right here.

Vs. Alvirne

At Somersworth

Things can get pretty hot even on a sheet of ice. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

One of Ethan Santoro’s 40 saves against Hanover. The Grizzlies won, 3-2 at the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament. (Photo from the Manchester TV YouTube Page – MPTS Sports – Dec. 26, 2022)

One of the season’s best goals, Tyler Lessard on the backhand rush against Hanover. The Grizzlies won, 3-2 at the Brian C. Stone Memorial Christmas Hockey Tournament. (Photo from the Manchester TV YouTube Page – MPTS Sports – Dec. 26, 2022)

Come Back

“…If I don’t fall apart, will my memories stay clear?
So you had to go and I had to remain here
But the strangest thing to date
So far away and yet you feel so close…”

January 2023

Goffstown hockey by the numbers:

• Record: 4-2-2
• Goals for: 24
• Goals against: 19
• Shots for: 279
• Shots against: 256
• Goalies Save %: 92.58%
• Penalties in Minutes: 45 

• Cole Stratford, Nick Caldwell, Brock Bennett, and Max Ouellette each had a game-winning goal in January. Bennett’s goal came at Spaulding, in Overtime, his First Career Goal. Wow!
• Jake Webber and Ethan Santoro both went 2-1-1 while guarding the Grizzlies Den. They combined to save 92.58% of the shots they faced. Amazing. If only my grades could have been so good back in the day.
• Webber had a pair of shutouts in January. He shutout Merrimack at West Side Arena and was later questioned in an investigation by officials looking into several reports of ‘highway robbery’, but it turns out nothing but potential goals had been robbed, and maybe he stole a few breaths along the way.
• On January 30th, at New England College, the Goffstown hockey team hosted Winnacunnet in a ‘home game’. Goffstown won, 1-0 in Webber’s second shutout of the month. But this game stood out to me as one of the best ‘execution of a game plan’ games that I have seen in high school hockey. I was in the booth between the benches and I could hear the coaches for both teams coaching in real-time. They were positive, informative, and spot on. The players executed well, especially the Grizzlies, and the result was a crisp, clean, 1-0 game that made the evening news.
• Xavier Bibaud was a +6 for the month to lead the team. 12 different Grizzlies scored goals in the month, with Jake Klardie leading the way with 5 goals. Zack Tarrier led in assists (6) and points (9).
• Twice in January, the Grizzlies hockey team was able to come back from deficits to earn points in the standings. They trailed St. Thomas (then still untouchable, and undefeated for more than a season and a half) three different times in the game before shocking the D2 hockey world with a 5-5 tie. They fell behind Winnacunnet, 2-0 before rallying to earn a 2-2 tie Phillips Exeter.

Hockey OT Thriller 3-2 OT win at Spaulding.

Move the Puck 6-2 win at home against Timberlane.

Stop the Puck 2-0 win at Merrimack.

Turned and Tied 5-5 come back tie against St. Thomas.

Come Back To Even 2-2 come back tie out at Winnacunnet.

Where’s The Heart 6-4 loss to NNS after leading, 4-1.

It Wasn’t To Be 2-1 loss at Portsmouth.

Start To Finish Outstanding 1-0 win up at New England College.

Jake Klardie scores on the power play against St. Thomas. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Andrew Skora scores on the power play at Winnacunnet. (Photo from Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey Facebook Live)

(Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

The Grizzlies hockey team comes together at the bench. Looking down the blue line at Portsmouth. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

February 2023

Goffstown hockey by the numbers:

• Record: 5-3-0
• Goals for: 28
• Goals against: 19
• Shots for: 255
• Shots against: 221
• Goalies Save %: 91.40%
• Penalties in Minutes: 52 

• Once again, in February, the Grizzlies found themselves behind in two games, only to come back and win.
• At home, the Goffstown hockey team fell behind Spaulding, 2-1, before hitting the come back trail and ultimately winning, 4-3 in OT. Nick DiMarzio with the game-winner.
• Down at Skate 3 against Alvirne-Milford on the their Senior Night, before a raucous packed house, the Grizzlies trailed, 2-1, and 3-2, before the emotional come back win, 4-3, on the road.
• The Junior and Senior classes erupted to score 58 of the teams’ 79 points (21g-37a) in February. Ethan Santoro even added his second career assist from his own crease.
• Max Ouellette scored 5 goals in Feb. to lead the team, and 3 of those goals were game-winning goals.
• Jake Klardie paced the team with 7 assists in the month. Brandon Bograd, Brennan Pierce, and Nick DiMarzio each had 6 assists in the month of February.
• A dozen Grizzlies players notched goals in the month. Bograd, Klardie, Ouellette, and Pierce each had 9 points, while DiMarzio had 8, and Zack Tarrier added 7 points.
• Xavier Bibaud scored 4 goals in February, and all of them were power play goals.
• Ethan Santoro was 4-1 in the net, while saving 90.00% of the shots he faced. Jake Webber had a 1-2 record but still managed a crazy 93.41% rate of saves in February.

Grizzlies Again In OT Come back, 4-3 win in OT.

Early and Late Tough 5-3 loss at Dover.

Back To Basics 4-2 win at home against, NSP.

Short Shifts and What Ifs Loss at Oyster River, 1-0.

Tough Road Win Another come back for the Grizzlies, 4-3 at Alvirne-Milford.

Goaltending and Grit Senior Night, home win, 2-1.

One Too Many Real tough loss at home against Somersworth-Coe-Brown.

10 Wins and They’re In Season Finale, 9-1 win in Salem against Timberlane.

When you line up at Oyster River, and you are all Goffstown Grizzlies, it’s a once in a lifetime bond. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

The Grizzlies score at Alvirne, on their Senior Night. This was an emotional, hotly contested, awesome game. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Bogie, well done. We are all thrilled that your Mom is here too. Toughest words I have read in some time. It’s been our pleasure. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

A 2-1 victory on Senior Night! (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

The Goffstown Grizzlies bench comes alive as the home team works their way back into this game. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Schoolmates. Classmates. Teammates. Bowling mates. GHS Hockey doing team things. Together. As a team. As representatives of their school. (Photo from Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey Facebook Page)

March 2023

Goffstown hockey by the numbers:

• Record: 0-1-0
• Goals for: 00
• Goals against: 03
• Shots for: 29
• Shots against: 25
• Goalies Save %: 91.67%
• Penalties in Minutes: 08 

• The Grizzlies hockey team lost at Merrimack in the Quarterfinal round of the NHIAA Tournament, 3-0. This was a great hockey game. The game was scoreless through two periods, before the Tomahawks scored while shorthanded. And the card house came down.
• Any loss to finish a season or a career can be quite devastating, but how you played in those contests does matter. The Grizzlies played a tremendous game and just came up on the short side of the scoreboard.

NHIAA Hockey QF: #5 Goffstown at #4 Merrimack Season ending loss at Merrimack.

Senior Night. Such a great picture! (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Season 2022 – 2023

Goffstown hockey by the numbers:

• Record: 11-9-2
• Goals for: 65
• Goals against: 60
• Shots for: 694
• Shots against: 681
• Goalies Save %: 91.46%
• Penalties in Minutes: 159

• The Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team had 20, yes 20 different players recorded at least one point this season. That is more players than most teams even dress for games all season.
• This team was truly a team by definition, because it required everyone to get the results they achieved. Jake Klardie and Max Ouellette led the team in goals scored, with 9 each.
• Assists went to everyone. Brennan Pierce led the team with 15. Zach Tarrier had 13, while Nick DiMarzio added 12.
• Jake Klardie and Brennan Pierce led the Goffstown hockey team with 20 points each. Brandon Bograd had 16 and DiMarzio had 15 points.
• Xavier Bibaud led the team with 4 PPG, Bograd had the lone shorthanded goal, and Max Ouellette had 4 of the 11 GWG on the season.
• Zack Tarrier and Tyler Lessard might be the most dynamic offensive pair of Freshmen the Grizzlies have ever had. They combined for 13 goals and 17 assists. Tarrier’s 19 points as a Freshman rank him tied for 3rd All-Time in Freshman Scoring in GHS history.
• The goaltending group may have been the best in Grizzlies history, snagging a remarkable 91.46% of the shots they faced. Seriously, awesome!
• The Grizzlies allowed 2 empty net goals this season.
• Goffstown was 6-2-1 in Home games. They were 4-5-1 on the road. They were 1-2-0 in neutral site games (Christmas). They were 9-2-1 in NHIAA hockey games that I attended.

Goffstown Hockey Stats Leaders 2022-2023

Stats by Class – 35 goals and 62 assists could come back

All-Time Freshmen Scoring Leaders – Goffstown Hockey

Nick DiMarzio has great vision on the ice. And, I see great things for him yet to come. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

So, high school sports is like having a new team every single season. Literally. Some kids graduate, others may not come back. Freshmen come in. Other players might start playing varsity hockey after declining to play earlier in their high school progression. This is even more of a wildcard in hockey. During the high school hockey season, players have the option to play way more games (not as important as us Americans think it is) for their ‘full-season’ club/travel teams. Many players (or likely, their parents) choose this option over playing for their town team, the school team.

Perhaps, because I am ‘old school’, or just old, I still think that playing for your school is one of the pinnacles of athletic achievement for a player, no matter how far their athletic career might take them.

High school teammates are also schoolmates, neighbors, best friends, lab partners, bus companions, and teammates on other school teams. These kids experience the awesomeness of learning things for the first time, together. Many times they learn these things for 12 consecutive years. That doesn’t happen at any other time in their lives. They go to dances and proms together. They skip school and make absurd excuses together. They shine together and graduate together. They begin together. They finish together. And who would you want to go to competitive battle with more than your ‘mates?

Imagine the bus ride back to your school after a thrilling win in someone else’s barn, and the pure joy in every hardly comfortable bench seat. Imagine the emerging leadership shared between schoolmates consoling one another on the long ride home after a devastating loss. When the time spent on the bus ride back offers a critical buffer zone between the high school student mind and the world of parents, grown-ups, criticism, feedback, or operating a motor vehicle. Imagine how much these sports mean to the participants, outside of the actual games themselves. Imagine, or don’t. My belief, it should be all about the kids.

Again, I am just me, and I have my opinions on these things. I have a lot of experience as a kid, a player, a coach, a fan, and a parent, that contribute mightily to my opinions.

Bottom line, I find that parents have glaring blind spots as it relates to their kids, in this case, youth athletes. Still kids. I can sit and talk face-to-face with adults who say the things that they say, but their actions are largely independent from their words, and are a huge part of the problem. The problem being that kids are kids, and generally their default mode is to play with their friends. Period. Then, when they, and their friends, turn out to be pretty darn good at the things that they do together, why would you ever want to disrupt that.

Is it the equivalent of moving your kid from one school to another in the midst of their high school career? Yes, that’s exactly what it is. Why? Because the parent is unhappy about playing time or results? Because the kid is unhappy about the same? What about working harder? What about encouraging your kid to work smarter and harder and come back as an unstoppable force the next season? That’s probably exactly what the parents were told when they were growing up, and they probably did it. Then they were likely better for having done it. That’s how life works.

Players. Kids. You fall short (maybe by your parents expectations but not your own). Because just maybe, you didn’t even fall short. You just got what you put in. So what do you do next?

You get up and work even harder to hit the goal you have set. This has to be your goal. Your work. The goal you set (not your parents goal, or vision, or dream, or compensation for what they did or didn’t do sometime before you even existed). You, the kid, the player, you set the goal. You should set the goals. It’s your life. Your career. Your passion, not someone else’s. Not only that, it’s likely that you can attain your goals without changing schools, or teams, or anything else but your effort, work ethic, and accountability to yourself.

It might not be easy, but it’ll be worth it. Because this line of approach and thinking doesn’t end when kids graduate from high school, this will come in handy for as long as you live.

I talked to Max before the game and he said he felt great and ready to go. I guess he was right, he scored the first goal. (Jen Webber Photography)

Ya, so come back and play high school hockey for the mates you make all along the 12 year path to your year of graduation. The thing that matters most; is you. You win games and make plays. You write yourself into the history of the program and maybe even into the record books. Make memories and moments, not excuses. Don’t let someone else (parents, friends, distractions) bail you out. Stand up and fight for the right to wear G-O-F-F-S-T-O-W-N on your chest and play to the absolute best of your abilities. Not just in games, but in everything you do.

Playing not for yourself, but for the accountability that accompanies being a member of a team. Making a team is simply like making an appointment. It’s during the appointment where you must perform. Anyone can fill a calendar.

The rest of it, the meat of the matter, is showing up for one another even if you are sitting on the bench while your friend is struggling to be the face of the team. Honestly, all of this matters. And it takes everyone, even if only some make the score sheet. Dig in. Buy in. And be the best you that you can be, every single day.

I know there are pressures and distractions, but what is important to you? What is that you want to get out of this experience. Then go and get it. Chances are, the thing you are looking for is in you, not on some other team or in some other school, or someone else’s agenda for you.

Tyler Lessard leads the line after scoring a third period goal, to cut the deficit to, 3-2. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

So, even if you haven’t played the amount of time you would like. Or you have been sold a bill of goods that places on a higher level than the program has noticed thus far, it’s not the final result unless you allow it to be. Maybe you need to look in the mirror and have that ‘come to the truth’ moment. Lord knows I have both fought the truth and embraced the reality more times than I could count. And then realize there is so much more you could be working on to get better as a player and a teammate even if it’s just attitude and outlook.

There are currently 583 games of experience with 60 goals and 92 assists that could come back and push the Grizzlies hockey program to sights yet unseen. Yes, there will be a new coach and new freshmen players, but there is still a reputation, a legacy of Goffstown Hockey that is very much in your own hands. What are you going to do with this tremendous gift? Where are you going to take this program? This legacy? The memories of the best days of your life?

Oh, there is so much to play for. There is so much good and hard work to represent. I hope to see this program climb to greater heights and for the band wagon to be full and overflowing of people in our community, that includes family that check in to Goffstown hockey games from all over the world. Seriously, we have a really, really special thing going here. And honestly, it begins and ends with the kids. It’s about the kids.

Okay, for a play on words coming my mind, which is literally full of sports broadcasts over my entire lifetime. I have heard the new Scotts Lawn commercials on Red Sox radio broadcasts about a thousand times this season already. You know, “Feed your lawn, Feed It!” Well, I say to the Grizzlies hockey players, present and future, “Lead your program, Lead It!”

The hockey for this season is done. The final buzzer has sounded: We will miss each of them, and we truly wish them the very best moving forward. It was my honor and pleasure to be a part of the Senior ceremony this season. It has been my honor and my pleasure to be so close to the action for the entirety of your NHIAA hockey careers. Thank you.

Perhaps there have been better, and certainly there are worse. But we are the ones into the depths of adoration we deeply immerse. A career spans the utter joys and the unfortunate mishap. So, we say two words, Thank you, stand and tip our cap. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

(photo by Jen Webber Photography)

The current look at my ‘hockey office’. So many hours spent in this space, tracking numbers and capturing season after season. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2023.

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.