GSL Opener - 2010 Flames - 1 In Awesome Wonder

West Side Arena – October 14, 2023 – GSL Opener – 2010 Flames (MRYHA)

The Bog Rink 1 – October 15, 2023.

The 2010 Flames played their opening game in the Granite State League on Saturday against Hanover. The Flames got their legs going and skated to a 6-3 win in the GSL opener. Then on Sunday, the team made the long trip down to The Bog. The 2010 Flames played the Bay State Breakers Hoyle and they were able to erupt for 3 goals in 3 minutes in the second period, and earned a 6-1 road victory.

Saturday afternoon at West Side Arena, the Flames played their GSL Opener. They played Hanover, a team that is always well coached and competitive. The Flames got the jump on this game and opened up a 4-0 lead in the middle period. The home team got great play from all of their lines and D pairings, shift after shift. They played especially well to close out the first period and for most of the second period as well.

Hanover was able to tally three goals in the latter half of the game, but the Flames held on with a solid, 6-3 victory. The Flames goaltending tandem (Ingalls and Rosenbeck) were solid and the teams’ depth was crucial in building the lead earlier in the game.

Flames goal – Powers stepped up and tipped the puck to break up a clearing attempt by Hanover. Soucy took advantage of the second chance for the offense and moved the puck below the goal line where banked a pass off of Ouellette around the back of the net. The puck came out to Drumm who moved to the slot with the puck and fired a shot into the net. Drumm from Ouellette and Soucy. 1-0.
Flames shorthanded goal – Hanover was on the power play and had a pretty good look at a shot on goal. But the shot went over the net where Booth won a puck battle and turned the puck toward the corner. Booth then banked the puck off of the boards where Soucy took it on the fly. Soucy put the puck through a defenders skates and was off to the races. Soucy got to the slot and scored the shorthanded, breakaway goal. SHG – Soucy from Booth. 2-0.
Flames goal – Kaveney broke up a pass all the way back in the defensive zone and pushed the puck ahead to Mooney with speed. Mooney cruised through center ice with Kaveney flying up the wing. Mooney skated right to the slot and ripped a shot into the net for the goal. Mooney from Kaveney. 3-0.
The Flames had an odd man rush that kind of fell apart at the side of the net. Before Hanover could complete a clearing attempt or breakout pass, Ouellette picked the defenders pocket, and had the puck on his forehand in no time. From the crease, Ouellette tapped the puck into the net. Ouellette unassisted. 4-0. GWG.
Flames breakaway goal – The Flames had stopped a Hanover scoring chance and they were all looking to turn and fly with the puck. Eventually, Soucy was able to slide the puck up the wall to Ouellette. Ouellette picked up some speed and rumbled over the offensive blue line. He made a slick move and stepped inside the defense, clearing an unobstructed path to the front of the net. Ouellette closed the gap and snapped a shot that tickled the strings in the cage. Ouellette from Soucy. 5-1.
Flames goal – Booth chipped the puck up to Beal who came down low to continue possession and work the breakout. Beal quickly hit Giampa who was already on the move. Giampa raced through his gears and into the offensive zone. Hawkes skated with him, up the wing. Giampa dished to the slot where Hawkes pounded the puck into the net. Great to finish the end to end play. Hawkes from Giampa and Beal. 6-1.

Hanover: 00 – 01 – 02 = 03

(MRYHA) 2010 Flames: 02 – 03 – 01 = 06

On Sunday the team took a long ride south. The Bog is 90 miles south of West Side Arena and it sits on the other side of Boston. The Flames arrived at The Bog and once the game got started (17 minutes late) the visitors showed that they were ready to play. For the second day in a row, the 2010 Flames scored two goals in the first, three goals in the second, and one goal in the final period. This time, earning a 6-1 win over the Bay State Breakers.

Flames goal – After a scramble for the puck following an offensive zone face-off, Beal grabbed the puck and passed it back to Lazzaro at the left point. Lazzaro moved over and in a stride or two from the blue line and let a wrist shot fly. From my angle at the other end of the ice, I could see an opening inside the nearside post. When Lazzaro let his shot fly, I was hoping he could hit the opening that I could see. He did, perfectly. Lazzaro from Beal. 1-0.
Flames goal – The Flames had an offensive zone possession but lost the puck behind the net. As the Breakers turned to set up their breakout, they were hounded by Hawkes. Hawkes didn’t make the pass to his teammate but his pressure led to a poor pass that Ouellette was able to pick off right outside the crease. Ouellette simply had to put the puck in the net, which he did. Ouellette unassisted. 2-0. GWG.
The Flames had an offensive zone face-off and Ouellette won it back to the left point. Booth took the puck from the draw and wound up quickly for a shot. It was a mini slapshot kind of a shot. With the shorter backswing and quick release, the shot found the net before the goalie could close the gap between his pad and the post. Booth from Ouellette. 3-0.
The fourth goal was an example of hustle, teamwork, and following through. Hawkes dove headfirst to tip a puck forward, out to center ice. The puck was snatched up by Ouellette and he raced up the right wing boards with the puck. Ouellette made a nice pass to Petrie who crushed a shot at the net. The shot was saved but the rebound fell to Ouellette who had followed his pass to the net. Ouellette tapped the puck in to the net for the goal. Ouellette from Petrie and Hawkes. 4-0.
The Flames fifth goal came on a nice play where the visitors had possession of the puck and were moving it around the offensive zone. Soucy worked a pass to St. Pierre and St. Pierre let a shot fly toward the net. The shot was blocked and caromed off of the defenders shin pads right to Powers. Powers took the puck in stride swept a shot into the open side of the net. Powers from St. Pierre and Soucy. 5-0.
Flames power play goal – The 2010 Flames went on the power play and won the face-off. But the puck was battled for until Booth pinched in from the point and pushed the puck into the corner. Beal grabbed the puck with two defenders in the corner with him. Beal made a double move of sorts and stepped out of the corner with the puck and some open ice. Beal ripped a shot off of the goalie’s shoulder and the puck squirted out to the slot where Mooney ripped a shot back to the net. The shot hit Beal in the skate and changed direction, sliding inside the far post before Drumm could tip it. The shot had been labeled for the left post until it hit friendly traffic in the slot. Power play goal – Beal from Mooney and Booth (with Drumm on the doorstep for support). 6-0.

(MRYHA) 2010 Flames: 02 – 03 – 01 = 06

Bay State Breakers Hoyle: 00 – 00 – 01 = 01

I took some pictures down at The Bog. I was in the booth on Saturday and I was focused on not hearing my own booming voice (or anyone else’s) yelling CLOCK!!! So I didn’t attempt to take any pictures. Click on the gallery and check out the photos. Enjoy!

: Gavin circles the net at Bay State, looking for Hawkes on the other side of the net.

: Soucy takes a shot against Bay State back in October. He was a force on the ice all season.

For more pictures, please check out Nichole’s page and pictures, they are outstanding.

Game vs. Hanover

Game at Bay State

From behind the net at ice level for the opening face-off at The Bog against Bay State.

You can find more 2010 Flames material in these pieces, here. 2010 Manchester Flames.

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.

“We should be dreaming. We grew up as kids having dreams, but now we’re too sophisticated as adults, as a nation. We stopped dreaming. We should always have dreams.” ~ the late Herb Brooks.

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it: If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” ~ Jim Valvano on how to live life, during his ESPY speech.

“I started writing sports stories 20 years ago. I still do. I write because somewhere, in some game, a kid might be having the time of his or her life. That’s awesome to think about. It’s all about the kids.” ~ Steve Beal Sr.