2023 Winter Classic – 2010 Flames

December 29-31, 2023 – 2023 Winter Classic – 2010 Flames – Tri-Town South – Tri-Town North

For the first time in weeks, the 2010 Flames had most of their players in the line-up for a game. There are still a couple of dear players out, and we hold them in our thoughts and prayers. Yes, really, we do. Kids should be afforded the joy and unencumbered freedoms to be young, healthy, and active. So, yes, we really do hope, pray, and ache for a full roster again, healthy, and having the times of their lives.

 

 

It was indeed great to see so many of the 2010 Flames back on the ice together. It was also great to see the faces of the players who are still out, as they came to the games and visited with their teammates. It’s good to see family.

The 2023 Winter Classic was awesome. The Bantam division was tough, and the games were competitive up and down the schedule. It was great to see competition like this and to be a part of it all.

Game one was a battle from start to finish. The game was scoreless after one period. The Flames scored one goal in the second period, and then two more in the final period. Rosenbeck and Ingalls were brilliant in net, backing the Flames to a 3-0 win on Friday night.

 

1. Flames first 2023 Winter Classic Friday goal – Booth pinched down from the left point where he and Mooney converged on the puck. The puck was passed to the slot where Warren who was guarded closely still managed to get a shot on goal. The shot was saved and the puck caromed through some skates until Mooney collected it, spun, fired, and scored. It wasn’t a pretty play but it was the kind of play you want your team making everytime.  Mooney from Warren and Booth. 1-0. GWG.
2. Flames double their lead – The 2010 Flames carried the puck into the zone where St. Pierre was approaching the corner and he blindly sent a pass back to the point. It wasn’t a great idea because the defender had dropped off to cover the D at the point. Somehow, Booth still managed to chip the puck forward where Petrie had slid into St. Pierre’s vacated space as he had drifted below the goal line. It all worked, Petrie passed to St. Pierre who shot from the low circle. The puck was stopped by a pad save. But in the space where weak side wingers are supposed to go (to the far post), Beal (back after being injured for 3 weeks) was there. Beal backhanded the saved puck into the net for the rebound goal, and a 2-0 lead in the 3rd. Beal from St. Pierre and Petrie. Nice teamwork on the goal.
3. Flames bouncer goes in – The Flames broke up a Gladiator rush when Santitto poked the puck free. They instantly turned up ice and went on the offensive. Beal hit Petrie with a pass from the D zone out to center ice. Petrie one-touched a pass to St. Pierre skating up the right wing. The Gladiators got back on defense so St. Pierre flipped the puck in deep, on net, from outside the blue line. The puck landed on edge and somehow bounced through the goalie and into the net. St. Pierre from Petrie and Beal. 3-0.

 

Tri-Town South –

(MRYHA) 2010 Flames: 00 – 01 – 02 = 03

Maine Gladiators: 00 – 00 – 00 = 00

2010 Flames Penalties:

1. Giampa (Roughing).
2. Powers (Holding).
3. Powers (Tripping).
4. Giampa (Roughing).
5. Mooney (Slashing).

Shots on Goal:

2010 Flames: 12 – 10 – 12 = 34

Maine Gladiators: 05 – 06 – 03 = 14

 

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This tournament, the 2023 Winter Classic, was very competitive, and each of the four games were exciting, good hockey games. The second game was held hostage by an adult with a bias against one of the teams playing who spent the game displaying a pompous (affectedly and irritatingly grand, or self-important) arrogance (an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities) that just didn’t fit in a youth hockey tournament during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Maybe he should just stick to coaching.

Then again, I am pretty sure that at times in my life, I have felt like I was the authority in any given scenario. And perhaps I came across in a similar manner while ‘demonstrating my perceived mastery of my field’. Maybe prayer for humility and a grateful heart to even be in those situations would be a good way to go.

Either way, the Flames worked hard to earn a 2-1 lead after one period. They held that lead until there were 15.6 seconds left in the game. That is when the Islanders scored a 6-on-3 goal to tie the game, with their goaltender pulled. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.

 

1. Flames Game Two opening goal – Warren grabbed a loose puck at center ice and got himself turned in the right direction. He power skated up the right wing before lobbing a shot on goal. The buck bounced off of the goalie and Hawkes tried to bury the rebound but that was save too. Giampa was on the spot for the second rebound, and he put the puck in the net. Giampa from Hawkes and Warren. 1-0.
2. Power play goal to double their lead – The 2010 Flames went on the power play and won the offensive zone face-off. St. Pierre won the draw to Petrie who quickly fed the puck to Powers at the point. Powers fired, but missed the net wide right. Beal played the carom off of the end boards while fighting off a defenseman, and the puck went right to St. Pierre who backhanded the puck into the net before the goalie could react. Great face-off win, pass, shot, pass, score. Power Play Goal – St. Pierre from Beal and Powers. 2-0.

 

Tri-Town North –

(MRYHA) 2010 Flames: 02 – 00 – 00 = 02

Islanders HC: 01 – 00 – 01 = 02

2010 Flames Penalties:

1. Powers (Tripping).
2. Soucy (Slashing).
3. Giampa (Hooking).
4. Soucy (Tripping).
5. Warren (Unsportsmanlike).
6. Giampa (Tripping).
7. Soucy (Interference).
8. Giampa (Roughing).
9. Soucy (Major – Hit from Behind).
10. Soucy (Game Misconduct – DQ).
11. Warren (Interference).
12. Lazzaro (Roughing).
13. Bench Minor (Asking the refs a question they didn’t like).

Shots on Goal:

2010 Flames: 06 – 07 – 14 = 27

Islanders HC: 05 – 05 – 13 = 23

 

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Game three of the tournament was an intense game where the Flames took a 1-0 lead after one period. Then they gave up three unanswered goals in the second period and trailed 3-1 going in to the final period. The team’s energy was down and the prospects of the 2010 Flames advancing to the Semi-Finals (Top 4) looked dim at best.

Back in the first period, the Flames were on the offensive when one ref had blown the whistle to stop play as the puck was out of sight. As everyone could plainly see, the puck was in the net. Out of sight because a player is in the way (goalie) doesn’t mean the puck is with the goalie, it just means the ref lost sight of the puck. So the ref skated to the net and picked the puck out of the goal to confirm the call of, ‘no goal’. Unreal.

 

 

On LiveBarn, through the netting, you can still see that the puck was in the net the whole time. But what do I know.

 

So as the Flames entered the final period down 3 to 1, after earning what should have been a 2-0 lead back in the first period, the prospects weren’t looking great. Then a few things happened.

• Second intermission coaching and inspiration – The coaching staff were selling ‘belief’ and the team bought it all up, every last drop. One particular Flames defender took the words to heart and played the final period like his hair was on fire.
• That fire might have been prepped with kindling during the intermission, but it was ignited by Rosenbeck’s saves early in the third period. In my notes I wrote, “Flames 00 unreal!” Opponents players had raised their arms in celebration, thinking they had scored. But Flames 00 was making saves and fanning the flames.
• Then the burn really heated up when Hawkes got drilled in the back, and still got his stick on the puck in the corner, to Ouellette, to Powers, shot, rebound, Beal to the net, and he tucked the puck over the line while getting checked, all with the ref’s arm in the air to call a delayed penalty. The comeback was on.
• Seriously, Booth played the final period with his throttle wide open and it was inspiring to every single person in the 2010 Flames camp.

Whew! I’m getting fired up about it just writing this. So let’s move from bullet points to numbered points.

1. Flames first period goal – Warren got a good look at a shot from the slot but it sailed over the net. Ouellette battled to get possession, but it was Booth pinching down the boards that moved the puck to Ouellette. Ouellette fired down low, got his own rebound and circled behind the net. As he turned the net he hit Mooney with a pass at the side of the crease. Mooney tapped it in. Mooney from Ouellette and Booth, with all hands on deck. 1-0.
2. Flames begin the comeback – Immediately following Rosenbeck’s athletic goaltending wizardry, the Flames won a defensive zone face-off when Ouellette tied up the center and Hawkes jumped in to the circle and moved the puck toward Beal who was skating the other wing. The puck was wide but Beal chased it down and controlled it, dumping the puck in on the goaltender to keep the Flames momentum, and to keep the play onside. Hawkes hustled to the corner, got hit from behind, ref’s arm goes up. Hawkes somehow still got his stick on the puck as he crumpled into the boards, this kept the play alive to Ouellette. Ouellette dropped a pass to Powers. Powers stepped in from the half wall and as he approached the slot he flipped a strategic backhand shot on goal. The puck was saved, but not clean. This was right in Beal’s wheelhouse, as he pulled the puck off of the pads and pushed it over the line and then got decked from behind. Wow! What a sequence! Beal from Powers and Ouellette (inspired by Hawkes and Rosenbeck). 2-3.
3. Flames tie it up! – The action had been end to end, back and forth, then Mooney clogged up center ice. He broke up the play and chipped the puck to the Energizer Bunny, er uh, Booth. Booth chased the puck at center ice and tipped the puck with his sheer determination just as the puck connected with a defender’s stick. The puck went forward with Booth. Booth crossed the blue line and made a soft, perfect pass to Ouellette who was behind the defense. Ouellette closed quickly through the slot and shifted from backhand to forehand to bury the game-tying goal from in tight. There were less than four minutes left to play. Ouellette from Booth and Mooney. 3-3.
4. Comebacks are best when you take the lead and win – The Flames were pressing in the offensive zone but couldn’t get the puck to go exactly where they wanted it to go, mostly because King Philip Walpole was battling them for every inch. Then Booth couldn’t keep the puck in at the blue line and it looked like Walpole might take possession for an offensive push. Booth thought otherwise. He broke up the play at center ice, and exploded into the offensive zone with the puck. He cut to the right, got the puck on his forehand, and feigned a shot before pulling the puck in close to his skates to get by the defender. Then he was in the slot and speeding to the crease where he shot the puck. He skated past the net and realized that his shot had gone in! The puck was in the net! Booth unassisted. 4-3. GWG. 

What a third period comeback! The 2010 Flames held on to win, 4-3. Or 5-3, if you count the goal that only one person didn’t see. The team stayed together, and played together, to come from behind and win the game. That is what team is about. Not the win, but the united, elevated effort to better define the rest of that game, so this story could be written differently.

Tri-Town North –

(MRYHA) 2010 Flames: 01 – 00 – 03 = 04

King Philip Walpole: 00 – 03 – 00 = 03

2010 Flames Penalties:

1. Powers (Tripping).
2. Giampa (Slashing).
3. Powers (Hooking).
4. Powers (Elbowing).
5. Giampa (Hooking).

Shots on Goal:

2010 Flames: 08 – 11 – 19 = 38

King Philip Walpole: 08 – 06 – 06 = 20

 

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The first Semi-Final of the 2023 Winter Classic was played between the 2010 Flames and the Biddeford Nor’Easters on the Tri-Town South Rink. This game was awesome from start to finish. It is worth noting that the two young men (teens probably) that called this game were the best pair of officials out of the four games. Could they have called a penalty or two? Yes. But they called none, and honestly there were closer to ‘none’ penalties than there were several penalties. They did a great job.

Rosenbeck and Ingalls were nothing short of incredible in net. So was the Biddeford goalie. I don’t think anyone in this game played a bad game. One break in the last two minutes of the game went Biddeford’s way and that was the only difference in the game. And even that was subtle. Both teams played with intensity and effort. Both teams played clean hockey. It was a great game, 1-0, or not.

 

Tri-Town South – Semi-Final

#2 (MRYHA) 2010 Flames: 00 – 00 – 00 = 00

#3 Biddeford Nor’Easters: 00 – 00 – 01 = 01

2010 Flames Penalties:

1. None.

Shots on Goal:

2010 Flames: 11 – 07 – 08 = 26

Biddeford Nor’Easters: 05 – 12 – 08 = 25

 

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Videos are clips from LiveBarn – 2023 Winter Classic