Fall Behind – Goffstown Hockey

– Fall Behind – Goffstown Hockey –

– Goffstown vs. Oyster River – Sullivan Arena – St. Anselm College –

If always you were even or getting ahead and never did you ever fall behind

Would the miraculous invention and the splendid depth of self ever you find?

 

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If choices and breaks piled up and in a self dug hole you were left to lay

Would you muster all that you have to get up and fight to see another day

 

If the pain of failure and the sting of loss was found to be self-inflicted

Could you approach the next chance as a new beginning entirely re-scripted 

 

If the good change is to come then go and meet it this day in all you do

Can it be authentic and everlasting if all of this was born apart from you

 

If the answer lies inside and you are facing only what other men have met

What is it then, the change or the goal that you must define and after it get

 

If all of time that has passed before now told of rewards and glories too precious to hold

Would you do whatever it took to unlock such a treasure that you, together controlled

 

 

 

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The Goffstown hockey team has played 14 games this season, which includes the Christmas tournament. below, you will see that the Grizzlies have trailed in the opening period in 9 of their 14 games. If you took only the league games, they have trailed in the 1st period, in 7 of 11 games, while going 6-5-0 thus far.

1. 1-0.
2. 5-0.
3. 1-0.
4. 1-0.
5. 3-1.
6. 2-0.
7. 2-0.
8. 1-0.
9. 3-0.

What does this all mean? Well, for one, I would say, “Knock it off”! But seriously, as I muttered last night, half aloud, half to myself, “There comes a time when, regardless of personnel, players need to perform in sequences of good hockey plays. Hockey 101”.

Of course that sounds obvious. But look at outlet passes that are in the skates, behind players, or just to nobody in general. Look at swings and misses with a stick check from a place of decent position, when holding the line or a simple bump would do much better. Look at the teammate waiting at the blue line or in the slot, while a puck carrier winds through the defense into the past tense of what could have been. Tis better to give than to receive. And sometimes you get back more than you gave.

I talked to Coach Harwood after the game, and he was impressed with the Goffstown hockey team’s grit and ability to keep battling toward a win. He noted how back-breaking a goal with just a few seconds left in the period to go up 3-0 would break most teams. But the Grizzlies kept coming back.

This was a game with few whistles. A few more shots. Five goals, and one team didn’t score for more than 30 minutes, and won. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t ugly. But it was 45 minutes of high school hockey that nobody can get back or re-do. So,

“…If all of time that has passed before now told of rewards and glories too precious to hold

Would you do whatever it took to unlock such a treasure that you, together controlled?”

 

 

 

 

It’s all about the kids. And the kids are one game closer to the end of their hockey careers. Yet, I see in them tremendous potential, especially if they are together, in sync, and all in. Playing each of the minutes like a goal against is an insult against the things you hold most dear, and a goal scored is a process involving everyone that leaves all feeling as if they are close to conquering the world, not a hail Mary.

Ah, yes, time will tell, but it is time that is fleeting, and so the road from here must be met with nothing short of everything. Sweat. Gasps. Pushing past comfortable. For each other. The first player. The last player. Lift up self. Lift up your mates. Sulk, complain, grandstand, take a shift off, and mope on your own time.

This is Goffstown Grizzlies high school time! This is YOUR career. Players of all abilities have come before you and left their mark, and maybe they would go back and give more than they did, maybe not, but either way, they can’t. Other players will arrive still. And they will define their high school years too. But this is YOUR time! So, draw your line in the ice sheet and spend the remaining time you have dominating each and every second! It is in you. Let’s see it! All of you, together, raise the bar, and blow the doors off of expectations, limitations, and whatever has held you back thus far.

The beauty of all this is, that nobody can do this for you. Not me. Not Dad. Not coach. Just you. In the timeline of a human life this is a most wonderful thing.

 

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Alright, enough of that. Here’s how the Grizzlies scored last night.

 

 

1. First goal – After twenty-eight and a half minutes of not much offense, the Grizzlies got on the board. Goffstown did not possess the puck in the O zone for much time in the game, but on this overlapping shift, they made a run at it. Gavin Diodati kept the puck alive along the wall with Sam Chapman. Keep in mind that just about everything that the Grizzlies did all night was closely contended by a Bobcat player. Sam had the wherewithal to center the puck via a pass to slot. And to everyone’s amazement, Cooper Chapman was there in the slot, and not covered for the moment. C. Chapman slammed the puck into the net at 13:37 of the second period for the Grizzlies goal. C. Chapman (2) from S. Chapman (8) and Diodati (6). 1-3.
2. Second goal – It was the opening minute of the final period. Goffstown managed to disrupt some Oyster River offensive pressure. Then, as innocent plays often times lead to great plays, this one happened. Tyler Lessard chipped the puck up the wall to relieve the Bobcat pressure. The puck came to Dylan Ellbeg and he was off to the races. He skated up the left wing quick enough to trap some Bobcats behind the rush. Diodati skated the right wing and gave the defense another option to consider. This gave Ellbeg a clear lane to the net on the left side. But, Ellbeg didn’t just shoot the puck on net, he ripped a wrist shot to a very precise spot while barrelling up the ice. The shot hit the strings behind Harwood, in net, and Diodati’s arms were raised in celebration. Sequences of good hockey plays. Ellbeg (4) from Lessard (6). 2-3.

 

The Goffstown hockey team dropped to 6-5 in league play, but they sure made it exciting down the stretch! There is no time to dwell on lost opportunity. There is opportunity to learn from it. Apply changes while moving forward based on the learned experience, and improve in those areas. The Goffstown Grizzlies play at Monadnock (at Keene Ice) on Saturday night, and then they have games on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of next week.

 

 

 

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NHIAA Hockey:

Wednesday, February 07, 2024

Sullivan Arena – St. Anselm College.

Scoring:

Oyster River Bobcats: 03 – 00 – 00 = 03

Goffstown Grizzlies: 00 – 01 – 01 = 02

 

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NHIAA Hockey:

Shots on goal:

Oyster River Bobcats: 08 – 09 – 09 = 26

Goffstown Grizzlies: 03 – 06 – 10 = 19

 

Goffstown Grizzlies Penalties:

1. Lessard (2:00-Elbowing)
2. Campbell (2:00-Roughing)

Goffstown was 0-for-1 on the power play, while Oyster River was 0-for-1.

Random stat of the night: Missed icing calls, roughly between 7 and 11.

• Oyster River Bobcats – Cole Harwood made 17 saves on 19 shots (.895).
• Goffstown Grizzlies – Kyle Bennett (Fr.) made 23 saves on 26 shots (.885).

 

Please read on. I have added a short-story, comedy, commentary section below. And, frankly, I am already regretting typing these words.

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– Public Service Announcement –

– Volunteering can be uplifting, helpful, and sometimes, downright fun –

 

The Night The Volunteer Reached For Glory

Last night after the Goffstown hockey game I left the rink, laughing, but wondering if volunteerism had taken a couple of steps backward during the evening. While I fully agree that volunteering can be loads of fun, I have to wonder if us folks down at ice level had too much fun.

For the first time in 10 years I was approached before the game, as a certain volunteer was hoping to be mentioned in this article. So, I decided to keep an informal, if not completely made-up, point system. I wasn’t sure if this was a legit request, a juvenile prank, or an underling looking for mentorship.

All was going well, I mean considering the ongoing joking about how we couldn’t do on the ice what the kids were doing, but some of us might do very well playing NHL video games. There was a brief discussion about how many wings we thought we could eat. There was a comment about being #1 in the #2 business. We wondered if in fact last night’s game was a video game because the game sliders had been altered, and icing was turned off.

In one penalty box, volunteering was at its apex when the volunteer practiced opening and closing the door, and welcoming players to the penalty box. We had 149 versions of the Star-Spangled Banner at the ready on our phones in case the invisible powers that allow music to play over the arena speakers didn’t work.

Then, finally a puck did leave play and did not come back to the ice. I saw not one, but two refs skate toward us while demonstrating the universal symbol of needing a new puck by making the shape of a circle with their hands. They skated toward us looking like they were in a parade with this weird hand shaped circle crest on the their chests. While this was happening one volunteer was standing near me, but really, he was somewhere else far, far away. I am not sure I want to know where actually.

 

 

As we jolted this volunteer back into reality from his distant visit, probably to a place offering $0.10 wings on Wednesday nights, a new game puck was produced from perhaps the greatest puck container I have ever seen (UPDATE 2/9/24: I DO have a picture of the puck container). And the circle crests on the official’s striped jerseys fell away as if it all had been a dream.

Volunteer mentioned.

And speaking of greatest puck containers. If a container looks like it could hold eggs, or better yet, be a tool utilized for the collection of eggs. Then I think of our chickens at home. Yes, we have chickens, and they actually lay eggs.

With the winter daylight hours getting a little longer each day, our chickens have really pulled together and have upped their egg production game in recent weeks. So, we ran a contest for the chickens. You know, like a President’s Cabinet Award, for above and beyond excellence in the cut-throat egg laying game. You can see (below) that the eggs vary in size, and some hens are just, well, really getting after this contest.

 

 

Then our son checked the nesting boxes and found this submission for the President’s Cabinet Award. Well folks, we have a winner. Loretta laid this monstrous size egg and will be enjoying a few nights in the President’s Suite nesting box with fresh wood shavings and some straw, arranged just the way she likes it.

Loretta wrote me a note, in her chicken scratch sort of way, reminding me that the name, Loretta, derives its name from the laurel tree which is symbolic of victory. Thank you Loretta. Yes, I get it. You won.

 

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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.