Get The Puck Out – 2010 Flames

February 11, 2024 – Get The Puck Out – West Side Arena  –

The 2010 Flames split a pair of games over the weekend. They lost, 4-1 to Providence, and then beat Mt. Washington, 3-1 later in the day. I came away from the action with two recurring thoughts or themes for the action that day at West Side Arena.

 

 

 

On a Saturday in February, three extraordinary things happened. One, there were no 2010 Flames hockey games scheduled or played. Two, the day was absolutely gorgeous, as in, 60°F and sunny. Not the greatest weather for outdoor ice rinks, pond skating, or any type of snow sport, but still a beautiful day. Three, and my favorite thing, was that the 2010 Flames played a game with their entire roster, healthy, and on the ice together for the first time since October 22, 2023. Team sports are always better when the gang is all there.

Sunday, was another nice day. And this day, the Flames had a pair of games to play. They lost to the Providence South team, up from RI. And then beat the Mt. Washington Valley Eagles, down from Conway, NH.

The two recurring thoughts I mentioned earlier as follows.

1. The Providence players, especially, were in the right place at the right time, most of the time. Their structure on the ice, in all zones, was superior to the Flames. The Flames played hard, and the game was a very competitive one, but when you play against good players who are better aligned, or structured, it’s kind of like trying to skate uphill all game. To me, that makes the effort and execution of the lesser aligned team to have to approach perfection in order to win, or to certainly overcome a deficit.
2. This was, without question, the most recurring thought that I had over the two games. GET THE PUCK OUT!!! Not getting the puck out of the zone is like trying to hit homeruns, but taking all the pitches after checking your swing. Get the puck out of the zone, even if the puck gets put back into the zone. The other team will have to tag up to be onsides and approach again. Maybe the defenders could change lines. Maybe the other team would have to skate all the way, far, far away, to the other end of the ice to get the puck again. And, maybe, just maybe, the defensive team could clear the zone and go on the offensive.

I think the band Extreme said it best with their song, Get The Puck Out. They were founded in Mass. so they know a thing or two about hockey. Or at least that’s how I remember it. The song started something like this.

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West Side Arena –

Scoring –

Providence HC South: 01 – 01 – 02 = 04

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

2010 Flames Penalties:

1. Booth (Roughing).
2. Giampa (Roughing). PPGA.
3. Soucy (Cross-Checking).
4. St. Pierre (Cross-Checking).

 

1. The Flames piled up a total of one goal, and the play went as so. As the Flames gave up a pretty decent scoring chance, Ingalls made a pair of splendid saves to save the team’s bacon. Then Powers got the puck in the corner and skated a few strides up the ice before rifling a clearing pass to the far side. One of the easier clearing the zone plays of the game. The puck clanged off of the boards soft enough not to be icing and slid out ahead of Ouellette who was racing up the left wing. Ouellette wound up and fired a shot as he reached the puck split second before the defender. The shot was up high on the goaltender but it was not handled cleanly. As the puck dropped to the ice in the crease, Soucy smacked the puck into the net for the goal. Soucy from Ouellette and Powers. 1-1.

 

After the first game of the day for the Flames, I ran into a player for the Goffstown Grizzlies. He’s a junior defenseman, Brock Bennett. I talked to him and his mom. I mention this because they were at West Side Arena to watch the U8 Minor team play the Knights. Why? Because one day a week, Brock volunteers to help coach/teach/be a larger than life hero to these kids.

Brock’s smile was uncontainable when I asked him about it. I asked if he was their super hero, and he basically said, ‘Something like that’. These little kids taking the ice, with their big kid hero right there, that was awesome to watch.

I also heard that at Christmas time, Brock had been given an Elf (yes, Buddy) costume. He skated with that U8 team as Buddy the Elf. That is awesome. I love stories like these.

 

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Later that afternoon, in a game that would start late, and run late, and cause all of us hockey families to miss the start of the Super Bowl, the 2010 Flames won, 3-1. The Flames outshot their opponents by roughly a 3-to-1 margin, and scored at the same ratio. The Mt. Washington team is made up of 2009 and 2010 players, 40% of their roster is second year Bantam players, and they had some really tall players to confirm the numbers.

Either way, the Flames played a very good game, and beat a good team in the end. As for missing the beginning of the Super Bowl, I cared very little.

I can’t harp on our kids enough. Every single game, our kids, forwards, goalies, and defensemen alike, make tremendous plays that don’t get on the scoresheet or get mentioned. Seriously, the team is fun to watch, and they make way more plays than they don’t.

Our streak of a healthy roster playing together on the ice ended at 1 game. Mooney had an injury to his arm and may be out for a bit. Hopefully, he will return quickly. Hopefully, the rest of the squad will remain healthy for the remainder of the season as well.

Here’s how the Flames scored in their second game of the day.

 

1. With the Flames power play time winding down, the team changed lines and had another offensive zone face-off with the man-advantage. Petrie won the face-off clean and sent the puck back to Booth at the point. Booth got a quick shot to the net that was saved, but not settled. Beal in his favorite place, innocently disrupting life in front of the net, immediately grabbed the rebound and tucked it into the far side of the net. Simple, good hockey play. Win the draw, get a shot on goal, get to the net to clean up the mess in front. PPG – Beal from Booth and Petrie. 1-0.
2. Right after the Eagles goaltender made a great save on a Lazzaro breakaway bid, the Flames were in the zone again. Petrie and Beal pressured on the forecheck and the Eagles rushed clearing bid was picked off by Soucy along the boards. Soucy side stepped one defender and cut to the middle, to the slot. As he worked left, he shot back to his right and found the twine inside the nearside post. The shot may have been tipped by Beal as he was right there with his stick down, and blade open. It sounded like it hit something but I am not sure. So I have, Soucy unassisted. 2-1. GWG.
3. The Flames were on the power play again, and they had chances in the offensive zone, but nothing was really clicking. Then Lazzaro made a nice play at the blue line to keep a clearing bid, in the zone. He fired a shot that was wide of the net. The puck bounced off of the end boards and come out by the post on the other side of the net. Hawkes flipped the puck at the goalie from his backhand at close range. The puck bounced off of the goaltender and Ouellette was there to slide a backhand shot past the goalie just before he dove to his left to close the door. Again, good play. Keep the puck in. Get a shot with numbers in support down low. Shot, rebound, score. PPG – Ouellette from Hawkes and Lazzaro. 3-1.

 

West Side Arena –

Scoring –

Mt. Washington Valley Eagles: 01 – 00 – 00 = 01

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

2010 Flames Penalties:

1. Ouellette (Roughing).

 

The Flames had 14 shots in the first period, and finished with a 34-10 count for the game. Excellent effort for the entire game.

Ingalls + Rosenbeck = Awesome!