Flutie And 83 Saves – Goffstown Hockey

– Flutie And 83 Saves – Goffstown Hockey –

– Goffstown vs. Alvirne-Milford – Sullivan Arena – St. Anselm College –

It was a very special night and not because of Valentine’s Day, or even because of the play on the ice. It was the Goffstown Hockey 2nd Annual Charity Game. The Grizzlies, the Admirals, and the Flutie Foundation came together to raise money and autism awareness.

Goffstown and Alvirne-Milford come together to play hockey and raise money for the Flutie Foundation. (Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

Goffstown hockey, Alvirne-Milford hockey, and the Flutie Foundation came together to make Wednesday night a very special night indeed. The uniquely awesome uniforms, the pre-game puck drop, the pictures on the ice, the hockey players with collection jars in the stands, and the other cool things happening all around the arena throughout the evening made it a very special night.

There was a hockey game, sure, and it lasted for 53 minutes of game time, yet the outcome was probably the exact result that it should have been (2-2 Tie). In this case, the Flutie Foundation and autism awareness won, not a team, not one side or the other.

The uniforms won. The ceremonial puck drop won. The brilliant delivery of our National Anthem won. The giving goals were set, were matched, and were exceeded, and the giving won. The atmosphere around Sullivan Arena won. The number “00” won. Whomever connected with “00” last night, they won too. Those who made this all happen, they won. As did the focus on autism awareness, awareness won.

(Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

After the game, every other player was gone from the ice, and I delivered a game sheet to one of the Alvirne-Milford Admiral coaches then turned to leave the ice. Then I saw Admirals goalie, Kian Corcoran skating toward the end of the rink to get to their locker room. I pulled him aside and apologized for us getting his name wrong during the starting line-up announcements. He was very gracious. He did notice that we correctly pronounced his name when announcing the saves made each period though. He was all smiles. I told him that I thought he had played an outstanding game. Again, he was smiling, and gracious.

Kian Corcoran, 37 saves, outstanding game, and he seemed to me like a really nice kid. (Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

Here is how the Goffstown hockey team scored their goals.

1. Goffstown scored first, in the 2nd period, on the power play. The Grizzlies held possession in the offensive zone and finally got settled enough to get a bounce to go their way. The puck went back to the point on a pass from Caldwell to Lessard. Caldwell headed toward the net while Lessard fired puck down the boards toward the corner. The puck hit off of Tarrier’s stick and went to Diodati who circled behind the net. Diodati delivered a perfect pass to Caldwell out front and he made no mistake. Caldwell buried the shot for his first goal of the season. PPG – Caldwell (1) from Diodati (7) and Tarrier (14). 1-0.
2. After another one of Kyle Bennett’s huge saves, the Grizzlies settled for taking a defensive zone face-off. Lessard won the draw and the puck slid out to his left. Dylan Ellbeg happened to be over there, and he grabbed the puck at the top of the D zone circle with some open ice in front of him. Ellbeg just kept gaining speed and skated through a swinging stick check (close to a slash) on his through the offensive zone. Then on the fly, he fired and his shot found nothing but net for the Grizzlies goal. Even – Ellbeg (6) from Lessard (7). 2-1.

(Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

Kian Corcoran and Kyle Bennett literally stole the show on Wednesday night. The Admirals could have won this game about 13 times it seemed, but puck luck, great goaltending, and perhaps a bigger cause that needed more attention, kept the final score at 2-2. KC and KB combined to play 106 minutes and make 83 saves on the night. Together they stopped 95.4% of the shots on goal that they faced. What a night for these two! Flutie and 83 saves.

NHIAA Hockey: OT

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Sullivan Arena – St. Anselm College.

Scoring:

Alvirne-Milford Admirals: 00 – 01 – 01 – 00 = 02

Goffstown Grizzlies: 00 – 01 – 01 – 00 = 02

NHIAA Hockey: OT

Shots on goal:

Alvirne-Milford Admirals: 14 – 11 – 11 – 12 = 48

Goffstown Grizzlies: 05 – 14 – 11 – 09 = 39

Goffstown Grizzlies Penalties:

1. Ellbeg (2:00-High-Sticking).
2. Caldwell (2:00-Cross-Checking).
3. S. Chapman (2:00-Cross-Checking).
4. S. Chapman (2:00-Cross-Checking).
5. S. Chapman (10:00-Misconduct).
6. Ellbeg (2:00-Tripping).
7. Lessard (2:00-Slashing). PPGA.

Goffstown was 1-for-4 on the power play, while Alvirne-Milford was 1-for-5.

• Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Kian Corcoran (So.) played all 53 minutes and made 37 saves on 39 shots (.949).
• Goffstown Grizzlies – Kyle Bennett (Fr.) made 46 saves on 48 shots (.958).

On average, Kyle Bennett made a save every 69 seconds. Many saves came, on a per second basis. (Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

The Grizzlies (7-6-1) play at Nashua North (6-8) on Friday afternoon.

Smiles and eyes, they tell it all. Awesome! (Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

(Photo by Meagan Tarrier)

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.