Three Down…2010 Flames

November 23-24, 2024 – Three Down: 2010 Flames.

The 2010 Flames may have expected a better result in the win-loss column going into the weekend’s trio of games. They played three good teams, with good speed, depth of talent, and certainly a fair share of physicality.

 

 

 

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Game 27 of the season.

Three Down:

November 23, 2024.

JFK Memorial Coliseum, Manchester, NH.

Scoring:

• 2010 Flames: 01 – 02 – 00  = 03
• Upper Valley: 02 – 01 – 01 = 04

Shots:

• 2010 Flames: 12 – 13 – 10  = 35
• Upper Valley: 09 – 07 – 08 = 24

Penalties:

• None called.

 

 

The 2010 Flames fell behind, 2-0 in the first half of the opening period. The sequences leading to the goals against was exactly what you would expect from the Upper Valley Storm. The Flames made mistakes, or turnovers, and Upper Valley cashed in right away.

One Flames D was out too high without the Flames possessing the puck. Immediately the Storm executed a beautiful 2-on-1 break from the blue line in. Goal. Mistake. Execution. Down, 1-0.

The 2010 Flames turned the puck over in the corner in their own end. Immediately the Storm player took the puck toward the net, shot, and scored. Mistake. Opportunity. Cashed in. Down, 2-0.

I know that most competitive athletes who really care about their team while improving individually will second guess plays they didn’t make. I don’t know if Rosenbeck would like to have any of those shots that beat him back, like a do over, but when the Storm converted on Flames mistakes they did it with near perfection.

Fortunately the Flames did not fold their tents and leave the area. No, they dug in, and played good hockey. They actually played pretty good hockey from start to finish. Both teams did. The Storm just did a better job of making the Flames pay for their mistakes.

The Flames cut the deficit by scoring a goal less than a minutes after falling behind 2-0. Petrie won an offensive zone face-off directly to Ouellette who was lined up on the right wing. Ouellette one-touched a pass back to Powers at the point. Powers shot the puck immediately. The shot was up and away while players and goalie were still rotating to the play. The puck found the twine. Nice play. Even – Powers from Ouellette and Petrie. Trail, 2-1.

The Flames had scored, but they trailed, 2-1 after one period. They had 12 shots on goal to the Storm’s 9, and both teams were playing good hockey. The Storm play with discipline, speed, and spacing. They move the puck even if it takes five passes to do it.

 

 

The Storm won a puck battle while the Flames were attempting to clear the puck and turned it into an instant goal. They led, 3-1 after only 1:13 was played in the second period. Was this going to turn into a blowout?

33 seconds later, the 2010 Flames scored and there would be no blowout in this game.

This time, the Flames turned the mistake into a goal. On the forecheck St. Pierre led the charge with Beal and Soucy trailing but in a flanking coverage of any possible breakout by the Storm. It was effective. The defender turned the puck over as St. Pierre was funneling the play toward the corner with Beal in support.

St. Pierre took the puck as he circled from the corner out to the point. Just when one might have wondered what in the world he was doing retreating after making a great play on the turnover, he delivered the puck back to the corner. Beal took the pass and made a nifty pass to Soucy who had been the other flank and was now behind the defense.

The pass from Beal was short and sweet. Soucy knew exactly what to do as he turned for the net. He opened his shoulders and ripped a shot from eight feet out at the bottom of the circle. The shot was up and over the shoulder, under the bar. Great shot.

A clear from the D zone that was soft enough not to be icing turned into a great forecheck, steal, pass, pass, and shot into the net. Example number 7,742 this season that pressure on the puck leads to mistakes. Even – Soucy from Beal and St. Pierre. Down, 3-2.

The Flames really played well in the second period. They ended up with 13 shots on goal while allowing only 7. They went to the second intermission tied, 3-3. The 2010 Flames tied the game with 9:15 left in the middle period.

The play started with a gorgeous long outlet pass from Petrie to Warren. The Storm were back, Warren skated in over the blue line and ripped a shot that was blocked wide to the end boards. The defense wrapped the puck through the corner to the half wall. Typical breakout setup and execution.

The fly in their ointment on this play was Drumm. He pinched in, and neutralized the forward on the half wall. With Warren back at the point to cover Drumm’s foray, the puck slid right out to him. Warren got rid of a quick shot with some mustard on it. There was heavy traffic in front of the net. The puck was saved by the tender, but not cleanly.

Drumm had continued his path through the corner and to the net. As the rebound came off of the goalie Drumm got a stick on the puck. Essentially this little puck touch deadened the puck, flat on the ice. Enter Petrie. As if the puck had been placed on a tee, Petrie smacked the puck into the open side of the net. The goalie was still on the post after fending off Warren’s shot through the screen.

This was a great play with many parts in motion all while the Flames were making a line change. Even – Petrie from Drumm and Warren. Tied, 3-3.

The final period was well played just like most of the game had been. The only goal was scored by the Storm, with 3:33 left.

The Flames had a quick chance to clear the zone but the puck was thrown up the boards with no support. The puck bounced off the half wall right to the defenseman. The D took a quick shot while there was still much traffic in the net area. The shot got through to the back of the net. A Storm forward lifted his leg to avoid being hit by the shot just inches in front of Rosenbeck in goal. That’s how much of a screen was in front.

The Flames pulled Rosenbeck with 1:37 left for an extra attacker. They could not tie the game despite some excellent chances in the final 97 seconds of the game. Tough outcome, great game. Rosenbeck made 20 saves in the game and played pretty well. He certainly did his best to cancel any mistakes in front of him or creative offense against his team.

 

 

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Game 28 of the season.

Three Down:

November 23, 2024.

West Side Arena, Manchester, NH.

Scoring:

• 2010 Flames: 00 – 00 – 00  = 00
• Islanders East Lafond: 02 – 00 – 00 = 02

Shots:

• 2010 Flames: 06 – 08 – 07 = 21
• Islanders East Lafond: 19 – 06 – 10 = 35

Penalties:

1. Giampa – Cross-Checking.
2. Pinkos – Tripping.

 

This game was over in the first period. The Flames managed to get out of the barrage against them with only a two goal deficit. The Islanders had 19 shots on goal and it felt like more than that. Ingalls was under attack between the pipes and made 17 saves to keep the Flames from being down by five or more. After one period, the 2010 Flames trailed 2-0 on the scoreboard, and 19-6 in shots on net.

I may have said aloud, “If the Flames don’t start skating with them and stem the flow of shots and chances, this could be a 10-0 final”. Fortunately, the Flames did up their game enough to shut down any further goals against. The Flames managed 8 shots in the second period and allowed just 6 shots on net.

Over the final two periods, the Flames had 6 power play opportunities. In these two periods, the Flames were still outshot, 16-15. And several of their power play opportunities didn’t yield much on the offensive end of the ice at all.

The Islanders skated to a 2-0 win, with a 35-21 advantage in shots despite having 8 penalties called against them to just 2 infractions whistled against the Flames. The shutout marked the seventh time this season that the 2010 Flames have been held scoreless in a game.

 

 

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Game 29 of the season.

Three Down:

November 24, 2024.

Hobomock Arena, Pembroke, MA.

Scoring:

• 2010 Flames: 00 – 02 – 00  = 02
• BS Breakers Petrie: 01 – 02 – 02 = 05

Shots:

• 2010 Flames: 08 – 10 – 10 – 28
• BS Breakers Petrie: 07 – 07 – 08 – 22

Penalties:

1. Powers – Interference.
2. Booth – Charging.
3. Ouellette – Roughing.
4. Booth – Tripping. (PPGA).
5. St. Pierre – Roughing.

 

The 2010 Flames trailed, 1-0 after one period. In the second period they were down, 2-0 when they scored their first goal.

Destani almost broke up a play center ice which would have likely led to a breakaway. But the puck was blocked along the side boards for a moment. St. Pierre was the next layer of pursuit and he poked the puck past the defender up to Destani.

Destani sent a pass to the middle of the ice that Mooney didn’t handle cleanly. He chased the puck and picked it up in the offensive zone along the boards after a Breaker had whiffed on it. Mooney gathered and ripped a shot from the top of the circle. Just as the puck traveled through the air a defender slid from right to left in front of his own goalie.

The shot was just inside the near post and beat the goaltender as the screening defender passed out of the way. Nice goal proving that shots on net always have a chance of going in the net. Even – Mooney from Destani and St. Pierre. Down, 2-1.

The Breakers scored a shorthanded goal that was somewhat of a back-breaker. The Flames had the puck and misplayed it in their own end. This led to a breakaway all along from forty feet in. The shorthanded goal gave the Breakers a 3-1 lead. After the Flames had struck for one goal, they gave it right back while on the power play.

The Flames did answer though. After a whistle, Destani won an offensive zone face-off back to Powers who shot wide from the point. The puck caromed off of the end boards and came out toward the left point. Drumm canceled out the Breaker forward trying to clear the zone. This allowed Mooney to grab the loose puck out by the blue line.

Mooney fired a heavy wrist shot, on net, that the goalie saved but created a big rebound. St. Pierre shot the rebounded puck immediately from point blank. The goalie made a nice save, getting a piece of the shot. The puck bounced off of the goalie just outside the crease in front of the net, and Destani slammed the puck into the net. Another nice goal for the Flames. Even – Destani from St. Pierre and Mooney. Down, 3-2.

The Breakers scored a power play goal in the 3rd period to go up 4-2. With 2:57 left in the game, they scored again on a shot from the point through traffic. The 2010 Flames dropped the game, 5-2.

 

 

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Mooney’s Moonshots

So this is why I call these Mooney’s Moonshots. Well, the name Mooney, that already gets us headed in the right direction. Then there is this. Moonshot. While ‘moonshot’ originally meant “long shot”, it’s increasingly being used to describe a monumental effort and a lofty goal—in other words, a “giant leap”. Moonshot is also used to describe a towering home run. And home run is a large gain, or popular success.

So ya, I like Mooney’s Moonshots because it stands for all of that.

Thank you for the time you spend to take the pictures and go through them, load them, and then freely share them.

Caught in a Storm

Island Shut Down

Tough Break

 

 

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

 

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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.