-Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey-

Motion In Small Spaces – January 18, 2025

I checked with the authorities and found that the Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey Team did in fact board the bus to Dover for a Saturday afternoon game against St. Thomas.

 

 

If and when the Grizzlies showed up on the ice in Dover, is debatable. I heard from a few sources that the Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team showed up at roughly the following times:

• They never got off the bus.
• They showed up after the first period.
• They made their first appearance sometime late in the second period.
• Are you kidding? They didn’t start skating until the third period.
• They showed up on Thursday the 23rd.

You get the idea. It was a rather embarrassing showing for the Grizzlies.

A couple notes that I made during the game:

1. Motion in small spaces.
2. Lots of speed and movement in small areas.
3. Don’t hit the Saints, their parents get really mad.
4. Back door’s open.
5. Back door’s still open.

You hear commentators talk about a hockey team’s layers of defense. Jack Edwards would mention layers, ‘too many layers’ of defense for an opponent to get through on Bruins’ broadcasts all the time. The St. Thomas Saints took layers in a different direction. They had layers of offense, and they did it in small spaces.

• Addressing four of the five points above in one play: One goal the Saints scored played out something like this. Saints first forward carries the puck with speed up the left wing angling toward the half wall. Defender drifts with him. Saints second forward follows but toward the circle. First forward feathers a pass to the circle before the second forward gets there. On the weak side third forward steps in and hugs the far post. Second forward movement draws a defensive reaction. Second forward receives pass on the fly and quickly decides, shoot, pass, or cycle. There’s an open seam to the back door. Second forward makes the pass. Third forward taps in a goal from about 18 inches away from the net. Absolutely beautiful play.
• There were numerous versions and variations of this type of layered offense which also included defensemen cycling through the offense with speed and precision. Again, beautiful to watch.
• To address point #3, I will try to be nice. As to avoid some big (in stature only) male looking person having his face freeze in an unfortunate twisted empty glare. At least before his wife makes him sit down. The point is this: Any physical contact with the Saints players was like an attack on the school. Or an attack on St. Thomas, Somersworth-Coe-Brown, York, Maine, Oyster River, and so on. The portal has been timely for the Saints. If you can catch them, physicality could level the playing field if not swing the edge to a good skating aggressor.
• Also addressing point #3. The Grizzlies aren’t a good physical team. They can skate (when they show up) with anyone in the division. I believe that most of their hits, or hitting, has been outside of what they do well within their game. Many hits put the player way out of position. Some hits are borderline legal because they tried so hard to make a hit that wasn’t there or necessary. I am all for good physical hockey with hits within the progression up and down the ice. But if it’s not there naturally, like receiving a pass in stride would be, within the flow of the game, it’s probably ill advised or a penalty, or both. Chasing is not good in hockey.

 

The St. Thomas Saints came marching in, but they didn’t march for long when they did march.

1. Estes off the wall frees the puck for Garrett Aceto. Pass to wide open Kozlowski in the slot for the score. Time of Possession (TOP): 5 seconds.
2. Tibbets jabs the puck in after a great pass from Kozlowski to Perry for a shot from between the circles. TOP: 9 seconds.
3. Tibbetts wins the offensive zone face-off to Estes. Estes skates pirouettes in the corner before dishing to G. Aceto on the doorstep for the tap in. Power play goal. TOP: 10 seconds.
4. Kozlowski dumps the puck into the corner. Goffstown plays it but weakly. Tibbetts taps it pack to Lemieux at the point for the shot which is deflected in the slot by Kozlowski for the goal. Somersworth-Coe-Brown to Oyster River to Somersworth-Coe-Brown for the even strength goal. TOP: 3 seconds.
5. Tibbets retrieved the Goffstown clear back behind his own goal line. The Saints were on the power play again. He made a long outlet pass to G. Aceto at center ice. Aceto stickhandled his way through and around several Grizzlie pylons before cutting hard to the net along the goal line. He tucked the puck into the net for a power play goal. TOP: 18 seconds and covered the length of the ice.
6. Tibbets got his stick on a Goffstown clearing attempt. The puck came to Tibbets out high and he hit Kozlowski with a pass in the circle. Kozlowski was already headed toward the net. Since the Goffstown D was to the outside Kozlowski skated in on a 10-foot breakaway for the goal. TOP: 5 seconds.
7. Perry kept the puck in at the point. He poked it to Estes. Estes came off the half wall, splitting to defenders and stepping through to his a wide open G. Aceto at the side of the net. Power play goal. TOP: 9 seconds after Goffstown touched the puck and tried to clear.
8. Estes pressured the D at center ice. Turnover to Cam Aceto. C. Aceto with Estes on a quick 2-on-01 break. C. Aceto pass to his right to Estes, shoots, scores. TOP: 4 seconds off of the turnover.

 

The St. Thomas Saints hosted their 16th Annual Pink Game on Saturday in Dover – All proceeds from the game benefit the Mass General Cancer Center at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. The entry fee to get into the game was up to each person. In other words, a donation. I hope they did very well. There were raffles, 50/50, and all kinds of treats to eat. All set up in the lobby. It was a nice atmosphere. 

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Goffstown Grizzlies at St. Thomas Saints.

Dover Arena, Charles Holt Rink, Dover, NH.

NHIAA Hockey: Game eleven.

Saturday, January 18, 2025.

 

NHIAA Hockey:

Scoring:

Goffstown Grizzlies: 00 – 01 – 00 = 01

St. Thomas Saints: 04 – 03 – 01 = 08

 

Shots on goal:

Goffstown Grizzlies: 11 – 11 – 09 = 31

St. Thomas Saints: 13 – 10 – 02 = 25

 

Goffstown Grizzlies Penalties:

• T. Lessard – 2:00 – Interference.
• T. Lessard – 2:00 – Cross-Checking. PPGA.
• B. Bennett – 2:00 – Hooking.
• S. Chapman – 2:00 – Cross-Checking. PPGA.
• Diodati – 2:00 – Tripping. PPGA.
• Ellbeg – 2:00 – Slashing.
• B. Bennett – 2:00 – Roughing.

Goffstown was 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Saints were 3-for-6.

• Goffstown Grizzlies – Kyle Bennett (So.) made 17 saves on 25 shots (.680).
• St. Thomas Saints – Zack Pattow made 30 saves on 31 shots (.968).

 

The Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team scored only once. Late in the 2nd period they got one to go.

1. 2nd 9:48 – Jackson Horne made a backhanded swipe at the puck in the D zone to break up the play along the wall. The puck came right to Sam Chapman with some time and space. Sam took off and jetted out of the defensive zone with the puck. He had Tyler Lessard on his right. Sam crossed the blue line and fed a pass over to Lessard on their 2-on-1 break. Lessard made a quick move and got a shot on net. Somehow the puck trickled through Zack Pattow. It would be the only goal of the game from the Grizzlies. Even – T. Lessard (15) from S. Chapman (7) and Horne (3). Down 7-1.

You can find news, video, updates, and all kinds of interesting tidbits involving Goffstown Grizzlies hockey here, Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey.

 

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The only time I used my camera over the St. Thomas game weekend, I took this video clip. It was the next night, on Sunday, right before I went to bed.

 

 

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The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors, mostly mine. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the leagues, schools, coaches, players, or characters listed in any of these blog posts. Or, maybe they do. Either way, you would have to ask them directly.