I am just a man. I am a father, a son, and a husband. I am a homemaker, caretaker, coach, writer, speaker, and photographer. I love God. I love my family. I love my country. God has blessed my family and I, and I am eternally grateful. Author of Generation Jumping: Losing those who are not lost. Downtime with my family is about as good as it gets for me. Being outdoors in nature, among the animals and the wilderness, the Created, comes pretty close. Baseball, followed by hockey, are my two favorite sports, with several others a close third. I would rather do it right the first time. Honesty, respect, and integrity are virtues that I hold dear, so I call it like I see it. Before we as a society attempt to re-define these words, I will be here telling the raw truth.
If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. Except, I describe the goals (read on) and a few facts. That is all.
The Bearcats came to Sullivan Arena to play the Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team on a Wednesday night in February. They were already down five players when they arrived. Then they were down five goals. Goffstown skated to an 8-0 win versus a shorthanded roster.
The Giants gave everything they had, but a shorter bench lost steam as the game went along. The Grizzlies Hockey team kept coming in waves. Wave after wave on the attack, they eventually built on their lead en route to victory.
The Kings showed that their future is bright, and the Grizzlies hockey team turned an OT winner into a snow day.
The defense clogged the middle and blocked several shots. Mason Ballard didn’t skate as freely as he had four weeks earlier. Bennett made 25 saves and the offense came to life on the power play.
Taking steps toward bigger goals. Control the controllables, such as effort, execution, game-planning, and making Hockey 101 plays.
After being outclassed against St. Thomas, I heard that the Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team had a ‘great week’ of practice coming into Thursday night. I guess they did.
On average, this area of NH receives just over three inches (3.3″) of rain in July. After averaging 8.95 inches of rain in July over the last three years, 2024 was significantly more dry.
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.
On average, this area of NH receives roughly three and a half (3.5″) inches of rain in June. Each of the last four years have been pretty consistently wet here.
The Manchester Kings visited Sullivan Arena to play the Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team. These two hockey programs unveiled new, unique jerseys to signify their commitment to the cause. They played a game they love to play. And to skate past the stigma while scoring support for mental health awareness.
The Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team trailed, then came back and led. Then trailed again, came back and led. Then they trailed in the final two minutes and scored to send the game to OT. On a night that turned into a month worth of on ice lessons, the Grizzlies fell in OT. I do believe they will be better for it though.
The Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team traveled to Lebanon, NH for a midweek road game. The visitors fell behind, 3-1 but rallied to win it, 4-3.
The Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team controlled the game early. Kind of. They took a lead and held it for more than 30 minutes of game time. Then the missed chances throughout the game compounded, over and Dover.
The Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey team was once again the only NHIAA Hockey team from Division 2 in the annual Christmas Tournament played at JFK Memorial Coliseum. The 8-team field played games over the three days following Christmas. Concord beat Exeter in the Final. The Grizzlies took 3rd, going 2-1 in the tourney.
Maybe a game against Spaulding would turn out the way it did more often than not. Either team could win it. Goffstown generated more Grade A chances than I saw in all twelve years of my schooling. Meanwhile, Collin McIntyre brought his A+ game. Eventually something had to give. A tip and a prayer, led to an OT game-winner. What a game!
Silver Anniversary Night was a special night for the Goffstown Grizzlies Hockey program. It was the first home game of the season, the 25th season in the program’s history. A lot of friendly faces came out to the ice rink on Tuesday night. And without those people, and several more, who knows when the Goffstown hockey program would have started.
I thought the Goffstown Grizzlies were the better team on the ice for most of the night. But most of the night didn’t equal an opening night victory.
For the 2010 Flames it counted for three Titles in four years, at the Winter Classic NH. Four wins on the weekend.
Fertile plain, or level place. Compassionate friend. These are the Biblical meanings of my Aunt’s first and middle name. Aptly named. Aptly trained.
Twas the weeks before Christmas and all around the ice scorekeepers were tracking those naughty and nice.
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.
The weekend was a good one for the 2010 Flames if you care about wins. Three up to the W column. They also played excellent hockey throughout the weekend. In all kinds of conditions.
Saturday night at Phillips Exeter the 2010 Flames took a 6-1 lead and held on for a 7-4 win against NH East. Then on Sunday, down in Canton, MA, the Flames led, 2-1, and 3-2, then barely held on and managed a 3-3 tie against the Huskies. Team scoring has picked up, with contributions coming from everyone in the lineup. The final period of games continue to be a difficulty for the Flames.
What I loved most about games as the 2010 Flames began a new month was simply this. From the first period on Saturday through the final seconds on Sunday evening, the team gathered, getting better. They were motivated and giving all.
With the 2010 Flames back in NH, they played five games to finish October. They played three home games wrapped around two trips to Berlin, NH. They closed out the month with 2 wins, a loss, and a pair of ties.
The final day of the Palmetto State Fall Classic Tournament started very early for the 2010 Flames. They arrived at the Carolina Ice Palace by 6:30 am after getting back to the hotel after 10:45 pm on Saturday night.
The 2010 Flames played two games on Saturday, the second day of the Palmetto State Fall Classic Tournament. In the two games, they allowed zero even strength goals. They also scored no goals, of any kind.
The 2010 Flames have one scheduled travel tournament this season. Again this season, the tournament was played in October. And, again, it was down south. This time the 2010 Flames played in Charleston, SC. It was a tremendous trip. Good hockey and near perfect weather, all with a hockey family that is second to none.
Our family was up in the Sunapee-Kearsarge Region of NH for the weekend. It was a wedding weekend at Ragged Mountain Resort for us. Meanwhile the 2010 Flames played three games.
It was late on Sunday afternoon when I walked slowly into West Side Arena to watch the 2010 Flames play their first game in 15 days. Very rarely, do I watch a Flames game with ear buds in, but Sunday I had them in and turned up.
The scene was Everett Arena in Concord. It was GSL Parity Weekend for NH youth hockey teams in the 14U Division such as the 2010 Flames. The 10U and 12U division’s games were played in Manchester and Keene, respectively.
Maturing and growing are aspects that both play instrumental parts in youth hockey. One (or more) player might finish a season in March as a teenage kid but take the ice in September as an adult sized player. So, when the 2010 Flames showed up for opening weekend on Saturday at West Side Arena it only took a second to see that this roster is closer to adult than they are to Mites that make everything look adorable.