First I Was A Son
Two years ago this morning, my Dad passed away. To me, the date April 14th has now been redefined forever. As this date neared, and ultimately arrived, I have had many folks share their warm…
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Goffstown Hockey 2017-2018: Sign of the Times
It was three weeks ago now, and in my mind, it went something a little bit like this. As the maestro held his baton high, coercing the grand finale in all of its glory, the final note played. Somewhere between stunned and proud, the maestro bowed his head and turned to face the masses and the feedback they levied on this collective piece of work. And those who witnessed it, they rose in unison to honor the performance and wished it never had to end.
D-II Hockey All-State Teams: Profiles
2017-18 Division II All-State Ice Hockey Teams Congratulations to all the players selected to the All-State hockey teams, and to Coach McIntosh, on a tremendous season. Also, congratulations to all of the playoff teams,…
Tournament Hockey: (#4) Goffstown 4 vs. (#5) Dover 8
Goffstown dug themselves a huge hole, falling behind 5-0 in the second period, while Dover was dictating play by simply executing better than the Grizzlies. Goffstown reached down, found some collective fire within, and came storming back. With less than 10 minutes to play in the game, the game had turned into an intense, nail-biting, one-goal, tournament game with the Grizzlies trailing Dover, 5-4.
Hockey: D-II Quarterfinal Bracket
Well, folks, the prelims are done. #8 Oyster River overcame a 2-0 deficit and came back to beat #9 Merrimack, 5-2. #7 Kingswood fell behind #10 Portsmouth-Newmarket, tied the game in the 3rd, and won…
Hockey: Goffstown 2 at Windham 5
Goffstown ended their spectacular regular season in Salem against a very strong Windham Jaguars team on Saturday night. Despite dropping their final two contests, the Grizzlies did win 14 games in the regular season for the first time in their program’s history. Windham jumped out to a 4-0 lead and the hole was too deep for the Grizzlies to climb out of and overcome, but that’s not the whole story.
Team Sprint: A Call For The Ages
I have been watching the Olympics since I can remember. The first games I vaguely remember were the 1972 games. There have been more memorable moments than I could probably list. Then… …Yesterday morning, I…
Hockey: Goffstown 2 at Keene 8
One of the beauties of sport is that competition brings opportunity where something has to give. People can talk, stats, results, and personnel can be compared on paper, but in truth, it’s only after having contested in the sport that we really know. Last night out at Keene Ice, the Keene Blackbirds hosted the Goffstown Grizzlies on Keene’s Senior Night. It was NH Hockey’s Division II #1 vs. #2 in a last week of the season matchup. Something had to give.
Hockey: Merrimack 4 at Goffstown 5
Last night on the hilltop, as some say, the Grizzlies hosted their final regular season hockey game of the 2017-18 season. It was also Senior Night, a chance to recognize Goffstown’s 5 seniors on this year’s varsity squad. The opponent was Merrimack, a team that these senior’s had never beaten (0-4) coming into their final regular season home game.
Hockey: Alvirne 6 at Goffstown 10
The Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team played host to the Alvirne Broncos last night at St. Anselm College. On paper, the standings and previous results pointed to this as a blowout type game, dare say, and easy win for the Grizzlies. See Alvirne entered play with a record of three wins and twelve losses, while Goffstown entered play with twelve wins and two losses. In the end, the Grizzlies prevailed by a score of 10-6, but there were a few different sides to this story.
Hockey: Belmont-Gilford 1 at Goffstown 9
Last night the Grizzlies returned to the ice for their first game since February 3rd, as their showdown out at Keene was postponed by snow on February 7th. The Red Raiders from Belmont-Gilford came calling in what promised to be a competitive affair. These two teams have played some pretty good games over the last two seasons, with Goffstown escaping with a 7-6 win two years ago, and then the Grizzlies snagged a 5-3 win last year. This season though, caught a red-hot Goffstown team against a Belmont-Gilford team that just doesn’t have the horses they have had in recent years. The Red Raiders came in to the game having won four in a row, and had posted 36 goals in their last 6 games.
Hockey: Oyster River 2 at Goffstown 6
This afternoon the Grizzlies of Goffstown hosted the Oyster River Bobcats at Sullivan Arena for a rematch from a game they played way back before Christmas. Goffstown lost 4-2 at the Whittemore Center the first time they played. But then, the last five meetings, including the earlier contest this season, have not been great ones for the Grizzlies.
Hockey: Bow 2 vs. Goffstown 10
After losing a league game for the first time since before Christmas, everyone was wondering exactly how the Goffstown Grizzlies team would respond in their next game. Many folks in town hoped that the loss out at Kingswood on Saturday night would be a good learning experience for the team and serve as an in-season opportunity to self-correct their course.
2018 Comedy Night Hockey Fundraiser
Folks the hockey season is well into mid-season, and one of our favorite nights of the entire year is approaching. The single biggest fundraiser for the Friends of Goffstown Hockey and the hockey program. Please make a note, save the date, and plan on attending on February 10th. Good food. Good friends. Lots of laughs. Good cause. Join us!
Hockey: Kingswood 5 vs. Goffstown 4
Perhaps there are times in sports, even in everyday life, when we make mistakes but never really pay for them. Or at least we pay no more than the cost of listening to the taunting of our conscience and its innermost voice. Then, of course, there are times when our mistakes lead to immediate consequence and even seem to be plastered on a larger than life wide-screen for everyone to see.
Hockey: St. Thomas 3 at Goffstown 6
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that these high school hockey players are teenagers and that not every night is their best night. It’s also hard to forget previous teams, results, trends, and simple to get caught up in the numbers of all things tracked. Last season the Saints from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, NH ended the Grizzlies hockey season with a 4-3 win in the NHIAA Tournament Quarter Final round.
Goffstown Hockey News
New Hampshire Union Leader 01-22-18 D02_3 Hockey Night In Boston Power Rankings
Hockey: Goffstown 7 at Winnacunnet 0
It’s not every night in NHIAA Hockey where both the home team and the visiting team arrive to the rink, and then leave the rink in school buses. But then again, Goffstown High School (Goffstown, NH) traveled to play Winnacunnet High School (Hampton, NH) in Haverhill, MA, naturally. As if this wasn’t odd enough, the rest of the night kind of followed suit.
NHIAA Hockey: Windham 3 vs. St. Thomas 1
Check out @1inawesomewondr’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/1inawesomewondr/status/953825340014628864?s=09 I didn’t have rosters for both teams, the goals announced didn’t use player numbers, and I couldn’t hear the PA anyways, but this was a good game. I wish I…
All For One And One For All
With two of the three members that make up Goffstown’s CBC line serving time for transgressions found worthy of punishment by local authorities, the third member goes on an ice rink’s version of playing on…
Hockey: Goffstown 4 vs. Nashua South Pelham 2
Some people, like professional commentators for instance, might say that tonight’s game against Nashua South Pelham was somewhat of a trap game. It would be sort of like the Grizzlies who finished Saturday’s game on a tidal wave of emotional momentum against a rival in Dover, playing a Division I team who is only 1-3 and not regarded as a real threat in the standings. Thus the potential let down, or “trap” game.
Hockey: Goffstown 8 vs. Dover 5
From Sullivan Arena on the campus of St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH –
After sitting here looking at my screen for several minutes, literally not knowing where to start, I guess I will start. In an 8 day span that started last Saturday with weather that was too cold for buses, the Grizzlies won in Nashua, Dover upset unbeaten Windham, Oyster River lost twice, Keene won three times, and St. Thomas improved to 7-0. Then to cap it off, Goffstown beat Dover 8-5 and ran their record to 6-1 on the season.
NH Hockey Tonight – DII (1/12/18)
Several of us NH high school hockey fans were talking over the summer, and we agreed that maybe St. Thomas would be the team to beat in the 2017-18 season. Thus far it seems that maybe we were right.
NH Hockey Division II Power Rankings
Well, the power rankings for Division II are out from Hockey Night in Boston News. Since these rankings were posted: Keene won again (beat Alvirne 8-2). In a really good high school hockey game, Dover…
Hockey: Goffstown 11 @ Nashua North Souhegan 7
From the Conway Arena in Nashua, NH –
In an attempt to see the glass as half full, it was a throwback to younger days, with our three youngest in the van, my wife and I, all going to a road hockey game. The glass may well have been half full, and maybe the water was completely frozen but it’s January in New Hampshire, what else would you expect?
Hockey: Goffstown 10 @ Spaulding 4
From the Rochester Ice Arena in Rochester, NH –
Last night out in Rochester I walked, or slid, or skated, and might have completed an inadvertent toe loop as I made my way through the maze of mayhem in the frozen area formerly known as a parking lot. I finally made it to the entrance and walked into the old building on Lowell Street just in time to see Somersworth-Coe Brown wrap up their 11-2 win over Laconia-Winnisquam, getting their first win of the season, in Division III action. By the time the ice was resurfaced and introductions were done, Goffstown and Spaulding faced off at just about 8:10pm.
Goffstown Grizzlies 2017-2018
Believe it or not, Christmas just happened and this year’s team has already played one-third of their scheduled games for the entire season. The Grizzlies are 4-3 overall, and 4-1 against Division II opponents. There seems to be a good mix of young and experienced on this roster. So, you might ask, who are these people? Hopefully this little gallery will help answer that question. It’s all about the kids. Enjoy.
Christmas Hockey Classic: Bow 2 at Goffstown 6
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Goffstown played their third and final game of the Christmas Hockey Classic Tournament in Manchester on Thursday night against the defending Division II State Champion Bow Falcons. The Falcons are not what they were last year, but neither are a lot of teams. Goffstown pounded the puck at the net out shooting Bow 48-18 en route to their 6-2 victory.
Christmas Hockey Classic: Hanover 5 at Goffstown 1
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Undefeated Hanover remained unbeaten with a 5-1 win over Goffstown this afternoon in the Christmas Hockey Classic game at 2:00 pm. Hanover scored each of their five goals with 3:16 or less to play in that period. These goals made matters seem worse, especially for a Grizzlies team that generated a lot of great chances, but could not cash in, only to give up goals late in periods. The Hanover High Marauders are a very well coached team, and just about everything they do, is done with purpose and within a structure that they are all well versed in.
Christmas Hockey Classic: Goffstown 1 at Concord 6
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Goffstown kicked off the Christmas Hockey Classic Tournament at 4:00pm against one of the Division-I favorites to win the title, in the Crimson Tide of Concord. The scoreboard ended up showing a rather lopsided score, with Concord winning, 6-1. The score didn’t completely tell the story of this game, but make no mistake, Concord is really good. Every line, every pairing, they all seem to be pretty good. Goffstown did get some good chances to score in the game, which included 4 power play chances, and the CBC line generated several opportunities on their own. On the other hand, the Grizzlies committed a couple of egregious turnovers, got beat as a result of some lazy defense, and gave up some goals that they probably wish they could take back.
Hockey: Goffstown 2 @ Timberlane 1
From the ICENTER in Salem, NH –
Have you ever felt like you are a part of an event that appears to have been a massive afterthought? That’s kind of how it felt in Salem this evening. Playing on the lower rink, where the clock is difficult to read, the puck marred glass above the boards severely impairs everyone’s vision, and the facilities are better suited for Middle School hockey or a practice, the main event of Timberlane hosting Goffstown in a NHIAA Division II regular season game seemed completely out of place.
Hockey: Goffstown 2 @ Oyster River 4
From the Whittemore Center on the campus of UNH –
I find that as I am getting older that I may be getting a little more critical in some areas. Even though my playing days are well behind me, it turns out that I still have this deep sense of competitiveness that bubbles up inside me. My mind is still in tune (as far as I know) with preparation, process, and the effort it takes in tirelessly crafting the skills of anything I ever wanted to compete in. With that mindset and background I watch the Goffstown Grizzlies play every shift, of every game, and work very diligently to be observant while accurately sharing the game as I see it. My mom always told me that if I didn’t have something nice to say, that I should say nothing at all. So, instead of being too brief, I am looking for the silver linings to the dark clouds that always seem to hover over the Whittemore Center every time the Grizzlies visit the Bobcats of Oyster River.
Hockey: Lebanon-Stevens 4 at Goffstown 6
From Sullivan Arena on the campus of St. Anselm College –
In recent years, it seems that whenever Goffstown is scheduled to play Lebanon-Stevens in hockey, either the game is snowed out, or the game is played closely contested, with a pinch of physicality. This afternoon when Lebanon-Stevens (0-1) came into the Grizzlies Den to play Goffstown (1-0), things played out like they usually do. At least the weather was nice though.