Of all the months in a long hockey season, the 2010 Flames played more games in February (12) than in any other month. Must have been a leap year. They played a few more games in March (3). Here are some thoughts from the Final Weeks In Numbers.
The Goffstown hockey team showed up in Durham, NH for an 830 am QuarterFinal game against Oyster River on Saturday morning. They played. They lost. The Bobcats scored a pair of power play goals and netted a shorthanded empty netter at the end of their 4-2 win. But all I could think about is what the future holds.
The Flames went 1-1-1 on the weekend. The best game, by far, was the 1-1 tie on Sunday afternoon. The team did not advance to Finals Weekend, but for all of us, I think we can say, sincerely, this team advanced plenty this season.
It was Senior Day, and everyone did some looking back over the last four years. It was the last day of the regular season. Goffstown hockey celebrated their seniors and then a 7-1 win to finish the regular season with a 9-7-2 record. While we were looking back it was hard not to look to the future as well.
Friday night, win. Go home. Saturday afternoon, win. Go home. SemiFinal Sunday, win. Waste time for four hours in Rochester, NH. Championship Game, play the #1 team, whom you haven’t beaten this season, win. Champs! Go home, eventually.
It’s hard to believe, but it was the final weekend of the hockey regular season. The 2010 Flames played four to finish the regular season. They split the four games, going 2-2.
Nobody expected this to be a close game, or even a competitive game, perhaps. Goffstown gave their best team effort of the season, and came up one goal short in a 2-1 loss to Merrimack on Monday night. It was a highly skilled display of high school hockey. And the Grizzlies, reminded me at least, that there is a huge difference between being all in or out.
The 2010 Flames split a pair of games over the weekend. They lost, 4-1 to Providence, and then beat Mt. Washington, 3-1 later in the day. I came away from the action with two recurring thoughts or themes for the action that day at West Side Arena.
Goffstown went to Keene to play against the Monadnock-Fall Mountain-ConVal Huskies in a MUST win game, against an opponent they should beat with a solid effort. The Goffstown hockey team got the win, 4-1, all while battling through details that seemed just a bit out of sync.