Another Saturday, another undefeated opponent for the Grizzlies to play. Goffstown hockey battled back with a better skating game and passing game as the afternoon went on. Eventually, they were able to persevere and come back to even. It looked to me like they still had gas in the tank at the end of overtime too.
On Saturday morning they lost out in Dover, NH, then pitched a shutout win in Wilmington, MA in the evening. On Sunday morning they found a way to win in Vermont, and then won again back in Manchester, NH on Sunday night. But Monday night they saved their best for last with a 3-2 win at West Side Arena.
It started like we might have expected, getting pummeled by a count of 19 shots to 5. With St. Thomas scoring a goal in the last 30 seconds to take a 2-1 lead to the break. 341 days earlier, the Grizzlies were outshot 36-5 after the first period while hosting the Saints. But, on Saturday, Goffstown got the game turned and tied.
I watched the five goals allowed by the Goffstown Grizzlies over and over again. All I could come up with was this. How bad do you want it? To me, a huge part of ‘wanting it’ is learning the game. Learn the positioning and structure. And by all means, don’t just stand around and watch the other team demonstrate their skill and determination to beat you.
It is a brand new season and many people have ideas on how this season may go, but the beauty is that the games still must be played. Do we ever really know? Maybe. Since games are only played one at a time, G-Town-Nation might as well celebrate the fact that Goffstown opened with a 6-3 opening night win to start their season.
Sometimes you show up to play as a team and everyone gives it all they have, and it’s enough. Then you have a day like today when one of your teammates just plays a game up in the stratosphere somewhere. The Grizzlies played hard and even played some pretty stingy team defense, but their best defender today, was their goaltender. What a performance.
In my opinion, what we saw on Saturday was not the best version of the 2010 Flames in-game skills. It was not a true depiction of their improved development as players, as a team. I left West Side Arena late in the afternoon, muttering to myself, “Where are we, as a team?”, “What is their hockey IQ?” and “What a comeback!” all at the same time.