Warren No Defeats: Like A River’s Will
In the book, War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy reasoned that history is not shaped by great men, but rather, by the collective actions of countless individuals. Like a river’s current carving its own path, with its inexorable force, the sum of countless drops of water acting individually but in concert at the same time, creating a larger, unified, decisive movement.
Full season hockey, it runs from September until sometime in March. It’s a lot. It’s a love. And this one, well, this was the last full season.
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.
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.
For the 2010 Flames it counted for three Titles in four years, at the Winter Classic NH. Four wins on the weekend.
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.
Manchester, NH – West Side Arena – August 29, 2024 –
It was Thursday night, the final night of ‘Skills Week’. This was the first week back on the ice for the Flames players. Summer still had some legs but the return to school was just around the corner. The event was set up as a celebration of Flames hockey success on and off the ice. For coaches, players, and hockey families. The event was an unofficial kick off to the 2024-2025 hockey season.
Imagine a day when the entire team is in uniform together to make their final stand as the family that they have become. Then, for one day all together they unite, perhaps like never before. Banded together, as only a family can, they appear as one mass of skating, skill, and effort. They beat, shift after shift, as one heart, and literally produce actuality beyond expectation.
Well folks, high school playoff hockey time has come and gone here in New Hampshire. It was awesome! What a day at SNHU Arena! Congratulations to all of the players that were able to participate in the State Tournament! It’s all about the kids.
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.
There is one day left in the 2023-2024 NHIAA Hockey season. And everything will be decided on the ice at SNHU Arena on Saturday, March 9th.
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.
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 was just another Wednesday on the road for the Goffstown hockey team. And regardless of how any of us would grade their game against the Bearcats (SCBN), they were able to secure an exciting victory, 3-2.