Goffstown Hockey Senior Night 2026
First, the good news. Celebrating our Senior players.
#16, Captain, Zack Tarrier –
“I’d like to thank my coaches and teammates for making these past four years such an enjoyable experience. I’d also like to thank my family for always supporting me and pushing me to be the best player and person that I can be. Thank you to Coach Kevin for teaching me everything I know about hockey and turning me into the player that I am today. A huge thank you to my parents for driving me to practices, games, free skates, and allowing me to play a game I love.”
#24, Forward, Connor Bernard –
“I would like to thank everyone who has been by my side since I started playing hockey. To my teammates, thank you for all the memories on and off the ice. To my coaches, thank you for your time and commitment to our team. I’m grateful for everything you have taught me.
To Mr. Cowette, thank you for your continued support and for always being available when I needed it. To my mom, brother and grandparents, thank you for always being there for me and always being my greatest supporters.
Most importantly I want to thank my Dad, Coach Kevin. You put me in skates at the age of 2 and have been my coach ever since then. You brought our Flames team to the nationals twice and have been standing behind the bench through high school hockey.
Thank you for being by my side every step of the way and spending countless hours at the rink. Thank you for teaching me how to play hockey but most importantly for always reminding me to keep playing my game because eventually it will pay off. Having you as my coach has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Thank you for your constant support and guidance not just as my coach but as my dad.”
#23, Alternate Captain, Griffin Wilkinson –
“I’d like to thank all the people that have helped me grow as a player over the years. Thank you to all my coaches and teammates for supporting me and helping me feel at home on the ice. I’d also like to thank my grandparents for always showing up to watch my games no matter how far away or how late they may be. Most of all I’d like to thank my mom and dad for always supporting me in my hockey career and pushing me to become the best person I can be on and off the ice. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, I wouldn’t be here without you.”
Moment of Silence
“Ladies and gentlemen, before we honor America and celebrate the freedoms we are so blessed to enjoy, please stand silently with me for a moment of reflection and respect. Words cannot express the tremendous grief felt by families across Rhode Island and the hockey community over this tragedy. We pause here to honor the victims of this senseless violence and to remember those whose lives and freedoms were lost in an instant. Let us observe a moment of silence to reflect, remember, and honor them.”
30 seconds.
“Thank you.
Please remain standing, and remove your hats, as we honor our country with the singing of our National Anthem. Please welcome to the ice, a long time friend of Goffstown Hockey, from Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, Al St. Louis.”
Land Of Confusion
…This is the world we live in
And these are the names we’re given
Stand up and let’s start showing
Just where our lives are going to.
32 days. 7 consecutive wins. Little confusion on the number of lines playing, or the line-mates making up those lines.
Then Dover visited. All in all, this game wasn’t about confusion, it was about effort and intensity. Above all, Goffstown didn’t match Dover in either of those categories, and lost, 2-0. To sum up, the game was a dud.
Then, four days later, the Grizzlies took the ice and looked like it was December 15th all over again. If one player zigged, then another player provided no zag. In addition, passes clanged off of stick blades, or were four feet ahead or behind. Nothing clicked except the seconds on the clock, and I wished for this madness to be over with.
As I overheard a few players sharing sentiments about the game that sounded like (as I summarize), ‘why do we always change the things that have been working’.
The Title I Didn’t Choose
I came home from the rink on Wednesday night, after a really nice tribute to our Senior players. To be sure, I wasn’t pleased with the game. My first thoughts were not glowing. As a matter of fact, my first title was, The Night The Season Ended. What had been a Goffstown team that went 10-1 overall from December 27th through February 11th looked confused, shell-shocked. Like the names on the roster had been tossed into a bag and blindly picked like a raffle drawing as to who would dress and play together for Senior Night.
First Period
Despite the confusion the Grizzlies led the period in shots, 10-9.
The Alvirne-Milford Admirals scored first. Luke Green made an innocent little pass from the defensive zone that hit Brandon Callahan en route to Wyatt Pepin. It turned into a 2-on-3. During the rush, Goffstown got both defensemen back and their center. The one defender stepped up high to the blue line and swung and missed at the puck. Then our center missed the puck and the body. Callahan beat Kyle Bennett with a low shot to the far post. One defenseman was still out at the blue line.
If you watch the video it confirms what we saw in person, swings and misses. As well as a complete lack of stopping the progress body of any skaters. Perhaps the most compelling evidence to collect from this play was the lack of urgency to disrupt the play. Yes, players skated back on D, but still didn’t match the offensive urgency. In truth, effort has been a problem.
Grizzlies Goal
Jaden Booth tied up Aiden Bradish in front of the net, forcing the puck just wide. Gavin Matatall skated the puck away from the crease. Then he turned up ice and sent a pass to the middle of the ice. Meanwhile Owen St. Onge was streaking over the blue line as he grabbed the pass. Immediately, this turned into a rush. Although, it was a 1-on-2 rush.
St. Onge willed his way to a good low shot on goal. Kian Corcoran made a left pad save, down by the top of his skate. The puck came back in the direction from where it was shot. As a result, St. Onge was able to get his own rebound and feed a pass to Zack Tarrier who had followed the play. Tarrier took a quick shot from the bottom of the circle and found the back of the net.
The Rest of the Goals – Just Facts From Observation – 2nd
The Grizzlies put fresh legs out. 3 seconds later the puck is in the net behind Bennett. The face-off was no contest, Brandon Ganas back to Dylan MacLeod. MacLeod fired while two wingers skated out to get in his shooting lane. The shot was perfect, inside the far post. Game-winning goal. The wingers were not happy. The draw and shot were so clean that they would have to have been in the shooting lane before the puck drop to get in the way of the shot.
Goffstown has played three straight playoff teams. Their ability to win face-offs in those games has been, um, not good.
Goffstown had a clean 2-on-0 break down low while shorthanded. Surprisingly they didn’t even get a shot on goal. Seconds later the Admirals were up by two goals.
The Admirals scored four seconds after the penalty to AJ Hill expired. It wasn’t a power play goal but the penalty led to the Admirals goal. Ganas to MacLeod for the shot. Meanwhile Jackson Horne got shoved/cross-checked in the back and went to the ice. The aggressor then swept the puck into the net.
The Rest of the Goals – Just Facts From Observation – 3rd
Goffstown had a nice offensive zone possession. Then Connor Bernard fed a beautiful pass to the low slot from behind the net. No Grizzlies were in the area. Meanwhile, Dylan MacLeod dove headfirst and swung his stick to clear the puck from the slot. Effort. Goffstown watched. The puck went to Brandon Callahan who just calmly sent a pass across the ice to Mason Tomkins. This was still in the Admirals’ D-zone. Tomkins took off on a 2-on-3 break. The Goffstown effort to stop Tomkins from a memorable goal was zero. I thought about this at the time. Then the video confirmed it. Unacceptable. Good on the Admirals for taking it to the passive home team.
Ugh. A Goffstown defenseman rushed the puck up ice. It was a nice 1-on-2 break. For a second it developed into a wondrous 2-on-3. Significantly, it led to exactly no shots on goal. In fact, when Mason Tomkins rimmed the puck high off of the glass on the half wall, all five Grizzlies were inside the offensive zone. The puck was about a foot from being a puck out of play, over the glass. Instead, the puck glanced off the glass and bounced between the legs of a defenseman at the blue line. The other D had rushed the puck and was hustling to get back but there was no chance of catching MacLeod. Déjà vu. Breakaway goals against the Grizzlies. MacLeod shot, water bottle popped.
Thankfully, the three-goal barrage over 3:26 finally ended with this one. After another nice Grizzlies 1-on-2 break that resulted in no shot on goal. The Goffstown centering pass went to the Admirals. Why? As has been noted, the effort wasn’t there for the Grizzlies. Luke Green took the centering pass and found Brandon Ganas at center ice. With a defender back (who had just stepped onto the ice), and another Grizzlie roaming listlessly, there was no threat to Ganas. Ganas ripped a shot on the fly from the high slot and found the top corner of the net. Water bottle hopped.
1st Period Scoring
- 4:12 – Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Even Strength – Brandon Callahan from Wyatt Pepin and Luke Green.
- 14:37 – Goffstown Grizzlies – Even Strength – Zack Tarrier from Owen St. Onge and Gavin Matatall.
2nd Period Scoring
- 2:51 – Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Even Strength – Dylan MacLeod from Brandon Ganas. GWG.
- 6:43 – Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Even Strength – Brandon Callahan from Mason Tomkins and Dylan MacLeod.
3rd Period Scoring
- 7:48 – Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Even Strength – Mason Tomkins from Brandon Callahan and Dylan MacLeod.
- 9:40 – Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Even Strength – Dylan MacLeod from Mason Tomkins.
- 11:14 – Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Even Strength – Brandon Ganas from Luke Green.
My Thoughts
These are my words from my observations. Likewise my assessments come from whatever level of hockey IQ I actually possess. I do my absolute best to proclaim truth. Additionally, my goal is to tell the stories about the kids. Sometimes that becomes a case of tough love. Primarily that is because I deeply care. It really is hard for me to sit idly by and watch kids suffer or not reach their potential.
On Wednesday night, the air in our ice-side booth was full of questions and head-scratching combinations on the ice in front of us. For example, I looked into the eyes of one Goffstown skater after another in the opening period as they came on and off the ice. With this purpose in mind perhaps I was looking for something in their eyes that mirrored how I felt by the second shift of the game.
There is no question that I saw much of what I felt. In this case, the feeling was like the rug had been pulled out from under the team. My interest was piqued when I saw the list of players not dressed for the game. Of course none of these things are up to me.
My Theory
When effort ends up being a HUGE question mark throughout the game, I start to wonder why. Naturally, I want to blame the younger generation for this because that’s what old guys do. In truth, I am kidding about the blame here. Although, I do think that the sudden roster changes created unnecessary cracks in the foundation built over the previous six weeks. The shake up of line combinations and the positions played appeared to be a shock to the system. I mentioned the eyes of our players a few times during the game.
I know our players are kids, but they aren’t ignorant. They aren’t perfect either, but they have a pretty good feel for what combinations work. At least they can identify which combinations make them feel like they can thrive.
In conclusion, it was Senior Night, the fifteenth game of the league season. However, it looked like we were back in December at JFK, looking bewildered, uncertain, and not sure what would happen next.
Goffstown Grizzlies vs. Alvirne-Milford Admirals.
Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH.
NHIAA Hockey: Game eighteen.
Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
NHIAA Hockey:
Scoring:
Goffstown Grizzlies: 01 – 00 – 00 = 01
Alvirne-Milford Admirals: 01 – 02 – 03 = 06
Shots on goal:
Goffstown Grizzlies: 10 – 14 – 05 = 29
Alvirne-Milford Admirals: 09 – 11 – 15 = 35
Goffstown Grizzlies Penalties:
- 2nd – Hill – 2:00 – Roughing.
Goffstown was 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Alvirne-Milford Admirals was 0-for-1.
- Goffstown Grizzlies – Kyle Bennett (Jr.) made 29 saves on 35 shots (.829).
- Alvirne-Milford Admirals – Kian Corcoran (Sr.) made 28 saves on 29 shots (.966).
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