Hockey: Goffstown 5 vs. Oyster River 4 (OT)

A senior, defense first, defenseman, Jacob Noonan, saw an opportunity and he made the most of it. As he made a beeline to the net with carrying the puck, the balance of the game was on his stick. Noonan ripped a shot that Colin Clark saved but the rebound landed in the crease. Somehow Clark also held his line and made a save on Griffin Cook’s stuff attempt of the rebound. Then, Grady Chretien arrived a split second later and put the puck into the net for his third goal of the night, and the overtime game-winner.

Goffstown blew a 2-goal lead with 2:15 left to play, allowing a pair of goals in a span of 47 seconds that allowed the visiting Bobcats to tie the game at 4-4, and get the game into overtime. Then Noonan’s impromptu rush led to the game-winning goal at 2:24 of the overtime. It was Goffstown’s fourth overtime game this season, which includes three OT wins. Both games against Oyster River this season went to overtime starting with the first game of the season back on December 10th, a 3-3 tie.

I think I say this every time Goffstown plays the Bobcats, they are a well-coached team. They do what they do, and they just keep doing it. Structure. Execution. Repeat.

In the first period, the Grizzlies carried the play for the majority of the opening 15 minutes but somehow trailed 1-0 at the end of one. I had a feeling that after all the early scoring chances Goffstown had without getting a puck past Colin Clark in goal, this one was coming down to the wire. Oyster River seemed to be only mildly agitated with the number of pucks that Clark was acrobatically denying. Then, in a split second, the Grizzlies make a mistake and miss a coverage, and bang! Andy Carlson to Jack Poitras to Shane O’Connell and the Bobcats score the first goal. Oyster River made them pay immediately. So, despite winning the time of possession, and shots by a 13-4 clip, Goffstown trailed.

In the second period, the wear and tear style of Oyster River’s game slowly started to take effect. But that was after the Grizzlies came back to the ice with a renewed focus. Colin Burke got his 10th goal of the season at 2:31 of the period and Goffstown was even at 1-1. Griffin Cook nicely kept the puck in at the left point, covering for Burke and got the puck deep. The puck went right to Colin Burke who used his length and reach to work behind the net and score on a wraparound backhander. It was a beautiful play by Burke. The teams exchanged chances, both goaltenders held their own, Colby Gamache went missing on his own accord, and the game played on. Then, Grady Chretien struck for the Grizzlies. Colin Burke sent Chretien in with a pass that Grady deposited into the net at 13:56, and the home team led 2-1. The lead would hold into the final period. Goffstown outshot the Bobcats 10-6 in the second period.

The third period was totally different than the first two periods. Perhaps fatigue played a part, or the relentless structure of Bobcat hockey, or all of these things, and more. Both teams started scoring. Griffin Cook gave the Grizzlies a 3-1 lead at 5:03 after Sebastian Beal got the puck to Grady Chretien who shot but Clark made the save. Cook grabbed the rebound and pulled the trigger on his lethal shot and netted his 25th goal of the year. Soon thereafter, on an unbecoming trip up the ice, the official finally whistled Sebastian Beal for a hooking penalty after leaving a trail of questionable actions moving up the ice that added up to the call. Oyster River thanked the captain for the chance to get momentum back and promptly scored in less than 4 seconds on the power play. Liam Spurling scored from John Kell right off of the offensive zone faceoff. Goffstown made the mistake of the penalty and Oyster River jumped on the chance. Grady Chretien, now playing on the CBC Line, answered with his second goal of the night at 6:51. Griffin Cook and Brett Lassonde, who made the breakout pass, earned the helpers on the goal. Goffstown held a 4-2 lead with less than 150 seconds to play. Then, Goffstown mistake, open slot, Jack Poitras from Shane O’Connell, and it was 4-3 at 12:45 to play. LaSella made a great save on the first Poitras shot but the rebound came right back to the shooter before LaSella could react.

Oyster River used their timeout to catch their breath and plan the last 2+ minutes. Then at 13:32 Declan Daubney fired a shot from the left point. Sebastian Beal skated out to check his opponent at the point but unfortunately for the Grizzlies, he was not in the shooting lane. The shot was low and Colin Burke and Kyle LaSella saw it clearly. Burke tried to block the shot with his right skate but instead, the puck ramped up and whistled just under the crossbar for the game-tying goal. Andy Carlson had the assist, and suddenly it was a new game with 88 seconds remaining. Nobody broke the tie in regulation so, after 45 minutes of game time, the score was tied 4-4. Oyster River had stormed back with 3 goals in the third and outshot Goffstown 14-7 while doing so.

As so often happens in sports, during tense situations, one close call was followed by another, with the second one ending the game. Oyster River once again exposed Goffstown’s defense and got a wide-open look for Lian Spurling. Spurling, in the right-wing circle, let loose on a laser of a shot, but it went wide of the net. Moments later Jacob Noonan took the game into his own hands and went on his improbable rush to the net. Chretien netted his hat-trick and team-leading 4th game-winning-goal and the Grizzlies, with their fans, celebrated along the boards. Colin Clark played well making 26 saves on the night for the Bobcats. Kyle LaSella played well also, with 21 saves on 25 shots. The Grizzlies improved to 12-3-1 in league play. They play John Stark next, on Tuesday night up in Henniker.

Before I leave this space for the moment, I must relay the pre-game story for this final Goffstown regular season home game. One of our friends, a genuinely good guy, who happens to possess a smooth voice, and is an 8-time world record holder, lost his wife suddenly at the end of January. Al St. Louis has sung the anthem before Grizzlie home hockey games almost 20 times over the last four seasons. Over his last 10 performances with the Grizzlies, Goffstown is 8-2 in those games. So, for a myriad of reasons, he has been warmly welcomed at Sullivan Arena for Goffstown hockey games. Last night the Friend of Hockey for Goffstown High, the Goffstown players, and their parents and coaches gave Al a pre-game gift after he sang a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem. He had no idea we were going to do this and I know he was deeply moved and touched when the Grizzlies’ captains gave him a pair of envelopes before he left the ice. In the silence before the gift was given and before the PA announcer boomed a brief explanation of what was happening, the Goffstown student section yelled, “We love you, Al”. And that was all that needed to be said. We do love you Al, and we’re here for you. You did a great job once again, and I know Deb was smiling from above as you blessed us all with your gift of song.

NHIAA Hockey:
Updated Records:
Goffstown (12-3-1)
Oyster River (7-6-1)