It Wasn't To Be - Goffstown 1 at Portsmouth-Newmarket 2

January 28, 2023 – The Goffstown Grizzlies fell behind, 2-0 and then spent the rest of the game throwing everything they could at the net. It wasn’t to be. The Goffstown hockey team fell, 2-1 despite piling up 35 shots on goal over the final 30 minutes.

Max Ouellette and the Goffstown Grizzlies were so close to scoring, so many times, but only netted one. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Zack Tarrier took the puck on a turnover and bolted to the net for the lone Goffstown goal on the day. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

Sometimes it is impossible to know which version of a high school team is going to show up on a given game day. There are so many factors that influence the player’s mindset from one second to the next. Even so, the Goffstown hockey team has not lacked in scoring chances. They had just come off of a loss where they collected 44 shots on goal, scored 4 goals, but lost by allowing 5 unanswered goals. Prior to that, they had earned ties against back-to-back undefeated opponents.

Then, on Saturday in Dover, against the Portsmouth-Newmarket Clipper Mules, they pulverized the offensive zone with 46 shots on goal, and attempted an astounding 77 shots in the game. That’s a shot attempt every 35 seconds over an entire game. The Clipper Mules were under attack for much of the game, but they only allowed one goal on the scoreboard.

: Some of the Grizzlies gathered for a little chat with the official. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

: Brennan Pierce on the move out at Dover Arena against the Clipper Mules. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

: Smile and throw your hands in the air, the Grizzlies are on the board. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

: Off to a great start. Great pic from the incomparable Jen Webber. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

: Maroon and white squeeze together for this shot. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

: Jake Webber focuses on the puck while Xavier Bibaud battles in front. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

The Clipper Mules scored their two goals in the first period, and they came only 111 seconds apart. Finn Bussiere stole the puck as the Grizzlies were trying to break out of their zone. He raced in and scored to give Portsmouth-Newmarket a 1-0 lead. What looked like a sure breakout going the other way ended up as an unassisted goal in the space of about 4 seconds.

The Grizzlies were called for a slashing penalty a moment later and the home team capitalized with a power play goal to widen the gap at 2-0. Goffstown had a couple chances to clear the puck but weren’t able to get the puck over the blue line. Then a series of passes led to a shot by Johnny Forrest at a tough angle toward the net. The shot was screened by Max Durkin in front of the net and he must have tipped it because he got credit for the goal. Durkin from Forrest and Patrick Slover, at 11:19, on the power play. The Goffstown hockey team trailed, 2-0 with two-plus periods left to play.

It would take more than a period later for the Grizzlies to get on the board. At 12:53 of the second period, after a pair of power plays that didn’t hit, the visitors scored. The Clippers Mules had a quick possession on offense and then fumbled the puck, just outside the zone at the left point. Tyler Lessard pressured the defenseman and forced him to turn his back to center ice. As the defenseman reversed direction and tried to make a D to D pass, Zack Tarrier was moving already, lurking like a free safety in the middle of the field.

Tarrier reached out and snagged the puck while shifting through his gears to get to full speed. He had one defender to beat. He cut left. He cut back to the right and turned the D inside out. Zack walked in, stickhandled side to side and put the puck into the net just past the outstretched skate of Nicola Magica. Tarrier, unassisted goal at 12:53 of the second period.

Tarrier’s goal would be the only goal the Goffstown Grizzlies were able to put on the board. The Grizzlies amassed 35 shots on goal in the final two periods in their comeback bid. Besides the fact that Nicola Magica played spectacularly in net, maybe the name alone best explained the outcome of this game. Nicola is translated as, ‘victory of the people’, and Magica, well, that means, ‘magical’. So, appropriately, win number two on the season for the Clipper Mules was a ‘magical victory of the people’ for Portsmouth-Newmarket.

For Goffstown it was their second loss in a row. For the home team it was their second win of the season. Portsmouth-Newmarket plays at Nashua South-Pelham on Monday, while the Goffstown hockey team plays a home game at New England College against Winnacunnet on Monday night.

The players line up and shake hands. I still love this tradition. The two goaltenders meet and pay respect. Together they stopped 70 of 73 shots on goal. For all of you Math aficionados, that’s a save rate of .9589041096. That was also my high school GPA. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)

You can follow other Goffstown Hockey stories, here.

You can also follow this blog here. I write a lot about hockey. It’s a long season. It’s not all just about the hockey, but rather about lessons and takeaways that come up throughout these seasons. Yes, I am biased. I am biased toward the truth and the right way to do things, whether anyone is watching or not. Sometimes the truth is ugly, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at it and most definitely learn from it.

As a long time coach in a few sports, I never won a game. The players did. The kids score. Most of the time, the kids band together for something that is bigger than themselves; the team. The kids do so many things right on any given play, on any given day. I have found that more often than not, the kids pleasantly surprise us all. It’s awesome. It’s all about the kids.

NHIAA Hockey:

Updated records.

Goffstown (4-3-2 NHIAA) (5-5-2 Overall) vs. Portsmouth-Newmarket (2-7-0)

Dover Arena, Dover, NH

Saturday, January 28, 2023. 7:49 PM Start.

Summary:

Goals:

Goffstown: 00 – 01 – 00 = 01

Portsmouth: 02 – 00 – 00 = 02

Shots:

Goffstown: 11 – 20 – 15 = 46

Portsmouth: 10 – 10 – 07 = 27

Scoring:

1st Portsmouth at 9:28. Even. Finn Bussiere unassisted.

1st Portsmouth at 11:19. PPG. Max Durkin from Johnny Forrest and Patrick Slover.

2nd Goffstown at 12:53. Even. Zack Tarrier unassisted.

3rd period: No Scoring.

Special Teams:

Goffstown Power Play: 0 for 2.

Portsmouth Power Play: 1 for 2.

Saves:

Goffstown: Jake Webber 25 of 27. (.926). (45:00)

Portsmouth: Nicola Magica 45 of 46. (.978). (45:00)

(from Jen Webber Photography)

Remembering Jen Cheney…

The Jen Cheney Memorial Scholarship and Sportsmanship Award (awarded each season)

As a sixteen-year-old junior, Jen was a manager for the very first Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team in the 1999-2000 club season. Her infectious smile and friendly nature was a joy for everyone fortunate to know her. Jen is now our eternal team angel. The spirit of Jen lives on…our team champions an angel memorial patch sewn to each uniform jersey.

On Thursday, May 18th, 2000, Jen was killed by a drunk driver. We are dedicated to memorialize Jen’s life with the Jen Cheney Memorial Scholarship and Sportsmanship Award. But we also want to deliver a message from our team angel… simply…if you choose to drink, don’t drive.

The current look at my ‘hockey office’. So many hours spent in this space, tracking numbers and capturing season after season. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2023.

The beginning of every article. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2017.

The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors, mostly mine, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the schools, coaches, players, or characters listed in any of these blog posts. Or, maybe they do, but you would have to ask them directly.

Either way, “It’s a great day for hockey” ~ the late “Badger” Bob Johnson.

“We should be dreaming. We grew up as kids having dreams, but now we’re too sophisticated as adults, as a nation. We stopped dreaming. We should always have dreams.” ~ the late Herb Brooks.

“I started writing sports stories 20 years ago. I still do. I write because somewhere, in some game, a kid might be having the time of his or her life. That’s awesome to think about. It’s all about the kids.” ~ Steve Beal Sr.