JV – Jason and the Van Vugts carry the play in JV hockey action
Less than 24 hours after his brother Gavin scored a game-winner in OT on Saturday night, Jason Matatall scored his first Goffstown Hockey goal. On the other hand, Eli and Noah Van Vugt were two of the stars for the KP Cats on the day. Indeed, Jason and the Van Vugts.
By comparison, Jason Matatall ended the game with a goal and an assist and Noah Van Vugt had a goal and two assists. Furthermore, Eli Van Vugt finished with a remarkable 51 saves! It was another great day at the rink for some JV hockey.
JV – Junior Varsity – KP Cats – 1st Half
Kearsarge scored the first two goals of the game.
- 1st Half – 1:19 – Even Strength – Griffin Judkins from Noah Van Vugt and Andrew Butson. 1-0. Without delay, Griffins Judkins cleared the puck out of the defensive slot after Zach Lessard fouled off a one-timer set up from Teddy Beal. Judkins clearing attempt went immediately to Butson who controlled the puck nicely. Butson started up ice and got the puck to Van Vugt on the rush. In the meantime, Goffstown had only Van Eames back as both D men were caught up ice. Van Vugt shot and Gavin Matatall made the save. However, he left a rebound, and Judkins pounded the rebound into the net for the goal.
- 1st Half – 6:39 – Even Strength – Noah Van Vugt from Sam Whipple and Andrew Butson. 2-0. Butson tipped the puck back to the point for a quick shot by Whipple. The shot was true and Matatall made the save up high. The rebound dropped at his feet just as Van Vugt was skating through the crease unmolested. Van Vugt slipped the shot past Matatall for the goal.
JV – Junior Varsity – Goffstown Grizzlies – 1st Half
After falling behind, 2-0, the Grizzlies answered with four goals over a span of nine and a half minutes. Here is how they looked.
- 1st Half – 10:19 – Even Strength – Teddy Beal from Cam Desruisseaux and Noah Paris. Down, 2-1. After falling behind, 2-0. Goffstown got on the board. Paris took a shot from the point and Beal tipped it right in front of the goaltender, and Eli Van Vugt, made the save. The tipped puck caused the goaltender to get handcuffed on the save. The puck squirted to the side of the net where Cam Desruisseaux picked it up. Desruisseaux skated behind the net toward the corner. He skated a nifty figure-8 with the puck (he received high scores from the judges) before returning to the hockey action near the net. He slipped a pass through traffic to Beal at the back door. At this instant, Teddy snapped the puck into the open side of the net.
- 1st Half – 12:42 – Power Play – Tyler Belanger from Jason Matatall and Noah Paris. Tied, 2-2. A minute and a half later, Goffstown enjoyed the one and only power play of the game. Noah Paris was back on defense to retrieve the puck for Goffstown. He sent a nice pass up to Jason Matatall skating up the left side. It was a 1-on-3 for a few seconds until Corey Beland skated through the middle. Beland faded right, as Matatall drifted left. Each of them was shadowed by a defender. This left an opening in the slot. Until Tyler Belanger filled it, skating across the slot. Belanger took the pass from Matatall and fired a quick shot into the net for the power play goal.
- 1st Half – 14:05 – Even Strength – Jason Matatall from Corey Beland. Grizzlies lead, 3-2. Beland grabbed his own rebound behind the net. He then took a page out of the “Desruisseaux Book of Huit Pirouettes” and dazzled the crowd with pirouettes and looping figure-8’s. After his short program he dished a pass to the front of the net. Jason Matatall was there to slip the puck past Van Vugt for the go-ahead goal. Jason’s first-career goal for Goffstown.
- 1st Half – 19:44 – Even Strength – Cam Desruisseaux from Teddy Beal and Jaden Booth. 4-2. Goffstown had the puck in the offensive zone with a chance or two before the puck worked back to Jaden Booth at the point. Booth was at the top of the circle before he moved toward the middle and made a nice pass to Beal in the far circle. Beal stepped into a quick shot on net. It was labeled. Van Vugt made the save but the rebound bounced to the top of the crease. Desruisseaux added to his skating exhibition excellence with a move he invented called, “The Auger”. You would have to see it to believe it. Anyway, Cam spun off (“The Auger”) the defender while retaining his positioning. As he rotated to his forehand he slapped the puck into the open side of the net.
JV – Grizzlies get to five
- 2nd Half – 5:22 – Even Strength – Teddy Beal from Van Eames and Jaden Booth. Grizzlies secure a 3-goal lead for the moment. Booth fought off a pair of Cats trying to clear the puck and muscled it forward. The puck was picked up by Van Eames by the face-off dot. He looked to shoot but was cut off by a defender. In view of that closed door Eames made a quick pass out the side door to Teddy Beal on his right. Beal was just outside the crease and went to one knee to make sure he handled the puck. As he did, he ripped a shot into the net behind Van Vugt for the goal. Goffstown up, 5-2.
- 2nd Half – 15:50 – Even Strength – Aidan Ruckman unassisted. This goal was all Aidan. He swatted the puck up the wall from his own D zone. The puck got by Chase Giampa and Jaden Booth. Ruckman took off after the puck. He won the race to the net before Giovanni Fucile could get back from the other side. Ruckman more or less skated the puck into the net as Gavin Matatall tried to hold the puck back against the force of the speeding Ruckman. Cats don’t quit, 5-3.
- 2nd Half – 24:10 – Even Strength – Griffin Judkins from Noah Van Vugt and Willem Kucharski. Jason Matatall made a pass back to the point for Liam McGrail but the puck skipped past him. Noah Van Vugt used his breakaway speed to run down the puck and get a great shot on net. In fact, the shot was along the ice and had some pace. Matatall made an excellent right pad save on the shot. The rebound bounded into the slot. McGrail tried to get to the puck first, nonetheless Willem Kucharski tipped the puck into the slot, and kept the play alive. By this time, Griffin Judkins had hustled through the slot and he pounded the puck into the top corner for the goal. 5-4. The KP Cats called a timeout with 50 seconds left to play.
Keep-Away
At this point, the Grizzlies were trying to keep the puck away from the Cats. Above all Goffstown did not want to face an extra attacker with the Cats goalie pulled. In brief, they wanted to keep the puck in the offensive zone for the final 50 seconds of the game. As Goffstown cycled the puck and kept it away from the Cats, eventually the clock ran out. Consequently, Kearsarge-Plymouth was unable to pull Eli Van Vugt for an extra attacker. Goffstown held on for the 5-4 win.
Above all, it was a lot of fun to watch these kids compete. All things considered, I hope they all had a blast as well. In a word, these games should be fun. Yes, fun. Everyone can still have fun while trying to win. Specifically, competing to be the best player and teammate you can be while having fun playing a sport you love.
1 Peter 4:10 (Living Bible)
God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.
We are blessed. May we bless still others in the sharing of our blessings. The grand picture is unquestionably bigger than anything we can see for ourselves. So give of yourselves while you are able. There is nothing here more rewarding.
Goffstown Grizzlies JV vs. Kearsarge-Plymouth Cats JV. (KP Cats)
Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH.
JV Hockey: Game two.
Sunday, February 22, 2026.
NHIAA Hockey:
Scoring:
Goffstown Grizzlies: 04 – 01 = 05 (Two 25 minute halves)
KP Cats: 02 – 02 = 04
Shots on goal:
Goffstown Grizzlies: 28 – 28 = 56 (Two 25 minute halves)
KP Cats: 07 – 09 = 16
Goffstown Grizzlies Penalties:
None
Goffstown was 1-for-1 on the power play, while the KP Cats were 0-for-0.
- Goffstown Grizzlies – Gavin Matatall made 12 saves on 16 shots (.750).
- KP Cats – Eli Van Vugt made 51 saves on 56 shots (.911).
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