The Last Full Season – 2010 Flames
March, 2025 – The Last Full Season – 2010 Flames.
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.
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.
For the 2010 Flames it counted for three Titles in four years, at the Winter Classic NH. Four wins on the weekend.
Fertile plain, or level place. Compassionate friend. These are the Biblical meanings of my Aunt’s first and middle name. Aptly named. Aptly trained.
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.Β 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.
Well, there wasn’t much snow here in our corner of the world over the snow season. It wasn’t very cold either. With a lot of work, and help from my family, we managed a pretty decent ice skating season out back. Over a span of about three weeks in January, we received roughly 57% of the snowfall for the season. We will see what the upcoming winter holds.
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.
First words I think of: Truth. Family. Eyes. Humor. Sports. Tremendous meals. John 14:6 – I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The 2010 Flames played just one game over the weekend which was a major blessing to the team. They were able to beat the Plymouth Panthers, 4-2 at JFK Memorial Coliseum.
With the annual Army-Navy (Army won, 17-11 at Gillette Stadium) game being played just up the road, the 2010 Flames played three games against the Providence Hockey Club in Rhode Island over the weekend. With Providence being closer to the stadium than Boston, the Rhode Island capital was buzzing with activity. On the ice, the Flames played their hearts out.
For the second consecutive month, the 2010 Flames posted a 9-2 (won-lost) record. Going into the first week of December the team was 26-5 for the season. That’s a pretty impressive record for any team.
Can you believe it’s December already? The 2010 Flames kicked off the month of December with three games in 24 hours. All three were home games which was a bonus. Next week they play three games in Rhode Island.
I take many more pictures than I share. I am always looking for scenes, wildlife, and weather. Kind of a random glimpse of symmetry, if that makes sense. Then, some pictures are just taken to remember, respect, and recognize. Here are 21 pictures from October ’23.
For the team we have and the hockey family we are apart of, we give thanks.
Wins, losses, and games galore matter less than the people involved, if I may be frank.Β
Thank you to our Veterans. Thank you. Seriously, what else do you say? They are willing to sacrifice their own life for the betterment of ours, based on a belief system that relies on fellow humans, many of whom would never lay down their life for another. Thank you.
The 2010 Flames played three games over the weekend. All three games were played in New Hampshire where some of us would still stand and fight for the right to “Live Free or Die”. Happy Veterans Day! I truly wish that all of our Veterans were/are happy. We should do much to make sure that they are.
November started with a thumping down at Boch Ice Center, as the Blazers handed out a 8-1 beat down to the Flames on Saturday. Then the Flames traveled up to the new and improved Pop Whalen arena to play Back Bay, and won, 7-2. So a split for the weekend, against a pair big, physical teams.
The 2010 Flames finished the month of October with a 6-1 win at JFK Memorial Coliseum. The win gave the Flames a 7-0 record in league play during the month, including a 6-game win streak since the trip to DC. They head into November following an impressive October run.
3 wins and 250 miles later, the Flames earned three victories, and puck possession, teamwork, and goaltending were the keys to the victories. Now it’s Monday night and the team is back on the ice for practice.
The 2010 Flames played their opening game in the Granite State League on Saturday against Hanover. The Flames got their legs going and skated to a 6-3 win in the GSL opener. Then on Sunday, the team made the long trip down to The Bog. The 2010 Flames played the Bay State Breakers Hoyle and they were able to erupt for 3 goals in 3 minutes in the second period, and earned a 6-1 road victory.
The 2010 Flames are made up of players born in 2010 and 2011. They are a U14 Minor 2 team (meaning there is a Minor 1 team ahead of them) in their home organization. I have called this team a development team for years. Yet, every year, this team seems to be a great place for players and families to land. Monday they played a very good team in the Congressional Cup Fall Classic SemiFinal, the Stamford Sharks (U14 Major), and lost, 9-1.
The 2010 Flames battled and found a way to win a tough game against the Delaware Ducks, 4-0.
During the game I was talking with an official for the tournament who was off duty for the game. He was a real nice guy, and we chatted some. He asked me about our team, our team dynamic. I told him how much the kids have had enjoyed playing with this group primarily due to the kids being able to play in all situations, line after line, shorthanded, power play, end of game, etc. installing confidence in the kids from top to bottom no matter how you slice it. I told him that we were fortunate to have a coach, one voice, that just let the kids play.