There is one day left in the 2023-2024 NHIAA Hockey season. And everything will be decided on the ice at SNHU Arena on Saturday, March 9th.
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 Goffstown hockey team showed up in Durham, NH for an 830 am QuarterFinal game against Oyster River on Saturday morning. They played. They lost. The Bobcats scored a pair of power play goals and netted a shorthanded empty netter at the end of their 4-2 win. But all I could think about is what the future holds.
The Flames went 1-1-1 on the weekend. The best game, by far, was the 1-1 tie on Sunday afternoon. The team did not advance to Finals Weekend, but for all of us, I think we can say, sincerely, this team advanced plenty this season.
It was Senior Day, and everyone did some looking back over the last four years. It was the last day of the regular season. Goffstown hockey celebrated their seniors and then a 7-1 win to finish the regular season with a 9-7-2 record. While we were looking back it was hard not to look to the future as well.
Friday night, win. Go home. Saturday afternoon, win. Go home. SemiFinal Sunday, win. Waste time for four hours in Rochester, NH. Championship Game, play the #1 team, whom you haven’t beaten this season, win. Champs! Go home, eventually.
It was just another Wednesday on the road for the Goffstown hockey team. And regardless of how any of us would grade their game against the Bearcats (SCBN), they were able to secure an exciting victory, 3-2.
It’s hard to believe, but it was the final weekend of the hockey regular season. The 2010 Flames played four to finish the regular season. They split the four games, going 2-2.
After trudging through a 37-day span where they played only 3 league games, the Goffstown hockey team just finished an often heart-stopping stretch of hockey with 8 games in 14 days. Talk about a balanced schedule.
While the state of Massachusetts was migrating up Route 3 to NH for their school vacation week, the Goffstown hockey team made another trip to Nashua’s Conway Arena. This time they played an afternoon game against the Saber-Titans. The home team won it, 2-1 in OT.
It was a very special night and not because of Valentine’s Day, or even because of the play on the ice. It was the Goffstown Hockey 2nd Annual Charity Game. The Grizzlies, the Admirals, and the Flutie Foundation came together to raise money and autism awareness.
Nobody expected this to be a close game, or even a competitive game, perhaps. Goffstown gave their best team effort of the season, and came up one goal short in a 2-1 loss to Merrimack on Monday night. It was a highly skilled display of high school hockey. And the Grizzlies, reminded me at least, that there is a huge difference between being all in or out.
The 2010 Flames split a pair of games over the weekend. They lost, 4-1 to Providence, and then beat Mt. Washington, 3-1 later in the day. I came away from the action with two recurring thoughts or themes for the action that day at West Side Arena.
Goffstown went to Keene to play against the Monadnock-Fall Mountain-ConVal Huskies in a MUST win game, against an opponent they should beat with a solid effort. The Goffstown hockey team got the win, 4-1, all while battling through details that seemed just a bit out of sync.
If always you were even or getting ahead and never did you ever fall behind
Would the miraculous invention and the splendid depth of self ever you find?
Nashua South Pelham scored on the power play to take a 1-0 lead. The Goffstown hockey scored the next four goals and willed their way to a very tough road win. Falling back is only maintainable if the fall back is followed by a come back.
On Saturday, the 2010 Flames lost 3-0 in a game where they piled up 39 shots on goal. Sunday, in Rhode Island, they were down 2-0 in the second period. Somehow they kept plugging away, and tied the game going to the 3rd, 2-2. Then with 3 minutes left to play they scored, and won the game, 3-2. This team, they just kept giving their best effort, right til the end. This is truly one of the aspects of this team that I enjoy the most.
The month of January saw hockey games rescheduled because of illnesses and also because of weather. Overall, the 2010 Flames played 9 games (lowest amount since 9 games in September) in January, and they had a record of 4-4-1.
Dover scored a shorthanded goal just 33 seconds into the game. And for me, the theme of the day started. Too easy. Either Dover is that good, or Goffstown just didn’t play up to their talent level. Because, for much of the game, it just looked too easy for the Dover Green Wave. The Grizzlies dropped the decision, 4-3.
The Goffstown hockey team fell behind early out in Rochester to a solid Spaulding team and the prospects of a come from behind win looked more like a fall further behind loss. Then the second and third periods were played. As it unfolded, Grizzlies slip past Spaulding, 4-3.
A weekend with lots of hockey began and ended at West Side Arena. In between, the 2010 Flames traveled to Woodstock, VT and Henniker, NH for games. All in all, the Flames won 3 games and lost 1 over the weekend. The team played really well.
It was great to be back at Sullivan Arena for hockey. The Goffstown Grizzlies earned a 5-4 victory that left me scrambling to describe the full 45 minutes. I settled on, a win is a win. But it was probably more than that.
The 2010 Flames game time roster was almost full. Andrew Drumm returned to the lineup for the first time since late October. The Flames won a GSL game and then they tied their EHF game later the same afternoon. It was a good day. The active roster is almost full, and I hope it will be full again very soon.
The Goffstown Grizzlies played host to the Winnacunnet Warriors on Saturday afternoon. It was a home away from home game at Tri-Town Arena. After a promising first period despite the 3-1 deficit, Winnacunnet simply outclassed Goffstown while cruising to a 7-2 win.
On Saturday afternoon, the Goffstown Grizzlies traveled to Dover to play the St. Thomas Saints. Goffstown fell behind, 3-1 in the first period, and then scored a pair of goals to tie things up in the third period. Then St. Thomas scored with 77 seconds left and added an empty netter. Great game. Lots of chances. But the Grizzlies came up short.
The 2010 Flames played a pair of games in the Eastern Hockey League over the weekend. They ended up losing 4-3, and 3-2. Both games were obviously tightly played. But there was feeling (to me) over the weekend just didn’t seem quite right.
Since Christmas the Goffstown Grizzlies played three games in the Christmas Tournament and then a league game against Lebanon-Stevens-Mascoma on January 3rd, 2024.
They have two more games before returning to Sullivan Arena (seen below) on January 27th.
Out of four games scheduled for the weekend, only one was played. Between the flu going around and varying degrees of a snowstorm across the state, two games were postponed due to weather, and one because a team had no players due to sickness.
It’s the roster. They’re our kids. The ones we love and the ones we drive the miles for.
They all measure up whether we know it or not, remember, we aren’t the ones.
They wear the numbers on the line, if we did anything different, it would only be more.
We should give them space and take them home, odors, and all the gear, our loves, our sons.
For the first time in weeks, the 2010 Flames had most of their players in the line-up for a game. There are still a couple of dear players out, and we hold them in our thoughts and prayers. Yes, really, we do. Kids should be afforded the joy and unencumbered freedoms to be young, healthy, and active. So, yes, we really do hope, pray, and ache for a full roster again, healthy, and having the times of their lives.
It seems that the 2010 Flames team has not been whole for weeks and weeks now. With 2 t0 7 players missing from the lineup in any given game since early November, the wear and tear has taken a toll. The trip on the Saturday before Christmas left them with nothing up north.
After splitting the opening two games of the season, the Goffstown Grizzlies returned to home ice to play the Bearcats from Somersworth-Coe-Brown-Northwood. The Bearcats have been among the better teams in Division II, NHIAA Hockey the last few years, and on Wednesday night, Goffstown dug a deep hole for themselves before working to come all the way back.