Perhaps there are times in sports, even in everyday life, when we make mistakes but never really pay for them. Or at least we pay no more than the cost of listening to the taunting of our conscience and its innermost voice. Then, of course, there are times when our mistakes lead to immediate consequence and even seem to be plastered on a larger than life wide-screen for everyone to see.
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that these high school hockey players are teenagers and that not every night is their best night. It’s also hard to forget previous teams, results, trends, and simple to get caught up in the numbers of all things tracked. Last season the Saints from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, NH ended the Grizzlies hockey season with a 4-3 win in the NHIAA Tournament Quarter Final round.
It’s not every night in NHIAA Hockey where both the home team and the visiting team arrive to the rink, and then leave the rink in school buses. But then again, Goffstown High School (Goffstown, NH) traveled to play Winnacunnet High School (Hampton, NH) in Haverhill, MA, naturally. As if this wasn’t odd enough, the rest of the night kind of followed suit.
Some people, like professional commentators for instance, might say that tonight’s game against Nashua South Pelham was somewhat of a trap game. It would be sort of like the Grizzlies who finished Saturday’s game on a tidal wave of emotional momentum against a rival in Dover, playing a Division I team who is only 1-3 and not regarded as a real threat in the standings. Thus the potential let down, or “trap” game.
From Sullivan Arena on the campus of St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH –
After sitting here looking at my screen for several minutes, literally not knowing where to start, I guess I will start. In an 8 day span that started last Saturday with weather that was too cold for buses, the Grizzlies won in Nashua, Dover upset unbeaten Windham, Oyster River lost twice, Keene won three times, and St. Thomas improved to 7-0. Then to cap it off, Goffstown beat Dover 8-5 and ran their record to 6-1 on the season.
From the Conway Arena in Nashua, NH –
In an attempt to see the glass as half full, it was a throwback to younger days, with our three youngest in the van, my wife and I, all going to a road hockey game. The glass may well have been half full, and maybe the water was completely frozen but it’s January in New Hampshire, what else would you expect?
From the Rochester Ice Arena in Rochester, NH –
Last night out in Rochester I walked, or slid, or skated, and might have completed an inadvertent toe loop as I made my way through the maze of mayhem in the frozen area formerly known as a parking lot. I finally made it to the entrance and walked into the old building on Lowell Street just in time to see Somersworth-Coe Brown wrap up their 11-2 win over Laconia-Winnisquam, getting their first win of the season, in Division III action. By the time the ice was resurfaced and introductions were done, Goffstown and Spaulding faced off at just about 8:10pm.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Goffstown played their third and final game of the Christmas Hockey Classic Tournament in Manchester on Thursday night against the defending Division II State Champion Bow Falcons. The Falcons are not what they were last year, but neither are a lot of teams. Goffstown pounded the puck at the net out shooting Bow 48-18 en route to their 6-2 victory.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Undefeated Hanover remained unbeaten with a 5-1 win over Goffstown this afternoon in the Christmas Hockey Classic game at 2:00 pm. Hanover scored each of their five goals with 3:16 or less to play in that period. These goals made matters seem worse, especially for a Grizzlies team that generated a lot of great chances, but could not cash in, only to give up goals late in periods. The Hanover High Marauders are a very well coached team, and just about everything they do, is done with purpose and within a structure that they are all well versed in.
From J.F.K. Coliseum in Manchester, NH:
Goffstown kicked off the Christmas Hockey Classic Tournament at 4:00pm against one of the Division-I favorites to win the title, in the Crimson Tide of Concord. The scoreboard ended up showing a rather lopsided score, with Concord winning, 6-1. The score didn’t completely tell the story of this game, but make no mistake, Concord is really good. Every line, every pairing, they all seem to be pretty good. Goffstown did get some good chances to score in the game, which included 4 power play chances, and the CBC line generated several opportunities on their own. On the other hand, the Grizzlies committed a couple of egregious turnovers, got beat as a result of some lazy defense, and gave up some goals that they probably wish they could take back.
From the ICENTER in Salem, NH –
Have you ever felt like you are a part of an event that appears to have been a massive afterthought? That’s kind of how it felt in Salem this evening. Playing on the lower rink, where the clock is difficult to read, the puck marred glass above the boards severely impairs everyone’s vision, and the facilities are better suited for Middle School hockey or a practice, the main event of Timberlane hosting Goffstown in a NHIAA Division II regular season game seemed completely out of place.
From the Whittemore Center on the campus of UNH –
I find that as I am getting older that I may be getting a little more critical in some areas. Even though my playing days are well behind me, it turns out that I still have this deep sense of competitiveness that bubbles up inside me. My mind is still in tune (as far as I know) with preparation, process, and the effort it takes in tirelessly crafting the skills of anything I ever wanted to compete in. With that mindset and background I watch the Goffstown Grizzlies play every shift, of every game, and work very diligently to be observant while accurately sharing the game as I see it. My mom always told me that if I didn’t have something nice to say, that I should say nothing at all. So, instead of being too brief, I am looking for the silver linings to the dark clouds that always seem to hover over the Whittemore Center every time the Grizzlies visit the Bobcats of Oyster River.
From Sullivan Arena on the campus of St. Anselm College –
In recent years, it seems that whenever Goffstown is scheduled to play Lebanon-Stevens in hockey, either the game is snowed out, or the game is played closely contested, with a pinch of physicality. This afternoon when Lebanon-Stevens (0-1) came into the Grizzlies Den to play Goffstown (1-0), things played out like they usually do. At least the weather was nice though.
From the campus of St. Anselm College –
Thanks to mother nature, the Goffstown High School Grizzlies hockey team opened the 2017-2018 hockey season at home, with a 3-1 win over the visiting Portsmouth-Newmarket Clipper Mules. Not much came easy for the home team, as Portsmouth-Newmarket (Ports-New) was feisty, and challenged every chance that they could.
Dover Arena, Dover, NH. Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Goffstown at St. Thomas, 530pm. Maybe all Goffstown’s away games will be decided in overtime. Early this evening, the Grizzlies traveled to Dover to play the Saints of…
Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH. Saturday, January 21, 2017. Goffstown v. Winnacunnet, 730pm. Most athletic games are decided later in the contest than this one was. Winnacunnet came into Goffstown looking for their first…
I heard it in the voices of the returning families, I saw it in the smiles on the players faces. I felt it being around the rink and witnessing the countless gestures of kindness and support.
In short, Merrimack was prepared, they were sharp, and they were better. Right from go. Their intensity waned not. After all was said and done, the Merrimack Tomahawks advanced to the Semi-Finals with an 8-5 victory over the upset-minded Goffstown Grizzlies.
Prior to the overtime winner scored by Greenwood, there was one name on my tongue, as it related to the one who stole the show; that name is Colin Holt. Senior, Goaltender, Colin Holt, he wears uniform #1 and tonight, he was the #1 defender. Were it not for Holt’s heroics in net, the Grizzlies could have been down 4 or 5 goals after the first period alone.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016. 730pm @ Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH – Goffstown vs. Windham. It’s Thursday morning, March 3rd, 2016, and I am not certain that I have yet caught my breath from last night’s spectacle…
Monday, February 29, 2016. 730pm @ Sullivan Arena, St. Anselm College, Goffstown, NH – Goffstown vs. Hollis-Brookline-Derryfield. Last night the Goffstown Grizzlies played host to the Warriors from Hollis-Brookline-Derryfield in NHIAA Division II Hockey. Before the game…
Saturday, February 27, 2016. 420pm @ Campion Arena, West Lebanon, NH – Goffstown @ Lebanon. On Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after playing Keene at home, the Goffstown Grizzlies traveled to Campion Rink and slugged…
If you think about the kids themselves and how “big” everything in their lives seems to them in these moments, you’d remember how momentous these occasions are in a timeline that is still being written.
They had not come closer to winning a game (in score) than a 6-3 loss in their first game of the season, against Timberlane. Last night though, the team from HBD played well enough to make things difficult for the visiting Grizzlies from Goffstown.