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. Hockey: St. Thomas 3 at Goffstown 6
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.Hockey: Goffstown 7 at Winnacunnet 0
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… GHS Hockey: Goffstown 4 at St. Thomas 3 (OT)
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… GHS Hockey: Goffstown 11 v. Winnacunnet 1
The varsity hockey team from Goffstown High School opened their season on the road, in someone else’s building. But, you must start somewhere. As the teams skated to warmup in the pregame skate, it was obvious that things come a little harder when the schedule flips and the games start to count. The student body from Winnacunnet pressed, in numbers, against the glass directly behind Goffstown’s goaltender, Colin Holt and wanted to make their presence felt. Let the games begin.