Grizzlies Grab the Lead and Skate To Win at West Side

On Wednesday afternoon at West Side Arena the Goffstown Grizzlies played a road game for the 6th time in their last 7 games. And the old rink on Electric St. was as cold as I can ever remember it. Something to do with the weather outside, the compressors inside, and maybe my age. It was cold, I heard it from people all over the rink. The ice was rock hard and fast. The game was highly contested at times, especially down the stretch.

The sound system at West Side Arena doesn't always capture the spoken word as well as it does the sound of music, but I appreciate Merrimack for at least making the effort at a pregame presentation. Seriously. Some places have little or nothing. Goffstown has been over at West Side (as us locals know it) for at least three different pregame ceremonies in the last five years, and they always do a great job. I will never forget the Hunter Burke Tribute and his brother's rendition of our National Anthem (I wish someone had video of that).

[caption id="attachment_40122" align="aligncenter" width="684"] Goffstown players skate by the bench in the hockey version of celebrating, all for one. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)[/caption]

Merrimack is good just about every year, and they certainly have dealt the Grizzlies more than enough heartache over the past 7 seasons. I respect their program, their talent, and their staff. Wednesday, was more of the same. Good players, dangerous offensive potential, and the typical warmth and kindheartedness you might find in a tool forged from steel. I am not sure if kindheartedness is a word but Dupree from You; Me and Dupree, told me it was.

If you're thinking that Merrimack is having a down year, I guess anything is possible but they are young and talented. If they aren't knocking on the door of a D-II Title in the next two seasons I would be surprised. Last year, we were introduced to youngsters like Eliot Medlock, Connor Dunn, and Brayden Guagliumi (sophomores now). Last year's sophomores are bigger and better this year. Medlock had a hat trick along with an assist in last season's 7-0 drubbing of the Grizzlies. Then again, the game at Merrimack last season was the last game of the first half as I call it. Goffstown dropped to 0-6 after losing to the Tomahawks and then they were shut down for 2 weeks due to sickness. When they returned to the ice, they were a different team. They finished the season going 6-2 after the break, and have continued at a 6-3-1 clip this year despite losing three of their four top scorers from last season, which included the Player of the Year, Grady Chretien.

So, what does all that mean? Well Merrimack is loaded with talent and the Grizzlies are rebuilding on the fly, having lost one class of all-time scorers after another for four straight years. Yet, both teams are good. The game was a good one, and the finish was exciting.

[caption id="attachment_40126" align="alignleft" width="200"] Pierce got the Grizzlies on the board first with a nice finish on his rush to the slot. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)[/caption]

Goffstown scored first when Brennan Pierce pinched in from the left point to keep the puck alive and then he just flat stole it from a Merrimack player. Pierce cut to the middle, fought off a check, and willed himself to the crease where he buried a shot up over Matt Licata's shoulder. Goffstown led, 1-0 at 8:52 of the period. Merrimack would answer with a power play goal a little later in the period. Mr. Medlock plays the left D on their power play and when Connor Dunn won an offensive zone face-off so clean that the puck escaped the zone at Medlock's left point and they had to clear the zone. But Eliot Medlock grabbed the puck at center ice and circled like he was awaiting approval from traffic control to release him from his holding pattern. Once he was cleared for approach, he swept through the Goffstown defense like it was a figure of speech. He flew to the outside, cut to the inside, shot, grabbed his own rebound and swept the puck into the net. I have not seen something adhere to corners and turns like that since I watched water run down a flight of stairs. The goal came at 12:23 on the power play and was assisted by Connor Dunn.

Goffstown had played a pretty solid period but they were looking at a tie score, getting outshot, and any edge they may have developed might be slipping away. Then, at 14:03 of the period, Jake Klardie won the puck in an offensive zone face-off and then kicked it, slapped it, missed it, had Andrew Skora kick it back to him, all while working toward the slot. Klardie shot and it was blocked right back to him, so he fired again and found the strings inside the far post for the go-ahead goal. There was less than a minute to play in the period, and the Klardie from Skora goal gave the visitors a sense that a period of hard work, might actually have paid off. Goffstown led, 2-1 after one period. Merrimack had 14 shots to 10 shots for the Grizzlies.

The second period was more or less a clinic put on by the Grizzlies. They got pucks deep, they fore-checked with a sense of urgency, like Dad was waiting in the back room with a leather strap in store for any effort less than all you got. In giving it all that they had, Goffstown outshot the Tomahawks, 16-7 in the period and added to their lead on the scoreboard. The only goal of the period came from the stick of Andrew Skora. First, Jake Klardie broke up a play on the fore-check and dumped the puck down the left wing boards toward the corner. Nick DiMarzio was in that area and applied pressure on the Merrimack player who coughed up the puck toward the slot area, right on to Skora's stick. Skora skated toward the slot and ripped a shot from the edge of the left-wing circle that beat Licata inside the nearside post. The goal was unassisted on the scoresheet but totally assisted by Skora's linemates in execution. The Grizzlies led, 3-1 with 10:38 left in the second. The period would finish with the score remaining the same, and with more action similar to the description of Goffstown's third goal, they just couldn't get another one to go in. As the quietest buzzer/horn in all of hockey sounded to end the period, I had two pressing thoughts. Take this first thought for what the period looked like on the ice and not even a hint that a Dan Belliveau coached team would ever give up. 1) Merrimack looked like they needed to be shown to their corner at the end of a grueling round of body blows. 2) I thought the Grizzlies might very well pay for not cashing in on at least one more goal to extend their lead.

[caption id="attachment_40137" align="alignright" width="200"] Photo from LiveBarn 01-26-22 at West Side Arena.[/caption]

Hey wait a minute or two! I just looked at my own hand written notes from my perch in the bleachers during the second period and I forgot to add another moment from Medlock The Maestro. Early in the second period, at 2:47 or so, Merrimack won a defensive zone face-off that sent a bouncing puck toward the blue line and Eliot Medlock smelled an opportunity. Medlock flew out of the zone, raced through center ice and pulled away from the Grizzlies defense like they were skating up a sand dune. The speedy forward corralled the puck at the offensive blue line and cut to the net. Despite Medlock moving faster than anything else in the building, Ethan Santoro played it like he had just awoken from a long nap. He patiently made his move which turned out to be a brilliant save on a clean break away bid in a 2-1 game.

I should look at my notes more often. Then there was the "too many men" call that wasn't called. Merrimack was changing lines while the puck was in front of their bench, and well, they may have had a few extra skaters on the ice at the same time, at around 7:45 of the period.

In the "crazy bounce" category, we had one of those too. Luc Ouellette lifted a puck from center ice into the offensive zone that was a hybrid 'get the puck deep' play and a 'long shot' on goal. Well the puck was on edge and took a bounce to the right and then a staggering wobble inspired by a rolling bounce. The puck acted like one of those fans at a baseball game who bends over and does 10 spins with his forehead on the bat knob and then races down the baseline in between innings all while tracking on an arc that is equally going hard to the right and hard to the ground. Either way, the puck had been going to Licata's right and then it hooked back to his left, bouncing and rolling. The elusive rubber disc got past his glove as he lunged back from whence he came. His body blocked all of the camera views, and mine as well. Although the angle at which the puck returned to view from behind the goalie certainly looked as though the puck very well could have bounced off of the taut strings inside the post and back out. This happened at 10:07 of the period or so. Alright, maybe I shouldn't look at my notes anymore.

[caption id="attachment_40125" align="alignleft" width="200"] The puck tickles the twine. I feel that Jaromir Jagr would appreciate the goal and this picture (see your nearest middle-aged hockey fan if you don't know what that means). Great flow. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)[/caption]

As the teams took to the ice to start the third period I was certain that whatever will was imposed against Merrimack in the second period probably wouldn't hold up as well in the third. They are too good a team, with a coach that is pretty good at getting his teams to impose their own will. Merrimack dug in. The Tomahawks hit the post with a shot at 2:12 of the period. Then Santoro robbed The Maestro again at 7:07 of the period. Eliot Medlock was skating to his right in the high slot and shot quick and hard back to his left. The shot was labeled. Santoro read it late, but he read it, and made a brilliant blocker/stick handle combo save. This chance came while the Grizzlies were shorthanded.

Speaking of shorthanded, a few minutes later, Goffstown had to kill another penalty. This time, Merrimack scored their second power play goal of the game. The goal came at 13:34 of the period. With The Maestro back at left point, Jackson Woods fed a soft pass to Medlock from the half wall. Medlock had a half acre of room to step in, wind up, and rip a back scratcher of a slap shot. The shot took off like a cannon shot and went high, way high. If it weren't for the glass and the end of the building that puck would have landed on the Rail Trail on the other side of the Piscataquog. Instead, it hit the glass and bounced all the way out to the right wing circle where Kyle Dunn happened to be standing. In a moment of good fortune, created by exploiting opportunity, the puck came to a player who was a left shot. Dunn collected the spent missile and fired a wrist shot through traffic that beat Santoro. The game was now a 3-2 game, with 1:26 left to play.

Merrimack pulled Licata from the net at 13:40 of the period. Santoro made another great save on Medlock with his shoulder. And the offensive onslaught was on. For a few seconds it looked like Santoro had turned into the cartoon version of the Tasmanian Devil where he was a whirling blur and the pucks went flying toward him and all of them were denied and sent back. If you watch the GTV broadcast, you might not believe the shot that Connor Dunn ripped from the left wing circle that didn't go in. Owen Miner made a perfect pass to set up Dunn and the shot was all but in the strings. Santoro's glove was where that dream went to forever recur. What a finish! What a fight from the Tomahawks in the third period.

After all was said and done, Goffstown won the game, 3-2. Merrimack did not score an even strength goal. The Grizzlies led the shot count, 36 to 31 for the game. Both goaltenders made all kinds of moves, lunges, and even went through several contortions to keep this from being a 9-8 game. Oh, high school hockey is quite a treat here in New Hampshire. We the fans are the fortunate ones. The kids are the show, as they should be, and we get carried away in their best and worst of days. It's truly all about the kids.

Goffstown returns to the ice against Merrimack again in 3-4 days depending on which weather model proves correct. The next round will be over at Sullivan Arena at St. Anselm College, or less than a mile away from West Side Arena as the crow flies. It should be a good one.

***UPDATE: The home game vs. Merrimack will be on Sunday, January 30th at 1:15 pm (pregame ceremonies start at 12:30 pm) at Sullivan Arena.***

NHIAA Hockey:
Updated records.
Goffstown (7-3-1) at Merrimack (4-4-0)
West Side Arena, Manchester, NH
Wednesday, January 26, 2022. 4:19 PM Start:

Summary:
Goals:
Goffstown: 2-1-0 = 3
Merrimack: 1-0-1 = 2

Shots:
Goffstown: 10-16-10 = 36
Merrimack: 14-07-10 = 31

Scoring:

1st Goffstown at 8:52. Even. Brennan Pierce (3) unassisted.

1st Merrimack at 12:28. PPG. Eliot Medlock from Connor Dunn.

1st Goffstown at 14:03. Even. Jake Klardie (4) from Andrew Skora (2).

2nd Goffstown at 4:22. Even. Andrew Skora (3) unassisted.

3rd Merrimack at 13:34. PPG. Kyle Dunn from Eliot Medlock and Jackson Woods.

Special Teams:

Goffstown Power Play: 0 for 2.
Merrimack Power Play: 2 for 3.

Saves:

Goffstown: Ethan Santoro 29 of 31 (.935). (45:00)
Merrimack: Matt Licata 33 of 36 (.917). (43:44)

[caption id="attachment_40132" align="alignleft" width="1024"] The view from the crease. The view for all of us from the eye of the photographer. Goalie. Flags. Scoreboard. Lights and beams. Guarded netting. Tape on a knob. Battle at the other end. Maybe a deep breath for the net minder. (Photo by Jen Webber Photography)[/caption]

Remembering Jen Cheney...

The Jen Cheney Memorial Scholarship and Sportsmanship Award (awarded each season)

As a sixteen-year-old junior, Jen was a manager for the very first Goffstown Grizzlies hockey team in the 1999-2000 club season. Her infectious smile and friendly nature was a joy for everyone fortunate to know her. Jen is now our eternal team angel. The spirit of Jen lives on...our team champions an angel memorial patch sewn to each uniform jersey.

On Thursday, May 18th, 2000, Jen was killed by a drunk driver. We are dedicated to memorialize Jen’s life with the Jen Cheney Memorial Scholarship and Sportsmanship Award. But we also want to deliver a message from our team angel… simply…if you choose to drink, don’t drive.

[caption id="attachment_9223" align="alignright" width="198"] The beginning of every article. (C) 1inawesomewonder 2017.[/caption]

The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors, mostly mine, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the schools, coaches, players, or characters listed in any of these blog posts. Or, maybe they do, but you would have to ask them directly.

Either way, "It's a great day for hockey" ~ the late "Badger" Bob Johnson.

"We should be dreaming. We grew up as kids having dreams, but now we're too sophisticated as adults, as a nation. We stopped dreaming. We should always have dreams." ~ the late Herb Brooks.