Chasing St. Thomas - Goffstown Hockey

Goffstown at St. Thomas, Dover Arena

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.

Goffstown ended up playing this game without two key defensemen, Dylan Desruisseaux and Nick Caldwell. Then Brock Bennett (defenseman) was knocked out of the game early on an unfortunate hit along the boards. This forced the Grizzlies to go into their roster depths to play this road game.

While the final score didn't work in the Grizzlies favor, I do believe that if the players were paying attention (I believe they were) then valuable learning experience was gained during the game. This could possibly help the team going forward. Hockey is not an individual sport. While individual statistics are fun to see and compare, the unit working together makes the successes possible.

1. Grizzlies tie it early - After Jackson Estes provided some foreshadowing of things to come, Goffstown got on the board with a sweet goal. Zack Tarrier had the puck behind the net and skated toward the corner while delivering a pass back to Austin Campbell at the point. Campbell got a good shot away with some traffic in front of the net. The traffic in this case was Tyler Lessard. Lessard tipped the shot and deflected it past the goaltender for the goal. Lessard (6) from Campbell (4) and Tarrier (4). 1-1.
2. Grizzlies start the comeback - The Grizzlies got control of the puck after a save by Kyle Bennett. Campbell put the puck behind the net and toward the corner to Tarrier. Tarrier wrapped the puck hard around the boards looking for Chapman skating up the wing. Chapman kept his speed and tipped the puck away from the D at center ice. Chapman gathered the puck, on the fly, behind the D, and scored a beauty of a breakaway goal. Great play. Chapman (2) from Tarrier (5) and Campbell (5). 2-3.
3. Tied with 3:34 left to play - Goffstown had possession in the zone and Campbell flipped a shot from the point that hit traffic and went to the corner. Chapman got to the puck and slid it back to Gavin Diodati at the left point. Diodati got rid of a quick, low shot that hit the goaltender's pad and before he could get to the rebound, Lessard slipped the puck into the net for the tying goal. Lessard (7) from Diodati (4) and Chapman (4). 3-3.

The Goffstown hockey team had been chasing St. Thomas, and they battled all the way back, to tie the game at 3-3. Then, 97 seconds later after an outlet pass from Tarrier hit Lessard's blade and bounced away. The puck ended up on the stick of St. Thomas' Rolly Edgerly. Edgerly undressed the D with a toe drag, walked in, and scored the unassisted, GWG for the Saints. St. Thomas added an empty net goal later, and the Goffstown hockey comeback ended in a loss.

NHIAA Hockey:

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Dover Arena - Holt Rink

Scoring:

Goffstown Grizzlies: 01 - 00 - 02 = 03

St. Thomas: 03 - 00 - 02 = 05

Shots on goal:

Goffstown Grizzlies: 10 - 16 - 14 = 40

St. Thomas: 13 - 07 - 08 = 28

Goffstown Grizzlies Penalties:

1. Horne (Slashing)
2. Campbell (Holding)

Goffstown was 0-for-6 on the power play, while St. Thomas was 0-for-2.

Eli Allaire made 37 saves on 40 shots (.925).

Kyle Bennett made 23 saves on 27 shots (.852). 28th shot was an empty net goal.

The Grizzlies are on the ice at Tri-Town Arena (South Rink) Saturday at 4:40pm for a 'home' game against the Winnacunnet Warriors who are 6-1 on the season.

You can follow other Goffstown Hockey stories, here.

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.