Note: The game consisted of three fifteen minute periods. Cedric Moore 8 shots / 8 saves
Sunday, December 26-3 win over Boston Jr. Black HawksThis afternoon’s game against the Boston Jr. Black Hawks was a long, physical match-up. The boys took a 2-0 lead early and completely dominated the play by firing a total of 28 shots in the first period. However, some undisciplined penalties and sloppy defensive zone play allowed Boston back in the game. With the score tied at 3-3 the team took over in the third and banged home three unanswered goals. Unfortunately, the third period included some unnecessary physical contact that soured a perfectly enjoyable Sunday afternoon. The Grinch tried to steal Christmas but not this year! “A strong man is not he who defeats his adversary by wrestling, but a strong man is he who controls himself at the time of anger.” - The Prophet Mohammed SC Hockey Hard Hat Award: Pierre-Olivier Jean SC 6 Boston Jr. Black Hawks 3
Note: The game consisted of three twenty minute periods. Logan Vanasse 35 shots / 32 saves
Back to topFriday, November 30Third-period comeback needed to tie Hebron 3-3This evening the team traveled to Hebron, Maine for our annual meeting against the Hebron Academy Lumberjacks. This was our third game in four nights, not to mention the fact that three of our players remained behind to prepare for Saturday morning’s SATs. We therefore played with only eight forwards and five defensemen. Needless to say, a short bench on the road against a team like Hebron is certainly not what any team envisions. The game began with a fast-paced tempo and a lot of up-and-down play. However, Hebron capitalized on their chances and scored the first goal on a great shot in the high slot. The second period was characterized by many penalties. Hebron once again took advantage of their chances and took a three to nothing lead. However, Frank Riddle skated end to end in the final two minutes of the period and scored on a great wrist shot to bring us to within two goals. The third period was long and slow, for we once again spent far too much time in the penalty box. We killed a five-minute penalty and then two back-to-back minors before the half-way mark of the period. Fortunately, the tides were reversed and Hebron became undisciplined near the end of the game. We then scored our second goal with two minutes remaining in the game. Frank Riddle fired a slapshot from the point that was redirected by captain Alex Gagnon-Sckoropad. In the dying seconds of the game we got the puck in deep and managed to tie the game up with the goalie on the bench and a six-on-four advantage. Once again Frank Riddle fired home a shot from the point that provided a rebound for Alex Gagnon-Sckoropad. He then jabbed at the puck on two occasions before Ryan Bedard banged home the equalizer. We then completely controlled the play in overtime and benefited from three solid scoring chances but just couldn’t score. All in all, this evening’s game proved to be a steal, for we really only played good hockey for a few minutes in the third period. The team was far too undisciplined and really took some selfish penalties that put us in real trouble. Even though we showed that we are capable of coming back in the third period for the second time in a week, the real lesson to be learned is that we cannot continue to take such bad penalties as the season moves forward. SC Hockey Hard Hat Award – Frank Riddle
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Kevin O’Connor 26 shots / 23 saves
Wednesday, November 287-2 Win in ETIAC match-up against Galt
Today we won our second ETIAC game of the season to bring our record to 2-0. We got production from all three lines and defensemen and moved the puck fairly well considering how busy our schedule has been lately. Logan Vanasse played very well in goal against his former team. Well done boys! SC 7 Alexander Galt High School 2
Note: The game consisted of three fifteen minute periods. Logan Vanasse 18 shots / 16 saves
Tuesday, November 27Spartans down Holderness 3-2
The team traveled to Plymouth, New Hampshire to play Holderness School for the first time ever. The boys were without a doubt exhausted from the long journey to and back from Pennsylvania on the weekend and the quick turn-around sure didn’t help. However, the team battled through the challenges of having played six games in six days, as well as yet another two-hour drive. The outdoor rink was a nice surprise and allowed for an old fashioned classic evening of hockey at its purest form. Holderness got out to a 1-0 start after the first period but the stellar play of goaltender Kevin O’Connor kept us in the game. We woke up in the second period to score twice and enter the locker room tied at two goals apiece after two periods. The third period was a lot of up and down hockey but the deciding factor in the game continued to be the strong play of Ryan Bedard (2 goals), Jean-Philippe Vinet (1 goal and 1 assist) and Julian Perrotta, for the line banged home all three goals tonight including the game winner. We showed tremendous character! Our long travels and difficult schedule certainly don’t give us any advantages on our opponents but you were able to play through all of this adversity. Special mention goes to Kevin O’Connor for his brilliant performance. SC 3 Holderness School 2
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Kevin O’Connor 32 shots / 30 saves
November 22-25Spartans fall in Shady Side Academy Thanksgiving Classic finalOver the weekend the team travelled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend the Shady side Academy Thanksgiving Classic. Needless to say the journey was long but we arrived in the early evening on Thursday after a rather difficult drive through horrible weather conditions. The boys remained cheery and seemed poised to get down to business. In our first game we battled against the host team in an 8 a.m. match-up. Although we completely dominated the game the score remained very close until the third period. Frank Riddle skated up the ice to make an exceptional play that lead to a skilful tip-in by captain Alex Gagnon-Skoropad. Julian Perrotta then fired home an empty netter for insurance. All in all it was a solid first game and helped set the tempo for the rest of the weekend. Our second game was against the Nicholls School at 9 p.m. on Friday. The boys jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on two absolutely beautiful goals by Pierre-Olivier Jean. However, we couldn’t capitalize on our chances to put the game away and ended up allowing three goals in the two final periods to finally lose 3-2. The semi-final game against St. Francis was without a doubt our best game of the year. We moved the puck with conviction, skated with a purpose and really showed a physical presence throughout the game. Andrew Smith got things going with a nifty wrist shot up high in the first period. However, St. Francis replied quickly to even things up. Fortunately, Olivier Charette responded soon after and the team never looked back. The sound physical play of Julian Perrotta and Ryan Bedard helped take the sails out of St. Francis, not to mention the fact that young Bedard then added three consecutive goals to earn his first hat-trick of the year. Cedric Moore also excelled in this game by stopping forty-three of forty-five shots. Final score
The stage was now set for a rematch of last year’s championship game between your very own Spartans and the Nicholls School. Although Nicholls came out hard with a lot of pressure we managed to take a 1-0 lead after the first period on a goal from Nick Lapointe from the blue line. However, we made some defensive zone mistakes in the second period and allowed Nicholls to score two quick goals because of our lack of discipline and inability to match up in our own end. The team never quit though, and managed to even things up at two goals apiece when JP Vinet fired home the equalizer. Nicholls then went up 3-2 on what seemed like a fairly innocent play and really never looked back. We tried to organize a counterattack in the third but simply could not penetrate their big and aggressive defenders. With our goalie out and some pressure in the final minute we came up short and Nicholls added an empty net goal to guarantee the win. All in all the team should be proud of their performance and hold their heads high. Mistakes are a part of the game and we now have to learn from them. Congratulations on a hard-fought weekend. You showed character and were able to overcome a very difficult game and travel schedule to earn a berth in the championship game. Great effort and wonderful comportment all-throughout the weekend! Friday, November 23 8:00 a.m. GAME MVP : Julian Perrotta
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Cedric Moore 15 shots / 14 saves
Friday, November 23 9:00 p.m. GAME MVP : Pierre-Olivier Jean
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Logan Vanasse 33 shots / 30 saves
Saturday, November 24 10:15 a.m. GAME MVP : Pierre-Olivier Jean
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Kevin O’Connor 30 shots / 27 saves
Saturday, November 24 9:00 p.m. Semi-Final GAME MVP : Ryan Bedard
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Cedric Moore 45 shots / 43 saves
Sunday, November 25 11:00 a.m. Championship GAME MVP : Nick Lapointe
Note: The game consisted of three eighteen minute periods. Cedric Moore 33 shots / 30 saves
< Later Journal entries Earlier Journal entries >
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In our final round-robin game we played against St. Francis School from Buffalo, New York at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. The first two periods proved to be very challenging, for we had great difficulty getting out of our own end. However, the boys chipped away at the lead and were able to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the third period to come back and earn a 3-3 tie. Goals were scored by Jean-Francois Lefort, Jean-Philippe Vinet and Pierre-Olivier Jean. In effect, this comeback really gave the team momentum for our crossover semi-final rematch later on that night at 9:00 p.m.