Eagles play to draw with Alumni; 4-4

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The Kennett Eagles took to the ice Saturday night in front of 117 fans at the Ham Arena for their first test of the 08-09 season, a match-up with the Kennett Alumni team and the fans were not disappointed as the two teams battled to a 4-4 tie. “Overall is was a good effort from the kids. For only having three practices, two of which we were missing a number of kids due to Thanksgiving travel, I was very happy,” said Head coach Mike Lane. 

The Eagles came out flying against the alumni team which came into the game undefeated in the history of the game (5-0). However the Alumni would take control at the 10 minute mark of the period and carried a majority of the play. Junior goalie Ricky Gaudreau was solid in net turning away all 14 shots he faced including a number of close range shots. “Ricky was Ricky” said Lane. “He is just so solid, so confident; we obviously like our chances when he is in there.”

After the scoreless first both teams changed net minders, both turning to a Kevlin. The Eagles went to Sophomore Nick Kevlin, while the Alumni team went to his father, 1982 graduate Chris Kevlin, Nick’s father. Both teams became very offensive minded and it was the Alumni who jumped on the scoreboard first when Todd Frechette made a nifty shift to the middle and buried a back hander to go up 1-0. The Eagles would answer right back off a face-off just over a minute later when George Weigold ripped a shot through the legs of Kevlin to tie the game 1-1.  The Alumni would regain the lead with 3:55 remaining in the second when Brett Belcastro scored off a nice feed from Ben Hall. The Eagles would answer right back with Joey Murphy tipping home a beautiful centering pass from Griffin Meador, Justin Clements picked up the second assist. Nick Kevlin made 7 saves in the period.

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To start the third the Eagles went to sophomore Jonny Parkhurst in goal and the rookie did not disappoint in his debut making a number of key saves early. The Alumni took their third lead of the game however at the three minute mark when Mark Lane made a beautiful pass to a wide open Brad Hauser on the corner of net to give the Alumni a 3-2 lead. The game would go back and fourth through much of the third until Chuckie Smith broke loose behind the defense of the Alumni and banked the puck off the post into the net to tie the game once again. “We have big expectation of Chuckie,” said Lane. We have paired him with Taylor and Georgie on that Yellow line, which means he is going to get plenty of opportunities to put the puck in the net.” The Eagles would take their first lead of the game just 48 seconds later when Weigold raced into the corner and made a brilliant centering pass to Taylor Cyr in front of the net. The junior made no mistake picking the top corner to make it 4-3 Eagles. “It was just a good play all around, a great hustle play by Georgie and Taylor finished, just a nice goal,” said Lane. The Alumni didn’t take it lying down however, as Tabor would tie it up with 3:57 remaining off a great individual rush. The game would remain tied through overtime, sending everyone home happy.

“It was certainly an entertaining hockey game,” said Lane. I thought we played very well, we have things to work on but I am very happy with where we are right now as a hockey team.

Alumni captain Justin Frechette was too tired to comment after the game, however rumors were flying around the rink that the Alumni was already planning practice for next years game. The Eagles are back in pre-season action next Saturday when they travel to the Dover Jamboree.

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Box Scores 

Scoring

Shots on Goal

Scoring Summary

Goaltending

Eagles Go Undefeated at Dover Jamboree

After opening against Portsmouth with an ugly 2-1 win which Coach Lane described as “a game in slow motion”, the Eagles met the Sachems from Laconia.  The Eagles dominated the Sachems, out shooting them 26-0.  George Weigold and Griffin Meador each tallied goals with Taylor Cyr, Chuckie Smith, Justin Clements and Derek North picking up assists.

The Eagles then took to ice against the Green Wave and surprised everyone when they took an early lead.  Clements intercepted a cross ice pass and went five hole for a 1-0 advantage.  The Eagles would later find themselves in penalty trouble, playing 8 of the 20 minutes shorthanded.  The Eagles played well, a man down, but a bad bounce off the glass would allow Dover to tie the game at 1-1.  Junior goaltender Ricky Gaudreau would keep the game that way until the final seconds of the game. Weigold would take the puck deep, make a perfect centering pass that Cyr buried for the win.   “I think it was a big confidence booster for the kids,” said Lane.   “Anytime you can play up and hold your own, it’s a good sign.”

                                                                        Photos by Mark Graffam

The Eagles closed out the night with a 4-1 win over Somersworth, however Coach Lane cautioned people to not read too much into the win.  “They did not dress their whole first line, including last year’s player of the year, Frank Davis.”  The decision by Coach Wayne Sheehan allowed Lane to rest many of his top players, and give his checking line plenty of ice time.  The young guys responded. Freshman Kevin Murphy scored two goals in the win.  “Kevin is a very good player, when he puts some size on him, he is really going to turn some heads,” said Lane.  Lane also praised the rest of the green line, including Cody Richard, Josh Potter and Chris King.  The Eagles are back in action Wednesday when they play their final tune-up on the season, a trip north to division I Berlin. “It should be a good test for our defense,” said Lane.  The five of them, (Lamontagne, Spoor, Conger, Murphy & Munck) have played very well and are working hard in practice.  Berlin's speed on the small sheet up their should be a good test.”  The game starts at 5:30 p.m.                         

Berlin Preseason Game Canceled    12/10/2008

Souhegan Game Postponed

Eagles 6 - Belmont 0

12-18-08

Gaudreau & Meador lead Eagles to win in opener

The Kennett Eagles won their 2008-2009 season opener Thursday night in Laconia at the Laconia Ice Arena, beating the Belmont/Gilford Bull Dogs 6-0. Ricky Gaudreau made 32 saves (3^rd career shut-out) in the win while Griffin Meador led the offense with a hat trick.

After a 12 day lay-off since their last game action (Dover Jamboree), the Eagles came out strong in the opening 15 minutes, with Meador getting the visitors on the board at 3:10 of the first.  Justin Clements and Derek North picked up the assists on the play.  Meador netted his second of the period at 11:27, banging home a rebound off of a Justin Clements shot.  The Eagles would take that lead to the dressing room, with a happy coach. “We played well for not being on the ice in game situations in well over a week,” said Head Coach Mike Lane.  “We were obviously rusty, but it’s hard to simulate game situations in practice.”

The Eagles found themselves in major penalty trouble early in the second period, including a 2 minute stretch where they found themselves 2 men down.  The Eagles were able to kill the penalties off, largely in part to good penalty killing and Gaudreau in net.  “There was no rust on Ricky” said Lane.  He looked great in net, steady, quiet, he looked like Ricky.”  The Eagles were out shot in the second period 13-5, but it was the Eagles who scored the lone  goal.  North won a face-off to Kevin Murphy, who slid a pass back to older brother, Joey Murphy.  The talented senior defensemen ripped a shot that went top shelf to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.  “Joey has had a great pre-season. You can tell he has really worked hard in the off season” said Lane.

The Eagles opened the third on the power play and wasted no time extending their lead as Meador netted his third of the night at :17 seconds,  Taylor Cyr and Clements picked up the assists.  Freshman Chuckie Smith scored his first career goal at 1:30 with Cyr getting the assist.  Weigold closed out the scoring with his first of the season at 14:59, Chris King and Cyr got the assists. “We played very well in the third, I really thought we started to play our game and were strong in the defensive zone,” said Lane.  “Our defense played well, Logan Spoor, Bryan Lamontagne, Brian Munck and Murphy all had good games.”  The Eagles are back in action Saturday when they host the Hilltoppers from Somersworth, the puck drops at 4:40 p.m.

Eagles Win Home Opener 5-4 over Somersworth Hilltoppers

12-20-08

Cyr nets game winner with 4:57 left on the clock

 Eagles beat Hilltoppers 5-4

Junior Taylor Cyr scored the game winning goal with 4:57 remaining in regulation Saturday night to lift the Kennett Eagles to a thrilling 5-4 win in their home opener over the Somersworth Hilltoppers in front of 208 fans at the Ham Arena Saturday night.  The win lifts the Eagles to 2-0 on the season while the Hilltoppers fall to 0-1.

In a game that was a match-up of the two and three picks in the pre-season poll (Eagles 2, Hilltoppers 3), it was the Hilltoppers who came out with all the momentum, controlling all the play for the first five minutes.  Junior Ricky Gaudreau was solid in net turning away many point blank shots.  At the 6:05 mark of the first the visitors got on the board when sophomore Jaret Canney took a pass from Frank Davis and streaked down the slot, firing a snap shot that banked off the post and into the net for a 1-0 lead.  The Hilltoppers took a 2-0 lead on a very similar goal just over three minutes later.  This time it was Sean Wynot picking up the puck and going top shelf for a 2-0 lead.  

“We really gave their forwards way to much room to move in the first,” said Coach Michael Lane.  “Their skilled players can be scary at times, and you really can’t back in to much or they are going to eat you alive, we did that and they took advantage. ” In a game that had many momentum shifts, the Eagles turned the tide with just 30 seconds remaining in the first. Senior Joey Murphy pinched at the blue line, keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Cyr picked up the puck and slid it to Chuckie Smith.  The talented sophomore went blocker side to cut the lead to 2-1.  “That was obviously a huge goal.  We didn’t play well in the first, we were playing with way too much emotion,” said Lane.  “The biggest adjustment we tried to make between periods was to settle down and play our game, we did that for the most part in the second,” he continued.

The Eagles opened up the second on fire and controlled the play, tying the game at the three minute mark when Logan Spoor fired a wrist shot from the blue line that handcuffed Hilltoppers goalie Kate Peterson to tie the game 2-2.  The Eagles took their first lead of the game just 2:14 later.  On the power play, George Weigold found Bryan Lamontagne at the top of the umbrella.  The talented junior took two steps in the fired a missile wrist shot that went over Peterson’s glove.  The momentum swung once again minutes later when Davis was broken up on a rush by Spoor, however the senior picked up the loose puck and fired it towards the net.  The shot deflected off of Spoors stick right into the top corner to tie the game 3-3.  “Logan made a nice play, just a bad break, nothing Ricky could have done,” said Lane.  The Hilltoppers continued to carry the play and took the lead just two minutes later when Davis found Matti Doxter on a 2 on 1, Gaudreau got a piece of the shot, but it trickled in to give the Hilltoppers a 4-3 lead.  “We took a few to many chances in the second, but I was still happy with the way we played, we worked hard,” said Lane.

The Eagles came out in the third and pressured the Somersworth net, only to have Peterson turn away all opportunities.  The Eagles would finally get the break they needed with 7:51 remaining when Lamontagne and Smith worked a perfect break-out, finding Weigold streaking down the left wing.  Weigold beat the defender and picked the top corner blocker side to tie the game 4-4.  “That was great to see, Georgie works so hard in all three zones of the ice, it was great to see him finish that off,” said Lane.  Just under three minutes later Cyr netted the game winner.  Brian Munck made a great one on one play, breaking up Davis.  The Eagles turned the puck up quickly to Smith who carried it into the offensive zone.  Smith hit the brakes, letting a defensemen slide by. He slid a pass to Cyr who buried it for a 5-4 lead.  “It was a great play at both ends of the ice, Muncky made a great play, Chuckie made a heads up play and Taylor finished,” said Lane.  The Hilltoppers pulled the goalie late, but couldn’t muster any legitimate scoring opportunities, giving the Eagles a 5-4 win.

“It was a great high school hockey game,” said Lane.  “Both teams played with a lot of heart, I am sure when we meet in February down there it will be just the same.” The Eagles are back in action Monday when they travel to Laconia to meet the Sachems (0-2).

Box Score

Scoring by Period

Shots by Period

Scoring Summary

1^st Period         6:05                 SHS Canney               Davis

1^st Period         9:15                 SHS Wynott               Tanguay

1^st Period         14:30               KHS Smith                 Cyr & Weigold

2^nd Period        3:00                 KHS Spoor                 Clements

2^nd Period        5:14(PP)          KHS Lamontagne       Weigold

2^nd Period        6:15                 SHS  Davis                 Unassisted

2^nd Period        7:50                 SHS  Doxter               Davis

3^rd Period         7:09                 KHS Weigold             Smith & Lamontagne

3^rd Period         10:03               KHS Cyr                     Smith

Around the league 12/20

Bedford 4 – Sabers 3

Nashua Telegraph 12/21

The Souhegan High hockey team was stunned in its Division III opener on Saturday, falling to Bedford, 4-3. The Bulldogs scored twice in the third period to pick up their second varsity win in as many games.
Paul Caso scored three goals for the Sabers (0-1), the three-time defending division champions. Ben Rafferty, Alex April and Quinn Carrol each had an assist and Nate Downer made 24 saves. Souhegan returns to the ice on Jan. 3 at Laconia.

Moultonborough/IL 5 – John Stark 4

Pembroke 7 – Laconia 0

Kennett 4 - Laconia 3   OT

Away - Monday 12-22-08

Clements lifts Eagles to overtime win; Now 3-0

Sometimes its pretty and sometimes its ugly.  Monday night would fall in the ugly category, as the Eagles escaped the Laconia Ice Arena with a 4-3 overtime win over the Sachems.  Senior captain Justin Clements pounded home a rebound off a Derek North shot just :17 seconds into overtime for the win, which lifts the Eagles to 3-0 on the season headed into the holiday break. The loss drops Laconia to 0-3.

The Eagles started sophomore Nick Kevlin in net with the hopes of getting Jonny Parkhurst in later in the game.  It was the Sachems who spoiled that plan by playing a gritty game that pushed the Eagles to the limit. Laconia got on the board first at 2:43 of the first. Kevlin mishandled a dump in and Tom Missert was right there to bang home the first goal of the game.  The game would stay that way as the teams hit the dressing rooms for intermission.  “For whatever reason, we are not a first period team,” said coach Michael Lane.

The Eagles tied the game just 1:36 into the second when Clements found Derek North in front of the net, North banged it home for his first goal on the season.  The Eagles took the lead at the 5:15 mark of the second on the power play.  Taylor Cyr found Joey Murphy; the talented senior walked to the middle and beat the Sachem goalie with a low hard slap shot. “Murph is having a great season. He has really taken his game to the next level,” said Lane.  Later in the second, Kevlin made a brilliant save on a penalty shot. “Nick did a great job, I was really happy for him.”

The game would stay that way into the third period where the visitors would tie the game on the power play at :47 seconds. The Eagles bounced back to take the lead on a Cyr goal, which he banked off the skate of Sachem’s #16, Benoit Crowell, from behind the net. “Things are not coming easy for Taylor right now, but he is working hard. That’s all you can ask for,” said Lane. The Sachems bounced back and tied the game just under a minute later on a 2 on 1. The game would remain that way through regulation, but Coach Lane felt lucky for the game to even get to overtime.  “There were a lot of penalties in the game, it never really got into a flow.  In fact we had to kill three 5 on 3 power plays in the game of over a minute. The kids did a good job in that aspect.”

It did not take the Eagles long in overtime to win as Clements scored the winner off the North shot. “ ’J’ works so hard, he is a great captain and a great kid.  You love to root for kids like that,” said Lane.  The Eagles will have a couple of days off before the Exeter Christmas Tournament, which starts Friday at the Rinks at Exeter.  Division I Exeter and St. Thomas and Division II Kingswood, Winnacunnett and Triton (Mass) will participate.  The Eagles open play Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. when they meet the winner of Exeter Winnacunnett.

Christmas Tournament

Eagles lose to Exeter 8-2

Eagles lose to St. Thomas 7-0

Eagles remain 3-0 in Division III record

Photos of Exeter Game by Mark Graffam  

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Eagles fall to Hollis; 4-3

 1/3/2009

Hollis Brookline scored a power play goal with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation to earn a 4-3 NHIAA Division III win over the Eagles on Saturday afternoon in Hudson at the Cyclone’s Arena.  The loss drops the Eagles to 3-1 while the Cavaliers move to 2-0.  

Things started out well for the Eagles as they scored the first goal of the game five minutes in when Taylor Cyr banged home a rebound off of a Chuckie Smith shot.  Less then three minutes later the Eagles doubled that lead when Griffin Meador picked off a pass and went in alone, beating the Hollis goaltender five hole.  Hollis would get on the board later when Don Turner scored on a wrap around to make it 2-1.  The Eagles would answer back before the end of the first when George Weigold worked a perfect give and go with fellow Captain Justin Clements to make it 3-1 headed into the first intermission.

 That would be the last time the Eagles would beat Hollis goaltender Drew Pearson.  Hollis would score the only two goals of the second, the first off a rebound and the second on a 2-0 break away.  “We got caught in a bad change there,” said Eagles coach Mike Lane.  “It seems like every time we make a mistake right now it bites us. It certainly did there.”  The two teams headed to the dressing rooms tied at 3-3, with the Eagles holding a 23-13 shots advantage.

 The Eagles opened the third on the power play and came close to scoring on a number of chances.  In fact the Eagles carried the play for much of the final period, however it was Hollis who found themselves on the power play with nine minutes to play.  The Cavaliers capitalized, scoring on another wrap around to make it 4-3, a lead they would never relinquish.  The Eagles mounted a number of chances in the final minutes, none better then when Cyr struck the cross bar. But it wasn’t to be as the Eagles dropped their first league game of the season.  “I was happy with the effort; we played hard, we put a number of shots on their goalie (Eagles 38-Cavaliers 18).  He just played great. Sometimes that happens,” said Lane.  “Hollis is a great team. They're well coached and they play hard.  It is a very competitive division this year.  I don’t think there is going to be any teams going 17-1 this year.  I think there is going to be a log jam with a bunch of teams at or around 13-5.  It should make it interesting,” he continued.  The Eagles are back in league action Wednesday when they host Conval at home at 5:20 p.m.

Eagles Get Back in the Win Column.

Beat John Stark 9-0

Photos by Mark Graffam

Eleven different Eagles earned a point as Kennett got back in the win column for the first time since December 22^nd Saturday night with a 9-0 win over the John Stark Generals (2-2).  The win lifts the Eagles to 4-1 on the season, but more importantly, was a break-out game for the offense and the defense as we head into a critical three game stretch over the next two weeks when the Eagles host Pembroke (3-1) and then travel to Souhegan (2-1) and Bedford (4-0).  “It was a good team win,” said Head Coach Mike Lane.  “The kids worked hard. Everyone contributed and, hopefully, it gets us rolling as we head into this very difficult stretch.”

John Stark goalie Liam Tupper played a fantastic first period, making four spectacular saves to keep the game scoreless. However Senior Captain Justin Clements got the Eagles on the board at the ten minute mark when Joey Murphy sent him in on a one on one. Clements beat Tupper far side with a wrist shot to give the Eagles the lead. The Eagles doubled the lead with one second remaining in the first when Bryan Lamontagne unleashed a bullet from the top of the face-off circle, beating Tupper high glove side. “It was kind of a funny story,” said Lane.  Bryan got sick on the bench.  I looked at Coach Connifey and he said Bryan is done for the period.  I looked at the clock and there was two minutes left, so I thought it was no big deal, he’ll be ready for the second. Next thing I know he is ripping a shot past the goalie.  That’s a hockey player.”

The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders in the second, playing their best period of hockey on the season.  Sophomore Chuckie Smith scored the third goal of the game on the power play at 3:19 when Lamontagne led George Weigold, who found Smith with a beautiful cross ice pass.  Smith beat the goalie with a snap shot blocker side.  Taylor Cyr made it 4-0 at the 10:37 mark when Weigold again made a nice pass to Cyr.  Cyr beat Tupper blocker side for a 4-0 advantage.  The final minute of the second was once again good to the Eagles as they netted two goals just 8 seconds apart, both by Meador and both assisted by Clements. Derek North added an assist on the second of the two goals.

The third period saw two new players getting their first career goals.  First junior Josh Potter, who deflected a Logan Spoor wrist shot home at 4:12.  Cyr picked up the other assist on the play. “That was great to see,” said Lane. “Josh is so well liked in the locker room.  He works hard and continues to improve everyday, We as a team and coaching staff were really happy for him.”  Kevin Murphy picked up his first career goal in similar fashion just over three minutes later when Weigold fed Lamontagne.  Lamontagne took a wrist shot which Murphy (Kevin) tipped home.  Weigold closed out the scoring at the 12:40 mark with Murphy (Kevin) and Chris King picking up assists. “Georgie had another great game. It’s a lot of fun watching him play.  He just plays the game the right way,” said Lane. 

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Lost in all the scoring was Ricky Gaudreau, picking up his second shut-out of the season, making 13 saves in the effort. “Ricky played well. He was solid when called upon.  I think he faced more shots than 13. By our stats, on our bench, he faced 20, but either way it’s a shut-out and well earned,” said Lane.

Lane also praised the play of the five defensemen.  “The defense really tightened up tonight.  Muncky (Brian Munck), Logan (Spoor), Murph (Joey Murphy), Sammy (Sam Conger) and Bryan (Lamontagne) all played very well.  We had a tough week of practice and they really worked hard.  I think that translated over into the game tonight.”  The Eagles are back in action Wednesday when they finally return home to the Ham Arena to host Pembroke at 5:20.  “Pembroke is going to be a huge test for us.  They are one of the top teams in the division. It should be a great game,” said Lane.

BOX SCORE 

SHOTS BY PERIOD

SCORING SUMMARY

K 1^st                10:34               G-Clements                A-J. Murphy

K 1^st                14:59               G-Lamontagne          A-Clements

K 2^nd               3:19                 G-Smith                      A-Weigold & Lamontagne

K 2^nd               10:37               G-Cyr                         A-Weigold

K 2^nd               14:37               G-Meador                  A-Clements

K 2^nd               14:45               G-Meador                  A-Clements & North

K 3^rd               4:12                 G-Potter                     A-Spoor & Cyr

K 3^rd               7:31                 G-K. Murphy             A-Weigold & Lamontagne

K 3^rd               12:40               G-Weigold                  A-K. Murphy & King

AROUND DIVISION III

SCORES FROM SATURDAY JANUARY 10^th

Moultonborough/IL (1-3)                 0

Bedford (4-0)                                     15

Portsmourth (0-3)                              0

Souhegan (2-1)                                   6

Monadnock (0-3)                               3

Pembroke (3-1)                                  4

Somersworth (3-1)                             3

Hollis (2-1)                                          2

Belmont (2-2)                                     6

Conval (1-1)                                       3

Eagles Beat Pembroke
Wednesday, Jan. 14th 
at the Ham Arena

Photo by Jamie Gemmiti

Photo by Jamie Gemmiti

 

Souhegan
Saturday, Jan. 17th
Away Game at the Conway Arena
in Nashua

Eagles fall in heart breaker to Souhegan; 2-1

 

Souhegan star center Paul Caso scored two goals in the final 2:28 to beat the Eagles 2-1 Saturday night at the Conway Arena in Nashua.  The win lifts the Sabers to 4-1 while the Eagles fall to 5-2.  “I’d be lying if I said this one didn’t sting a little,” said head coach Michael Lane.  “I thought the kids played their best overall team game of the season tonight.  I will have to go back and look at the film of the game, but from where I was standing I thought we worked hard in all three zones, we just couldn’t get it by Downer.”

 

The two squads were meeting for the first time since last years Division III State Championship game and the two teams did not disappoint, putting together a great show for the large crowd in attendance.  The first fifteen minutes saw the Eagles carry the play shot wise, out shooting the hosts 13-9, however the two teams remained scoreless.  The two teams played to a draw in the second period as well, but Coach Lane felt his team got the better of the play.  “We had to kill three penalties in the second period, but if you take those out, I think we out played them.  We were really able to take advantage of their second line,” said Lane. Nate Downer made an incredible save on Derek North with three minutes to play to keep the game scoreless.

 

In the third the Eagles broke the deadlock with 5:08 to play. Griffin Meador took a shot from the top of the left circle.  Downer never saw the shot as it found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.  The Eagles couldn’t hold the lead as Caso scored with 2:28 remaining on a wrap around.  Caso would net the game winner with 18 seconds remaining for the 2-1 win.  Ricky Gaudreau made 34 saves in the win while Downer made 35.  “I told the kids it hurts now, but in the big picture its just one loss in the regular season.  Souhegan is a great team, one of these days we’ll beat them, tonight just wasn’t our night.”  The Eagles are back in action next Saturday when they travel to the Tri-Town Arena to play Bedford.

  

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Bedford
Sat Jan. 24th 
Away Game at the Tri Town Arena

New team, same story

Eagles fall to Bedford 2-1 OT

 

The Kennett Eagles fell for the second straight game 2-1, this time in overtime to the Bedford Bull Dogs Saturday night at the Tri-Town Arena in Hooksett. The loss drops the Eagles to 5-3 (5^th place) while the win lifts the Bull Dogs to 7-0-1, good enough for 1^st place in Division III.  Doug Steere walked out from behind the net 1:58 into overtime and roofed a shot over Ricky Gaudreau’s right shoulder for the game winner.  “It was like watching last weeks winning goal in a mirror,” said head coach Michael Lane.  “It was very similar, just the other side of the net.”

 

Things started out good for the Eagles who netted the first goal of the game once again, this time in the first period.  Griffin Meador blocked a shot at the blue line and raced in alone on Bedford goalie Ben Firman.  Meador shot blocker side, beating the goal keeper for a 1-0 lead.  The game would stay that way into the third, largely in part to the two net minders.  The Eagles once again found themselves in penalty trouble, as they took eight penalties to Bedford’s three.

 

In the third period Bedford tied the game five minutes in when Trevor Sonovich beat an Eagle defender and raced in on Gaudreau.  George Weigold made a great effort to break up the play, but Sonovich got a shot off that Gaudreau appeared to stop, only to have it pop in the air and land behind the goal line.

 

The game remained tied into overtime where Bedford won the game.  The Eagles have now lost two in a row and have scored just four goals in there last three games. “It is certainly a concern,” said Lane. The kids are working hard; I was really pleased with the line changes today. Georgie and Justin (Clements) seemed to click right away and Kevin Murphy did a good job filling in for Chuckie (out with Appendicitis). Taylor, Griffin and Derek had a good effort too, the puck just isn’t going in.  I think you have to give some of the credit to the goalies we have faced.”

 

The Eagles grueling opening eight games (six on the road) is finally over. The Eagles will play at home Wednesday night when they host Conval. “We need to make some adjustments before Wednesday,” said Lane. “I have no doubt the effort is there, but we are making a number a mental mistakes in key situations that are hurting us. In times like this you have to work harder, and that’s just what we’ll do starting Monday.”

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Eagles 7    Laconia 0
Home Game at the Ham Arena
Saturday Jan 31st 

Photo by Mark Graffam

The Kennett Eagles got back in the win column Saturday night at the Ham Arena with a 7-0 win over the Laconia Sachems (5-6) in front of a packed crowd of 231.  The Eagles were led by junior goalie Ricky Gaudreau (18 saves), senior co-captain George Weigold and junior Griffin Meador who each scored a goal and added an assist and senior co-captain Justin Clements who added a goal and two assists.  “It was a great night,” said head coach Michael Lane.  “We really tried to get back to the basics tonight and just skate hard every shift, we did that and the results were there.”

 

The Sachems came into the game as one of the hottest teams in division III, winners of five their last six games; however the Eagles quickly established a fast paced game which quickly wore down the Sachems. The Eagles scored the only goal of the first period, coming on a delayed penalty, Meador found Taylor Cyr in front of the net.  The junior one timed a shot past Sachem goalie Erik VanDenBergh.  Late in the period Gaudreau made his best and as Coach Lane described “most important” save of the night.  The Eagles turned the puck over at the blue line and Sachem wing Connor Bates walked in to the bottom of the right face-off circle.  Bates ripped a snap shot which Gaudreau stopped, leaving no rebound.  “That was a huge save,” said Lane, “Given the time left in the period, how well we had played, if they tie the game there it’s a whole new hockey game.  Ricky stopped it and we carried the momentum into the second.”  The Eagles would have to do so without Cyr however, who hurt his hip late in the period.

 

The Eagles dominated the second period scoring five times.  The first goal came when Clements took a break out pass from Joey Murphy. Clements banked the puck up the boards to Weigold.  Weigold came in on a Sachem defender, cut to the center of the ice ripping a wrist shot over Van DenBergh’s glove for a 2-0 lead.  The Eagles made it 3-0 just over two minutes later when Clements and Weigold once again teamed up, this time Weigold dropping a pass back to Clements in the slot. Clements fired a shot blocker side for the goal.  Weigold was not done in the period as 3:03 later he scored to make it 4-0.  Kevin Murphy raced in on Van DenBergh who made the first save but left a rebound in front of the crease.  Weigold crashed the net roofing the shot for the goal. “We really stressed crashing the net in practice this week. George came from about 40 feet out and beat at least two of their guys to the puck, that is just pure hustle.” Meador got into the scoring later when he took a pass from freshmen Cody Richard.  Meador beat VanDenBergh for the 5-0 lead prompting the Sachems to take their timeout. The plan did not work as the Eagles scored just ten seconds later. Meador took a pass from North and walked in beating VanDenBergh for a 6-0 lead. “Griffin continues to be very steady for us putting the puck in the net,” said Lane.

 

In the third Joey Murphy scored the only goal, taking a pass from North to make it 7-0.  “With Taylor (Cyr) out, we had to move things around a lot in the second,” said Lane.  “With the 6-0 lead we moved Joey up to forward to play with his brother (Kevin) and he scored.  I am sure I’ll hear about that at practice Monday.”  “It was a great team win, Ricky was great in net and George was fantastic in all three zones, this is the first Saturday in three weeks that I will actually get some sleep.”  The Eagles are back in action Wednesday when they host Moultonborough Inter Lakes.

 

BOX SCORE

 

Goals by period

 

                        1          2          3          F

Laconia           0          0          0          0

Kennett           1          5          1          7

 

Shots by period

 

                                         1          2          3          F

Laconia          8          4          6          18

    Kennett          12        6          7          25

 

Scoring Summary

 

1^st        4:35     K          G-Cyr              A-Meador

 

2^nd        2:23     K         G-Weigold      A-J. Murphy & Clements

2^nd        4:35     K         G-Clements     A-Weigold & J. Murphy

2^nd        7:38     K         G-Weigold      A-K. Murphy & Clements

2^nd        9:16     K         G-Meador       A-Richard

2^nd        9:26     K         G-Meador       A-North

 

3^rd        12:37   K         G-J. Murphy    A-North

 

Around Division III-1/31

 

Souhegan                     0

Somersworth               2

 

Conval                          3

John Stark                   3

 

---

\\

Eagles 10  Moultonborough 1
Home Game at the Ham Arena
Wednesday Feb. 4th 



It's about King putting the puck,
and King, in the net. 

Eagles Crush MAILers; 10-1

 

  

Eagles fall to Sabers; 6-4

 

 Adam Mendenhall scored the game winning goal with 3:27 to go, in regulation, to lead the Souhegan Sabers to a 6-4 win over the Kennett Eagles in front of 345 fans at the Ham Arena Monday night.  Nate Downer picked up the win in net for the Sabers making 29 saves while Ricky Gaudreau made 32 saves in the loss.  The back and fourth game had more twists and turns than a roller coaster at Disney World, but in the end ,it was the Eagles on the losing end of things.  “The kids played hard tonight,” said head coach Michael Lane.  “We had to deal with a lot of issues on the bench throughout the night that I don’t think people were aware of.  I thought the kids did a good job adjusting to the mixing of lines, but ,in the end, we just made too many mistakes in our defensive zone.”

 

The Eagles came out flat and quickly found themselves down 1-0 when Mendenhall pumped home the first goal of the game just 64 seconds in.  The Sabers extended their lead with 2:52 remaining when Paul Caso and Mendenhall found a wide open Alex April on the side of the net for a goal to make it 2-0. “We let Ricky down in the first. We were not disciplined and ran around in our defensive zone. We were lucky it wasn’t three or four to nothing,” said Lane.

 

The Eagles turned the tide in the second as they came out with a fire in their eyes.  Griffin Meador got the scoring started with 12:31 remaining in the second with a nice individual effort, slipping a back hander through Downers legs to make it 2-1.  Moments later, George Weigold appeared to tie the game with a wrist shot under the cross bar, but the officials called no goal.  After the game the replay was shown on Valley Vision channel 3 and clearly showed the puck went in. When asked, Coach Lane refused to make excuses. “The officials get one look at it and have a split second to make a decision.  The official didn’t think it went in so you move on.” Minutes later ,on the power play, Joey Murphy slid a pass to Bryan Lamontagne, who walked in from the blue line and snapped a wrist shot through Downers legs to tie the game 2-2. 62 seconds later, the Eagles took the lead for the first time when Weigold back handed a Murphy rebound by Downer to make it 3-2.  Moments later Justin Clements came off the half wall with a golden chance but Downer made a nice save to keep the game 3-2.  The Sabers tied the game with 3:04 remaining when Caso knocked home a rebound from a Mendenhall shot.  “We actually had Caso covered pretty well. He just did a good job of fighting through and knocking it home,” said Lane.  With :52 second to go in the second, Caso scored in similar fashion, this time off a Ben Rafferty shot.  The goal sparked controversy once again as to whether the puck was knocked in with a stick.  While questioning the call captain, Justin Clements received a 10 minute misconduct penalty.  “That really hurt us,” said Lane.  “At that point of the game, down by a goal, to lose a top forward and captain is really frustrating.” When asked if Clements deserved the penalty, Lane just commented  “Justin is a great kid and a great captain.  I respect him and believe him to be a stand up kid and player.”

 

Following the wild second period, both teams skated pretty even in the third until the 6:23 mark when Murphy found Meador on an out pass for a break away.  Meador made a quick move to his forehand to tie the game 4-4.  “Griffin has been Mr. Clutch for us this season.  “ He quietly leads the team in goals.  He played his best game of the season tonight,” said Lane.  The Sabers would have the final say however, with just 3:27 remaining, Mendenhall was left wide open in front of the net to give the Sabers a 5-4 lead.  Caso added an empty net goal with :14 seconds remaining to give the Sabers a 6-4 win. “It certainly was a frustrating loss.  I look at it in two ways, the effort was there, we worked hard for 45 minutes and left it all on the ice.  The other side is we made a lot of defensive errors and missed the net way to many times.  We need to get back to work today and try and correct those problems for Belmont on Wednesday,” said Lane.

 

BOX SCORE

 

SCORING BY PERIOD

                   1        2        3        F

Souhegan   2        2        2        6

Kennett      0        3        1        4

 

SHOTS BY PERIOD

 

                   1        2        3        F

Souhegan   13      16      8        37

Kennett      7        15      11      33

 

SCORING SUMMARY

 

1^st      SHS  1:04            G-Mendenhall                        A-Carroll

1^st      SHS  12:01          G-April                          A-Caso & Mendenhall

 

2^nd     KHS 2:29            G-Meador                     A-North

2^nd     KHS 7:02            G-Lamontagne             A-Murphy

2^nd     KHS 8:04            G-Weigold                     A-Murphy

2^nd     SHS  11:56          G-Caso                          A-Rafferty

2^nd     SHS  14:08          G-Caso                          A-Mendenhall

 

3^rd     KHS 8:37            G-Meador                     A-Murphy

3^rd     SHS  11:33          G-Mendenhall                        A-Caso & Carroll

3^rd     SHS  14:46 ENG G-Caso                          A-Mendenhall    

---

First period leads Eagles over Hill Toppers; 5-0

There are moments in every season which can be pointed to as a catalyst to a team’s success.  Coach Michael Lane hopes that Saturday nights 5-0 win over the Somersworth Hill Toppers in Rochester is just what the Eagles need to make a rush towards and into the Division III play-offs.  “It was certainly an unexpected win, as far as the score goes, you always expect it to be tight when we play them, but we’ll take it,” said Lane.  The Eagles used four first period goals (three on the power play) and added a goal in the second for the win. Ricky Gaudreau made 27 saves for his fifth shut-out of the season.

 After killing off a 5-3 power play for the Hill Toppers, the Eagles jumped on the board when a Logan Spoor slap shot had eyes, and found its way past Hill Toppers goalie Derek Lambert for a 1-0 lead.  Just over a minute later, the Eagles doubled that lead on the power play when Bryan Lamontagne walked in from the top of the circle and snapped a wrist shot past Lambert to make it 2-0.  On the power play just ninety seconds later the Eagles scored in very similar fashion.  Justin Clements slid a pass to Lamontagne who ripped a shot - this time it was deflected by Taylor Cyr past Lambert to make it 3-0.  On the power play, once again, two minutes later the Eagles scored again. This time it was Weigold who found Lamontagne, whose shot was once again, deflected by Cyr in to make it 4-0 headed to the dressing room.  “You can’t ask for much more then that from your power play.   3-3 is pretty good,” said Lane.

In the second the game became very chippy and the Eagles found themselves short a man once again.  However, it was Griffin Meador who provided the offense, dangling past Frank Davis and then beating Lambert high blocker side.  “Griff is quietly becoming the sniper on this team.  When he gets in alone, you know it’s going in,” said Lane.  That spelled the end of the night for Lambert, who was replaced by Kate Peterson, but it was too late to change this one as the Eagles settled into a dump and chase style of play for the second half of the game.

The only real question going into the third was, "Could the Eagles hold onto the shut-out?"  It wouldn’t be easy as the Eagles would take five third period penalties, but managed to kill them all to preserve the shut-out for Gaudreau.  “This was certainly a game of special teams,” said Lane.  “We were 3-3 on the power play and managed to kill all nine of their power plays.  We obviously don’t want to get into taking that many penalties, but after this game. I would rather focus on the positives.  Our defense played great tonight, and our forwards were fantastic, coming back on the play.  Griff, Georgie, Taylor, Justin, Derek and Chuckie (returning from appendicitis) all played so solid.  It was great to see,” said Lane.  There was some bad news as Kevin Murphy was hurt early in the second period, he did not return to the game.  The Eagles will take Sunday off and return to action Wednesday when they host Hollis/Brookline at 5:20 pm.

BOX SCORE

SCORING BY PERIOD

                        1          2          3          F

KHS                4          1          0          5

SHS                 0          0          0          0

SHOTS BY PERIOD

                        1          2          3          F

KHS                8          5          6          19

SHS                 5          9          13        27

SCORING SUMMARY

     1^st        KHS    9:34                 G-Spoor                      Unassisted

    1^st        KHS    10:32 PP          G-Lamontagne            Unassisted

 1^st        KHS    12:07 PP          G-Cyr                          A-Lamontagne & Clements

1^st        KHS    14:46 PP          G-Cyr                          A-Lamontagne & Weigold

   2^nd        KHS    2:44   SH         G-Meador                   Unassisted

Eagles skate past Cavaliers; 5-1

The Kennett Eagles are playing their best hockey of the season with March just days away, and that has coach Michael Lane very happy. “I was very pleased with the effort tonight versus a very good hockey club,” said Lane. “Hollis is a very good team which plays the game the right way.  They are well coached and support the puck very well  Tonight was a good win.”  The Eagles scored two first period power play goals on route to the win.  Ricky Gaudreau made 16 saves in the win while Drew Pearson made 32 saves in the loss.

The Eagles jumped on the board first in the first period at 3:38 on the power play.  After a blocked shot, Lamontagne picked up the puck and fired a wrist shot over Pearson’s blocker to make it 1-0. Justin Clements and Taylor Cyr picked up the assists on the play. The Cavaliers tied the game just over two minutes later on a defensive break down.  Don Turner found Patrick Clark alone in front of the net and the talented forward drilled home the pass to tie the game 1-1.  At 8:51, the Eagles took the lead for good on the power play.  Cyr found Lamontagne in the middle of the ice and the junior walked in and ripped a slap shot between Pearson’s legs to make it 2-1.

The Eagles scored the only goal of the second at 1:40 when Clements worked a perfect give and go with Griffin Meador down low.  Meador snapped a wrist shot between Pearson’s legs to make it 3-1.  From there the game settled back into a dump and chase type of style for both teams, a game coach Lane was content to get into.  “With the way Ricky is playing in the nets right now, a two goal lead might as well be ten,” said Lane. “Hollis really came after us in the middle of the game, but we really kept their game to the perimeter and limited their scoring opportunities.”

Hollis came out flying in the third but could not solve Gaudreau, and that allowed time for the Eagles to get their skating legs and get back on the board.  At 9:13 the Eagles looked like they were on a power play, holding the puck down low for more then a minute.  The pressure finally paid off when Meador found Clements on the goal line to Pearson’s right. Clements fired a pass across the crease to Weigold who made no mistake, one timing a shot past a helpless Pearson to make it 4-1.  Meador added a empty net goal with 47 seconds remaining for a 5-1 final.

The win lifts the Eagles past Hollis in the standings at 12-4, and with a win Thursday over Con-Val, the Eagles can clinch a home play-off game, something Lane said was very much in jeopardy just over a week ago.  “After that Souhegan loss, I thought clinching a home play-off spot would be tough to do.  This win and the Somersworth win have been huge confidence builders for our team. We have a lot of work to do though; Con-Val is going to be very tough tomorrow.  They are battling for their play-off lives, so we have to be ready to play.”  The puck drops at 5:10 at the Ham.

BOX SCORE

SCORING BY PERIOD

                                      1        2        3        F

Hollis Brookline (13-5)  1        0        0        1

                                                Kennett (12-4)                         2        1        2        5

SHOT BY PERIOD

1        2        3        F

Hollis Brookline (13-5)      6        6        5        17

Kennett (12-4)                  17      11      9        37

SCORING SUMMARY

                  1^st      KHS           3:38 PP       G-Lamontagne     A-Clements & Cyr

     1^st      H/B             5:47            G-Clark                A-Turner

1^st      KHS           8:51 PP       G-Lamontagne     A-Cyr

        2^nd     KHS           1:40            G-Meador             A-Clements

                        3^rd      KHS           9:13            G-Weigold            A-Clements & Meador

     3^rd      KHS           14:14 SH    G-Meador             A-Weigold

Gaudreau Earns 6^th Shut-Out;

Eagles beat Conval 7-0

Before tonight’s game Coach Michael Lane described their match-up with Conval as a “Trap game.”  That went out the window :11 seconds into the game when George Weigold slid a drop pass to Justin Clements who one timed it home for a quick 1-0 lead.  Clements got right back in the scoring on a power play just over two minutes later when he ripped a wrist shot past Chris Wallace for a 2-0 lead. Taylor Cyr and Weigold picked up assists on the play. Two minutes and one second later the Red Line got into the scoring act when Griffin Meador banged home a rebound of a Derek North shot to make it 3-0, just under five minutes into the game - Cyr picked up the second assist.  “That was a great start for us,” said Lane. “After a big win (Hollis last night), you are always a little nervous about the effort you may get.  We knew Con-Val would be a hungry team with their play-off hopes on the line.  We did a good job of taking them out of the game early with our top two lines.”  The Eagles closed out the first period scoring with Logan Spoor firing a slap shot from the point, which found the back of the net to make it 4-0.  George Weigold and Chuckie Smith picked up assists on the play.

The Eagles came out flying in the second and jumped on the board in the first minute once again.  This time it was Smith who walked in alone and made a nice move to the backhand to make it 5-0.  Clements and Weigold picked up the assists.  Two minutes later ,North got on the board, goal wise, as he picked the top corner of the net - Cyr and Meador got assists on the play.  Midway through the period, Ricky Gaudreau made his best save of the night when Taylor Walton walked in on a break away.  Gaudreau made a nice blocker save to keep the Cougars scoreless.  Minutes later, Ryan White ripped a slap shot which Gaudreau gloved to keep it 6-0.  In the final minute of the period, the Red Line got back into the scoring act on the goal of the night - a perfect tick tack toe passing goal going Meador to North to Cyr.  “Both of our lines are really moving the puck well.  Come play-off time, it is going to be tough for teams to key on a certain player on line because both units are just playing so well,” said Lane.

In the third, the only question was could Gaudreau keep the game scoreless for his 6^th shut-out of the season.  The answer was yes as the Eagles defense clamped down and limited the Cougars chances in the third.  When called upon, Gaudreau was there and earned his 6^th shut-out of the season and 10^th of his career.  “I don’t have the records of all ten years at Kennett, but I am pretty sure that’s a record (6 shut-outs in one season),” said Lane.  “Ricky is a special kid, and a pleasure to coach.  We are lucky to have him.”

The win lifts the Eagles to 13-4, and, with a win Saturday over John Stark and a Souhegan win over Belmont, the Eagles will earn the number two seed.  Coach Lane points to the senior leadership as the difference in play of the past two weeks.  “We had a team meeting and the seniors took it upon themselves to lead this team to a home play-off spot,” said Lane.  Obviously, Georgie and Justin lead that way, and Derek, Joey and Bryan have contributed.  Everything is so tight, one through eight, it is going to come down to who wants it more.  So many teams can win this thing, the key is we are in a better spot today than we were two weeks ago, and its been a total team effort.”

Saturday night the Eagles host John Stark on senior night (4:40 p.m.).  Fans are encouraged to come support the Eagles as they honor their five seniors, Weigold, Clements, Murphy, North and Munck.

BOX SCORE

SCORING BY PERIOD

                                    1          2          3          F

Conval (7-9-1)             0          0          0          0

Kennett (13-4-0)         4          3          0          7

SHOTS BY PERIOD

                                    1          2          3          F

Conval (7-9-1)             7          11        7          25

Kennett (13-4-0)         17        17        10        44

SCORING SUMMARY

1^st        KHS                0:11                 G-Clements                 A-Weigold

 1^st        KHS                2:50 PP            G-Clements                 A-Weigold & Cyr

 1^st        KHS                4:51                 G-Meador                   A-North & Cyr

 1^st        KHS                8:12                 G-Spoor                      A-Weigold & Smith

 2^nd        KHS                0:55                 G-Smith                      A-Clements & Weigold         

 2^nd        KHS                2:21                 G-North                      A-Cyr & Meador

2^nd        KHS                14:16               G-Cyr                          A-Meador & North  

Eagles 7   -  Bedford 1

Semi - Finals

Photo by Josh Spaulding

Ricky Gaudreau

Winning Goalie

Photo by Josh Spaulding

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam

Photo by Mark Graffam