Hockey Corner

Click here for a video of the winning goal at the Shadyside Thanksgiving Classic.

OWLS WIN HOME OPENER

The 2011-2012 Hoosac Owls hockey season opened before a packed house in Troy, NY on Wednesday afternoon. In front of what has been described as the largest home crowd in Hoosac hockey history, the Owls sent the fans home with a smile as they slipped by Northwood with a 3-2 victory.

With only four practices under their belt, the Owls’ play was at times was sloppy and erratic. However, the team displayed the grit and determination that has become the cornerstone of the Hoosac hockey program. The opening minutes saw the Northwood team control the play but they were unable to garner any quality scoring chances.

The Owls team defense was smothering Northwood and limited their time and space in front of the Owls net. Mid-way through the first stanza, the Owls were just completing a successful penalty kill when Sophomore, Guilluame Belec blocked a shot and sped off on a breakaway. Although he was thwarted on the initial shot, Belec stayed with the play and was able to stuff the ensuing play behind the stunned Northwood goaltender. Hoosac had a 1-0 lead but adversity was lurking just around the corner.

The Owls were whistled with back to back penalties and Northwood took advantage of the 5 on 3 and tied the game on a one timer from the bottom left circle. The second period began with the game tied at 1. During the second period the Owls began to carry the play by getting pucks deep and controlling the walls. This hard work was rewarded as Northwood was whistled for a penalty halfway through the period. Hoosac quickly capitalized on the opportunity as Junior Felix Page converted a beautiful pass from Phillipe Gadoury and the Owls took that 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

The third period started with Hoosac on another power play and once again it was Page finding the back of the net to give the Owls a 3-1 advantage. With just under 10 minutes left a Northwood player blistered a shot by Hoosac goalie Spencer Corkery and the lead cut to 3-2. The final 8 minutes had the fans on the edge of their seats as Hoosac had to make several crucial defensive plays to maintain the one goal advantage.

As the crowd counted down the final seconds, Hoosac cleared the defensive zone and secured a 3-2 victory. Hoosac outshot Northwood 26-22 and the Owls were 2 for 5 on the power play. Spencer Corkery earned the victory in goal stopping 20 shots.

The Owls next game is Saturday at 7:00PM against Acadamie St. Louis.

February 26, 2011

On Saturday, February 26, after another blistering snowfall created havoc on the Hoosac campus, the hockey team headed a bit south to Hartford, Ct to take on Kingswood Oxford. An early departure from campus was called for as Hoosac had to pick up their equipment in North Adams, MA, and then head over to Route 91 en route to the Kingswood-Oxford campus. The Owls arrived in plenty of time and were ready to strap on the blades and do battle. However, the Zamboni at the rink was unfortunately not in working order and the game was going to be delayed. The rink manager arranged to borrow a Zamboni from another rink and had to tow it to campus. Once the Zamboni arrrived it was apparent the task of getting it started was going to be difficult as it seemingly was older than most of the people in attendance. After doing some quick maintanance, the ice was finally ready and the puck was set to drop after a 2hour delay. The Owls were obviously chomping at the bit to get started as once the puck dropped they blistered their opponents with a fierce attack and before anyone in attendance knew what happened Hoosac was on top 3-0. Matthew Martin, Jon Gorman and John Bragga all tallied for Hoosac within the first 6 minutes of the game and it appeared as if Hoosac would cruise to an easy victory. This was not to be the case as the pesky Kingswood-Oxford team settled down and began to frustrate Hoosac at every turn. Before the end of the first period, the Wyverns got on the board off a defensive zone turnover by the Owls and made it a 3-1 game. The second period turned into a special teams affair as both teams had players sent to the sin bin on multiple occassions. After a series of missed opportunnities, Will Flynn hopped off the bench, broke down the left wing and buried a shot between the legs of the Wyvern goalie and Hoosac had regained their 3 goal lead. This lead was to be shortlived as Kingswood tallied a power play goal less than 2 minutes later and the 2nd period ended with Hoosac leading 4-2. The third period saw both teams with glorious scoring chances but neither team could solve the opposing netminder during this 18 minute stretch. The final minute was tense as Kingswood pulled their goalie and kept the pressure in the Hoosac zone but Mathieu Carpentier stood tall in the net and Hoosac skated away with a 4-2 victory. It was a gratifying win for Hoosac as they ended the NEPSIHA portion of their schedule with 4 wins in their final 5 games.

Next up for Hoosac is Northwood in Lake Placid, NY on Wednesday, March 2.

February 29, 2011

Hoosac Owls hockey team gave all they got and want to give more.  On a cold Saturday evening the depleted Hoosac Hockey team traveled to Millbrook, NY to take on Millbrook School. Hoosac was forced to dress only 12 skaters due to illness and injury. The Millbrook team has been enjoying one of their best years in recently memory including a win over perpetually #1 ranked Kent School. Hoosac was coming off an emotional win vs. Vermont Academy on Wednesday and did not want to be caught with an emotional letdown. This was not to be the case as the Owls battled Millbrook every step of the way. The first period was a defensive struggle as Millbrook outshot Hoosac 9-6 in the first period. Both goaltenders were equal to the task as the period ended with zeroes on the board for both teams. Hoosac made their first mistake of the game early in the second period as a turnover in the defensive zone ended up in the back of the net and Millbrook took a 1-0 lead. However, the suddenly rejuvinated Hoosac power play went into action.  Tony Jorgenson banked a shot in from a poor angle for the Owls, his fifth power play goal in the last two games. The second period ended with the teams deadlocked at one. The third period was a tale of two halves. Millbrook carried the play in the first portion of the period as Mathieu Carpentier made several saves to keep the teams even. The Owls dominated the second portion of the period and had two clear breakaways but could not cash in and regulation time ended at 1-1. For the second straight game the Owls were headed to overtime. As time ticked away it appeared as if the game would end in a 1-1 tie. However with under 30 seconds to go in OT, Millbrook won a faceoff and was able to get the puck and a big body to the net where they deflected home the game winner. The team had nothing to hang their heads about as they displayed excellence in every facet of the game and will look to get back to their winning ways on Wednesday vs. a strong Portledge team.

THE DREAM IS TRUE THE OWLS SEE IT THROUGH

After a long wait the Hoosac Owls renewed acquaitances with their rival Vermont Academy. After being cancelled due to snow in 2010, Hoosac waited patiently for their first home game vs. Vermont since 2007. As usual this game did not disappoint the fans in attendance in North Adams.

The Owls started with a blistering pace in the first period outshooting their opponents 17-4 in the first stanza. However, the scoreboard did not reflect the Owls pace and Hoosac found themselves down 2-1 after one period. Vermont opened up the scoring with a power play goal but Jon Gorman answered with a power play goal of his own 4 minutes later. Jon found the back of the net with a perfectly placed shot from the point. With Hoosac dominating play, Vermont was able to capitilize on a defensive breakdown by Hoosac and took a 2-1 lead into the second period. Hoosac was not deterred as they continued to carry play deep into the middle period. Once again the power play picked the team up as they converted on the prettiest play of the year. Thomas Carlaccini finished the tic tac toe play at the back door on great passing from Jon Gorman and Tony Jorgenson. Even though Hoosac was the dominant team the whole period, the Vermont goalie held his ground and the game entered the third period knotted at two. It took eight minutes but Hoosac finally secured their first lead of the game as Tony Jorgenson deflected home a shot from Jon Gorman for Hoosac's third power play goal of the game. It looked for all to see that the Jorgenson goal would be the game winner but it was not to be. With 10 seconds left in the game and the Vermont goaltender pulled for an extra attacker. The ref pointed to the back of the net even though no one in the arena saw the puck cross the line. The puck was sitting on the back of the net and the referee was adament. To make matters worse, the Owls were somehow 2 men down and had to kill a 5 on 3 in OT. Not only did Hoosac pull up their bootstraps and kill the 5 on 3 but they never allowed a shot on goal. Moments later Hoosac was awarded a power play of their own. They were not going to let this opportunity slip by. Once again, Tony Jorgenson found his way to the front of the net and tipped home the Jon Gorman shot from the point for a well deserved 4-3 victory. This was a win that the boys worked hard for and finally got the win. Great job Owls!

Next up for Hoosac is Millbrook on Saturday February 19.