BostonFest Hockey tournament

Each year about this time, I gather together a bunch of the folks I play hockey with every Tuesday and Friday mornings and enter a team into the BostonFest hockey tournament. We've been doing this for about five years, and it is a blast. There is some really intense hockey that goes on, the only real competitive hockey I play all year, as our morning hockey is just pick-up teams. We've gone to the finals a couple of years, although last year was a bit of a downer. I write up stories after each game, and I'll post them here. Look for game 2 and 3 writeups tomorrow night. And, with any luck, a championship game story late Sunday night.

Dawn Patrol Drops Tough One to The Saints, 5-2

Mathews Arena, BOS - In the opening game of the 2006 BostonFest Hockey Tournament, the Dawn Patrol fell to the St. Catherine Saints, 5-2. A hard fought game that was much closer than the score indicated, the loss puts the Dawn Patrol at 0-1, with two more games remaining. The top two teams in the Huskie Division will battle it out for the championship Sunday night.

The game started out quite well for the gold-clad Patrol. Dick Powers, playing in his first tournament, broke down the ice and tried one of his patented roof jobs, only to have it turned aside. The Dawn Patrol remained aggressive and kept the pressure on the Saints. It finally paid off with about 7 minutes left in the period, as defenseman Jimmy McMahon started out in his own end and carried the puck down the right side. He made it to the offensive faceoff dot and dished a perfect pass to Joe Valente, parked in front of the crease. The goalie stopped the first one, but when he couldn't find the rebound, Valente gladly tapped it home to put the Patrol up, 1-0.

That's how the first period ended, with the Dawn Patrol having the majority of the offensive ice time. And that's the way the second period started as well, with play running up and down the ice. However, Mark Bourgeois was called for roughing by retaliating after getting his stick chopped from his hands, and the Saints were quick to capitalize. The face off was won back to the point, and the defenseman slapped down a shot that goalie Jonathan Arnold was able to stop. But he couldn't contain the rebound, so the center whacked away at it again, despite the best efforts of Richie McMahon. Goalie Arnold was able to stop one more shot, but the puck bounced right back on the Saints' stick and this time he was able to get it up and over the goalie, tying the game at 1-1.

The Saints jumped ahead 2-1 on a perfectly played 3 on 1 soon thereafter. The winger fed a last second pass to the streaking center, who chipped it up and over the diving Arnold. A frustrating break, to be sure, but on the ensuing faceoff (the Dawn Patrol was remarkably proficient in winning faceoffs all night long), John Abruzzese was able to chip a pass over to Brian Godfrey. Godfrey broke in all alone on the Saints netminder, and his shot trickled through the pads, knotting the game at 2-2. The second period ended with both teams locked in a tie.

But St. Catherine really began to carry the play into the Dawn Patrol end, as the boys in gold seemed to tire out. The Saints went ahead midway through the period, as a pass through the crease was shot on net and a sliding Arnold wasn't able to snag it, and it trickled underneath him. This was followed up by a nice turnaround shot from in close, as Tim Retelle battled gamely but ultimately unsuccessfully as the shot hit Arnold in the shoulder and popped in.

The last Saints goal was a bit of a fluke, as a centering pass from behind the net hit goalie Arnold in the back of the leg as he went out to cut down the pass. It caromed into the net for the final score of 5-2.

A very hard fought and even game, but it unfortunately resulted in a Dawn Patrol loss. But they have nothing to hang there heads about, as the game was close and could have gone either way. They are all looking forward to avenging the loss tomorrow, as they play two games. The first is at 5pm versus the Leafs, who beat the Dawn Patrol 2 years ago, 4-0, in the championship game.