Nashua comes in second at tourney

The Nashua Panthers Mite 2 hockey team finished second in Groton’s annual Christmas in the Woods tournament.

In Game 1, the Panthers opened against the Northern Rhode Island Vikings with the teams skating to a 2-2 tie.. After falling down by one, Sean Morrissey’s perfect position in front of the net allowed the Panthers to tie it up, set up by Ashok Arun and Michael Jolicoeur. Trailing by a goal with a minute left, Nathan Arsenault slammed home a rebound of a Jake Hall shot for the tie.

The second game saw some hard skating from the Panthers, but Groton was too fast and won by a 3-0 score. Cody Sheedy was very strong in net.

In Game 3, the Panthers had to win over PAT to advance to the tournament finals. The Panthers came out strong, opening up a 4-1 lead at one point. PAT came roaring back and tied the game up with two minutes to play. The Panthers pulled the goalie for an extra attacker and Nick Dapolito knocked in his second of the game to take a 5-4 lead. Other scorers for Nashua were Hall with two goals and Arun with one. Assists went to Hall (two), Jolicoeur, Nolan Lacroix, Brian Chisholm and Ryan Scanlon. Goaltender Liam Smith preserved the victory with a spectacular pad save in the closing seconds.

The finals saw a rematch with undefeated Groton. The Panthers improved as the game went on, but it wasn’t enough and Nashua fell 4-1. Hall scored the lone goal, assisted by Grace Arsenault.

The defensive unit of Arsenault, Noah Bird, Danielle Chisholm, Kelly Downie, Evan Hall and Nick Wollrath was spectacular throughout the tournament.

Panthers drop close one

The shorthanded Nashua Panther Bantam II hockey team was edged by Watertown (Mass.) 2-1 in Valley League action. Vinny Silvestri scored the Panthers only goal, burying a wrist shot from the slot on a feed from John Butler and Tim Trudel. Brad Lyman and Declan Stone were solid on defense, playing a physical game in front of goalie AJ Bender.

Nashua play two

The Nashua Squirt Majors hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against the Cyclones in Granite State action. The defensive efforts of Eric Pica, Michael Zogin, Eric Langley and Ryan Archibald helped keep the Cyclones at bay for most of the game. Jeff Gerhard led the team with a goal and an assist, with Brendan Martin scored the other goal.

In NEHL action, the Majors defeated the Jr. Monarchs 6-2. Martin had a hat trick and an assist and Joey Paige had two goals and three assists. The last goal was scored by Eric Langley. Curtis Wirbal was outstanding between the pipes in both weekend games.

Flames get win, tie

The Sports Arena 1996 AAA Flames played the Hanover Wild, defeating them 5-1. The Flames got a goal and two assists from Matt Moriarty while Noah Dubplessis and Andrew Kehas had a goal and an assist each. Connor Powell and Mike Donlan also had a goal each while John Foote and Josh Roy each had an assist.

The Flames also skated to a 4-4 tie against the Lowell Junior River Hawks. Powell had two goals and Duplessis added a goal and an assist. Kehas chipped in with a goal while Moriarty (two), Roy, Patrick Gagliardi and Mark Feeney had assists. Mitch Schirch and Ian Beliveau shared goaltending duties for the Flames.