By Blake Santana
The Alvirne-Milford Admirals hockey squad dropped the puck on their season on Saturday, Dec. 2, against the Nashoba Tech Vikings. Although this game did not factor into NHIAA DII Standings, there was a lot to unpack, as the young team was able to get their skates moving in high school action for the first time since the end of February.
In a game that aired both on HCTV Channel 8 and Anchor Down Sports’ Facebook, Alvirne-Milford fell by a final score of 5-3, although the score is far from telling.
The first period was one of a high volume of scoring, with the Admirals tallying first on a goal from Brandon Callahan to make it 1-0 early on.
Unfortunately though, the ice would tilt toward the Vikings after Callahan’s goal. Nashoba Tech would go on to score the next four goals, all in relatively quick succession. While a couple of the goals were uncharacteristic for last year’s all-state honorable mention, Trent Scarbro, it is better to have these things happen in the preseason, than when games count towards the standings. Trent did face an onslaught of shots in the first, stopping 16 of 20 shots he saw.
Another thing the first period showed Alvirne-Milford fans is that this team is not afraid to throw the body around and play a physical brand of hockey.
Through one period, the score was 4-1 in favor of the Vikings.
Coming out to start the second period, the Admirals clearly had the upper hand; whether it was from a locker room pep talk from the coaching staff, or perhaps just getting their feet under them and being able to control the pace of the game.
At the halfway mark of the period, after Scarbro faced 25 shots in the first half of the game, he was pulled in a planned move for Kian Corcoran, as head coach, Dave Thibeault, planned to get not only all four lines rolling in this game, but also split the time between his two goalies as evenly as possible.
Braydon Atwood tallied the lone marker for the second period on a wrister from the point that beat the Nashoba netminder on his glove side to cut the lead down to 4-2 in favor of the Vikings.
In the third period, the Admirals and Vikings would both score a goal. James Nemeth got the puck in the net late for Alvirne-Milford after Nashoba tacked on an insurance goal with just about five minutes left in the game.
After coming in, in relief for Trent, Kian stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced, all while making acrobatic saves, one after another, as it seemed very few of the shots he did see were from low-quality chances, although he didn’t see the sheer number of shots Scarbro did, he had an excellent night in his own right.
Overall, the Admirals left some things to be desired, but played well for the first game of the season. Especially when it came to the physical aspect of the game. The score does not tell the full story. This game very well could have ended with a score of 3-2 in favor of the good guys. The Admirals have a lot to be proud of coming out of their first game played together as a team in the 2023-24 season.
The game served as a game where the Admirals got the metaphorical rust off, so to speak, and they will gear up for Lebanon-Stevens-Mascoma on Monday, December 11. That game will air live on Anchor Down’s YouTube Live. Coverage will start at 6:30 PM at James Campion III Arena in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Admirals had three players scoring “Stars.”
Our first star of the night was center Brandon Callahan. Callahan scored his first goal in an Admirals uniform tonight, as well as being a constant offensive presence.
Our second star of the night was goaltender, Kian Corcoran. Finishing off the game in net for the second half, he was excellent between the pipes, stopping all, but one shot he faced, including a couple of excellent sequences in the final frame.
The third star was James Nemeth, who put his name in the goal column, as well as being a physical force as per usual for the Admirals.
Some honorable mentions who didn’t get the nod of an official star of the night were Trent Scarbro, who stopped 21 of the 25 shots he saw, including some excellent saves to keep the game close, Braydon Atwood, who had the second Admirals goal, a wrist shot from the point that beat the Vikings’ netminder high on his glove side, and the pair of sophomore defensemen, Mason Tomkins and Landon Briand. The duo did not find their way onto the score sheet on Saturday evening, but they played with both a physical side, as well as showing some strong shifts in the offensive zone.