Fourty-one seconds.
Plenty of things can happen in that seemingly short amount of time. Someone could win the lottery, snow could start falling, a dog could get adopted.
But on Saturday night in Everett Arena, 41 seconds was all it took for Concord to break the zero on the scoreboard and begin its offensive implosion in its 6-1 routing over Keene.
The Tide (5-0) skated out and went to work. Sophomore defenseman Jack Shoemaker struck first on a feed from Joey Tarbell as Shoemaker went glove side with a wrist shot.
It only took another two minutes before sophomore winger A.J. Dow scored a shorthanded goal as Shoemaker picked up another point with the assist.
The first period bonanza didn’t stop there, however. Dow, who finished with four total points, picked up his second goal of the night as he sped down the top of the ice past four Blackbirds skaters leaving him all alone with goalie Orion Murphy.
All three of the Tide’s goals were scored by underclassmen and then the seasoned vets showed up with top liners Colin Nelson and Cam McGonigle. The two senior alternate captains exercised a series of precise passes in front of the net with Nelson sending the puck home.
It’s the kind of start that coach Dunc Walsh not only wanted to see, but expected.
“We came out strong and we said ‘let’s jump on them, let’s not give them any life,’” he said. “They came out and finished early, got that four goal lead which was nice.”
That lead was slightly tested in the middle period, however, as the Blackbirds (1-3) started generated odd skater rushes in the form of three-on-two and two-on-one against Concord. Eventually, the visitors scored with 7:47 left in the second when junior winger Noah Parrelli scored on a wrist shot that went over goalie Kevin Jones’ left shoulder to make it 4-1.
While the Blackbirds continued to show flashes of offense throughout the night, Parrelli’s goal was the only thing to show for it as the Tide defense clamped down and the offense reappeared for the crimson and white.
Shortly after Parrelli’s goal, Concord second line center Donovan Hayes poked the puck past Murphy’s foot to make it 5-1. Hayes earned another point a few minutes later with an assist on Parker Fredrickson’s goal to make the game 6-1.
The production slowed as the late afternoon turned into the evening, but Concord remained relentless in its effort to score another that would have made the game a running clock as it would have only stopped for time outs or injuries.
Regardless, the results left the Tide plenty happy – especially being without their two captains in Brooks Craigue and Tyler Coskren, both out with injuries and slated to return soon.
“We just controlled it the whole game and dominated from the start,” McGonigle said. “Once we get everyone back, I think teams are going to really struggle stopping us.”
Concord will have a rest day Sunday before it travels for its game against Trinity on Monday and then will have a few days of practice before one of the biggest regular season games when Bedford visits on Jan. 15
Monday’s game will be played at Saint Anselm’s with puck drop slated for 5:30 p.m.