CONCORD – Even amidst a 4-0-0 start, Concord High boys’ hockey coach Dunc Walsh has pushed his players to find more consistency.
On Wednesday night against a Bedford team they’d beaten 7-1 just 10 days ago in the Brian C. Stone Memorial Tournament, the Tide put all the pieces together in their 5-0 victory at Everett Arena.
Rowan Arndt and Brooks Craigue each scored twice, and Joey Tarbell found the back of the net as well.
The Tide were assuredly helped in the first period by undisciplined play from the Bulldogs – Bedford (3-1-0) took four penalties, including a five-minute major – and had two separate 5-on-3 advantages, the first of which produced Tarbell’s goal.
In the second period, Concord asserted itself even more, seemingly possessing the puck in Bedford’s offensive zone for the vast majority of the 15-minute period. In that frame, the Tide outshot the Bulldogs 12-2 and scored twice: Craigue had both in just a 20-second span.
“Second and third (periods), I thought we played really well,” Walsh said. “We got the forecheck going. When we get the puck deep and pressure their D, that’s where we’re pretty good.”
Arndt added the fifth goal on a tip at the front of the net at 6:32 of the third. The two-goal performance was a much-needed jolt for the sophomore.
“He was due,” Walsh said. “That line’s played well, but they haven’t scored a lot, so it’s nice that, confidence-wise, (they) got a couple. Both of them were tips, right in front of the net where he needs to be.”
While Wednesday night was Concord’s first official game since beating Londonderry, 7-1, on Dec. 23, the Tide were most recently coming off of a 3-1 loss to Exeter in the Stone Tournament in Manchester. Though it didn’t count in the standings, it provided the Tide a reminder that they need to maintain their focus in every game.
“We hadn’t lost in a long time,” Walsh said of the loss to Exeter. “It’s good for our kids to (have a) reality check. We’re not invincible. We gotta come out and play hard every night.”
The Tide certainly took that message to heart against Bedford. In previous wins, namely Concord’s OT victory over Exeter on Dec. 21 and against Trinity on Dec. 17, the Tide let mistakes snowball, allowing their opponents to fight back into games.
On Wednesday, they provided no such opening.
The offense was relentless, firing 25 shots on goal (compared to Bedford’s 10), the defense snuffed out the few opportunities the Bulldogs had and goalie Kalan Gaudrault picked up his first career shutout, though he wasn’t tested all that much.
“Just a good win,” Walsh said. “Nice to get back after the tournament back to the regular season. Good, solid win.”