Greenwich, CT-Brunswick defeated Nobles today at Hartong Rink in a fast paced, tightly contested match. The ice was tilted in Brunswick’s favor all day but Nobles’ goaltender, Tyler Bloomfield was strong all afternoon.
The first period saw a really quick start with Brunswick generating chances early and often. A 2 on 1 chance early in the first developed only to be shut down by Bloomfield, Nobles’ confident, poised, sophomore goalie. Brunswick wouldn’t relent and continued their attack early but to no avail. After Brunswick’s continued pressure, Nobles was able to pop a puck loose and create a textbook 2 on 1, shot off far pad, and tucked the long rebound home. Brunswick was right back to their continued pressure and control of the game immediately following the goal against. The sustained pressure from Brunswick resulted in a late power play. Brunswick’s Sloan Farmer was able to rip snapshot through traffic and tie the game late in the first. Brunswick’s power play is ferocious. The talent and poise they showed on the PP was superb
The second period began with a couple early penalties going against Nobles. Brunswick’s lethal PP unit sustained pressure for nearly all for minutes of these penalties but Tyler Bloomfield was again, the best player for Nobles. Nobles began to get a bit physical and put Brunswick back on their heels a bit. Nobles’ physicality lead to a flurry of chances and some sustained pressure for the middle part of the second period. Brunswick’s Brendan Holahan was tested and looked sharp. Nobles was able to use that pressure and find themselves on a PP but it was Brunswick’s James Shannon who would control play with 10 seconds left on the Nobles PP. Shannon was able to knock down a loose puck, streak down the ice and tuck home a slick backhand breakaway to give Brunswick a 2-1 lead with 7:23 left in the second. Brunswick was able to keep their foot on the gas after taking the lead. Bloomfield was able to keep Brunswick off the board through a barrage of shots but Brunswick again found the back on the net. Off of a long shot from the point the puck hit a stick, popped up, a Brunswick player grabbed it, dropped it to himself, quick pass in front and Brunswick’s Drew DellaSalla buried it. All the momentum was clearly in Brunswick’s favor.
Nobles, undeterred by the two goal deficit, came out quick. 23 seconds into the third frame and Nobles found the back of the cage on a redirected shot from the point. Nobles was able to maintain puck possession for the minutes following their goal that brought it within 1. Brunswick got a little loose and sloppy with their playmaking. Nobles had their chances but we’re not able to capitalize. Brunswick’s Brendan Holahan was solid in the third period, and while he wasn’t tested a ton, he was confident and saw the puck well all day. Nobles pulled their keeper with 1:49 remaining and possessed the puck but were not able to find the back of the net.
It was an intense, playoff style game. While it was a one goal win for Brunswick, they were the overall better team today by a decent margin. Bloomfield was impressive for Nobles and gave his club a chance all afternoon.
Three stars
1st star: James Shannon, Brunswick
2nd star: Sloan Farmer, Brunswick
3rd star: Tyler Bloomfield, Nobles
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
