The Tewksbury Redmen Squirt ‘A’ Hockey Team hit the road to Conway Arena in Nashua NH on Sunday 12/16 against a Groton team that was tied with the Redmen for 1^st place in their division.  The Redmen skated away with a 6-0 win and sole possession of 1^st place.

The Redmen parents and players had a late night at the Squirt Holiday Party and Groton took advantage of some sluggish play early in the game but Redmen super-goalie Caulin Martel made 3 early saves that would have had Tim Thomas cheering for him.  The Redmen were finally able to get their skating legs and started to put pressure on the Groton defense.  Timmy Sweeney and Trevor Lindsey both had excellent scoring chances 3 minutes into the game but the Groton goalie made the saves.  Groton fought back but the Redmen defense of Jade Owirka and Jared LeGrand made sure that no shots got through to the Redmen net.  The Redmen were finally able to get on the scoreboard with 2:18 left in the 1^st period when Jake McDonough stole the puck from a Groton forward and beat the goalie with a nice wrap-around move. 

The Redmen completely dominated the 2^nd period scoring 5 goals in a 7 minute span.  Justin Rooney got things started as he beat the Groton goalie with a hard wrist shot just 34 seconds into the period for the 2-0 lead.  With 8:45 remaining in the 2^nd period Jake McDonough scored his 2^nd goal of the game on nice backhander, assist to Evan Zonderman.  McDonough struck again just 1:10 later when he took a nice breakout pass from Chance Fitzgerald and beat the goalie on a pretty deke move.  Groton did battle back but once again great defensive plays from Austin Tingtella and Cam Whealan kept the Groton team off the scoreboard.  With 4:27 left in the 2^nd period the Redmen scored again to increase the lead to 5-0.  Kaylen Taddia started the play by knocking 2 Groton defenders to the ice and sending a pass to Justin Rooney in the high slot. Rooney’s shot was saved but Julia Stanizzi fought for the rebound and was able to slide a backhander into the back of the net as she was lying on the ice.  The Redmen closed out the scoring just 1:17 later as Shayne MacDonald fired a wrist shot over the goalie’s glove, assists to Evan Zonderman and Trevor Lindsey.

The Redmen controlled play in the 3^rd period and used their superior defensive play and goaltending to keep Groton off the scoreboard.  Kaylen Taddia worked hard on the forecheck, stealing the puck from a Groton defenseman, centering a nice pass to Maci Chapman in the slot, with Maci’s shot just missing the left corner.  Timmy Sweeney had a great chance to increase the lead but his wrist shot clang off the left post.  Chance Fitzgerald, Jared LeGrand, Jade Owirka, and Austin Tingtella all made great defensive plays in the 3^rd period to keep the puck away from the Redmen net.  Groton did have chances to score in the 3^rd period but Redmen goalie Caulin Martel made 3 saves on breakaways as well as a number of saves on point-blank shots.  For his outstanding efforts, Caulin took home the “Fireman” hat as player of the game and earned his shutout.

The Redmen Squirts would like to thank Coach Joe and his wife Stephanie for hosting the Team Party.