KEENE, NH — Jeremy Baker thinks it’s possible a 3-1-0 record in December may have given his Manchester Kings the wrong idea of what is required to be successful in Division I hockey.
Keene High was happy to dispel any misconceptions, handing Manchester a 7-1 thumping, Wednesday at Keene Community Ice Arena.
”When you look at the first four games we played and look at their top lines compared to (Keene’s) top line. (Keene) is pretty talented, they can move the puck well,” said Baker. “And you could see with our team tonight, too much standing around, too stagnant. You can get away with it against teams that aren’t as talented and do it individually. But you can’t do it against the better teams.”
The Blackbirds (3-2-0) scored three goals in a 2:45 span of the first period to take control and never looked back.
Zade Trebulzki had a pair of goals to lead the Keene attack. But the Blackbirds got goals from six different players and points from 12. Their seven goals were just one short of their offensive output in their first four games combined.
”The bottom line is that some of our first four games could have gone the other way,” said Baker. “So I think tonight was an eye-opener for our guys. At least, I hope it was.”
Manchester’s lone goal came in the second period on a blast from the point by defenseman Logan Parsons. Cade Tripp picked up the assist.
Keene outshot Manchester 26-19 but beyond the raw numbers, the Blackbirds were using superior puck movement and positioning to generate much higher quality scoring chances.
Even on four power play chances, Manchester failed to put together a consistent, cohesive offensive attack. In fact, Keene got shorthanded goals from Griffin Erickson in the second period and Trebulzki in the third.
But it was a power play goal that got Keene’s offense started, less than five minutes into the game. Andrew Robichaud took a perfect centering pass from behind the net by Jack Quarry and snapped a one-timer past Manchester goalie Cam Roberge (19 saves).
just over a minute later, Keene doubled its lead on a goal from Ethan Ahnert. A short time later, Trebulzki potted his first of the night and suddenly, the Blackbirds had a 3-0 lead as the crowd was still trickling in.
Second-period goals by Tobin McDermott and Erickson pushed the Keene lead to 5-0 before Manchester was able to answer back on the goal from Parsons.
Any thoughts Manchester may have had about a comeback were squelched by Trebulzki’s shorthanded goals 2:46 into the third period.
Keene’s Aldrix Abrams closed the scoring in the final minute.
Manchester returns to action Saturday at JFK Coliseum against Bow. Puck drops at 6:20 pm.
