WINDSOR, Conn. -- So, that happened.
In what could only be termed a stunning result, Avon Old Farms humbled Loomis Chaffee, 7-0, on the road in prep school hockey action at the Savage/Johnson Rink here on The Island on Wednesday.
Both teams came in flying high, Avon at 15-2 and Loomis continuing its impressive run with a 10-2-2 record. But just like when Avon faced Kent last week, the anticipated clash between two strong teams ended in a rather unexpectedly lopsided score in favor of the Winged Beavers. Avon is now 16-2, Loomis 10-3-2.
Here's what we saw at the game:
Why Avon Old Farms won: Wave after wave of offense. Shot after shot. Constant motion, sharp puck movement. And one quick dagger to the heart at 3:43 of the first period, when J.P. Turner (East Falmouth, Mass.) scored a beauty off a feed from Drew Tsakounis that not only opened the scoring but also sent Loomis scorer and captain Cody Hoban (Guilford, Conn.) to the sidelines for the night with the nebulous "lower-body injury." Without question, losing one of their top players and offensive catalysts put Loomis at a concerted disadvantage for the rest of the game.
Although the spirited Pelicans made a game of it, keeping the score to 1-0 in the first, the second period was all Avon, the Winged Beavers filling the net four times to leave a reeling Loomis in the dust 5-0 at the second intermission.
Best player on the ice: Not to sound like a skipping CD or anything, but just like in the Kent game, the star of the show for Avon Old Farms was Tsakounis. The puck-moving defenseman set up the first goal of the game and didn't settle the rest of the way.
Not only did he snipe the game's sixth goal on a shot to the top shelf past Kyle Chauvette (New Boston, N.H.), he also provided a steady influence when defending, smartly walking the fine line between gambling and goofy with good choices at the blueline to keep the puck in Pelicans' end.
Other candidates for top player must include Avon's Timur Alishlalov (one goal, one assist) and, oh, yeah, we shouldn't forget the goalie, Conor Callaghan, who, depending on which shot count you trust, made 33 saves to earn the shutout. Captain Tabor Heaslip is always in this conversation as well.
Key play: On this night, although neither the injury to Hoban nor being rattled by two borderline-offside goals should be discounted, two different plays also helped irreversibly turned the tide.
Specifically, penalty problems in the second: With Avon up 2-0, a tripping infraction to Ryan Armstrong resulted in a power-play goal 23 seconds later by Alishlalov to make it 3-0.
Then, with the score 4-0, more Loomis frustration caused another tripping penalty, this one to Kennedy O'Connor (Springfield, Mass.). While O'Connor was in the box feeling shame, Patrick Neal took a Chase Ramsay stretch pass that was probably offside before burying it top shelf against Chauvette.
The combo of yet another power-play goal and yet another possible offside goal (some observers felt Avon's first goal was also offside) had a demoralizing effect on the home team. The bench noticeably sagged and the coaching staff expressed great frustration at what it perceived were bad calls.
Battle of the game: Unquestionably, the best battle of the game was Loomis defenseman and captain O'Connor against any Avon Old Farms forwards daring to carry the puck with their head down. O'Connor laid out at least two Winged Beavers with crushing, open-ice, clean checks that reminded Avon Old Farms that even though the score was lopsided, this wasn't going to be no scrimmage.
Most notably, O'Connor flattened Paul Davey at the blueline, knocking the Boston College commit from the game near the seven-minute mark of the second period with the score 5-0. Then, in the third, with the score 6-0, Davey crushed a rushing Nick Cyprian as the Winged Beaver was crossing the center line at full tilt. Cyprian struggled to get off but would later return, seemingly none the worse for wear other than ego bruises.
Analysis: When things started to get overwhelming for the Pelicans in the first, they did a good job of collapsing down low around their net to clog up the slot and prevent pucks from getting through. Most of Avon's goals were on odd-man breaks or setups during the power play, or when Avon was able to build up speed around the net.
When Loomis slowed down the game, the Pelicans were able to deflect or impede the Winged Beavers enough to push them to perimeter. This didn't happen often enough, obviously, but this could bode well when the Pelicans are in close games -- which they have become masters at winning -- down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
