SALEM, N.H. – Anticipation was in the air Wednesday evening at the ICenter in Salem.
With the Blue Devils taking on rival Windham, the crowed packed the arena that both teams call home. and the Jaguars delivered.
Tied through two periods, Windham’s Nate Crowley erupted for two third-period goals as the Jaguars earned a 4-1 win.
“It’s all about just playing our game, we really can’t be concerned with what opponent we are playing, we need to just bring a consistent effort each game,” said Windham coach Shawn Dunn. “We play our best when we don’t look at what is in front of us, and rise to the occasion.”
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead within the first two minutes, as a shifty move from Max Condon got around the defender for a one-on-one opportunity, before a backhander put Salem in front.
Just three minutes after Condon’s score, Windham tied things up at 1-1, after a wrist-shot from Aiden Quaglietta found the back of the net.
The Windham goal lit a fire in Salem netminder Colby Savageau, who stopped 24 saves on the evening, including 16 in the second period.
Seconds into the third, a goal from Crowley put the Jaguars in front for good, on a tip-in shot.
“Salem is our big rival, and we all played well in the third and clicked,” said Crowley. “We didn’t get too down on ourselves heading into the third, it was a tied game, and we stuck to the process.”
Later in the third, AJ Martini’s wrist shot gave Windham a two goal lead, before Crowley added a goal with 25 seconds left on an empty net.
For Dunn and his Jaguars, a win over the neighboring rival gives a much needed boost of confidence.
“We’ve been having a pretty good run of it, it wipes away the bad taste of the loss we had, so it’s a good stepping stone heading into some tough games we have coming up,” said Dunn. “Wins during the week are always a great way to go into the weekend on a good note.”
Follow Evan Applebaum on Twitter at EvanApplebaum2.
Windham 4, Salem 1
First Period:
13:01, Max Condon goal, 1-0 Salem
10:55, Aiden Quaglieta goal, 1-1
Third Period:
14:33, Nate Crowley goal, 2-1 Windham
8:38, AJ Martino goal, 3-1 Windham
0:25, Nate Crowley goal, 4-1 Windham