Third-Period Surge Sends Sasquatch Past Papermen at Salem Ice Center

December 13, 2025 — Salem Ice Center, Salem, NH

The Salem Sasquatch turned a tightly contested game into a decisive victory Saturday night, exploding for four third-period goals to defeat the Holyoke Papermen 7–3 at the Salem Ice Center.

After 40 minutes of back-and-forth hockey that saw the teams deadlocked, Salem leaned on depth scoring, special teams, and a dominant closing stretch to pull away. A four-goal night from Tom Tracy, paired with a six-point performance from Brendan Young, powered the Sasquatch to one of their most complete wins of the season.

Holyoke struck first on the power play just over four minutes into the game. Max Breon finished a setup from Noah Hemenway and Harrison Avery at 4:08 to give the Papermen an early 1–0 lead.

Salem answered midway through the period when Brendan Young buried an even-strength goal at 11:34, assisted by Mark Blaney and John Hamilton. Holyoke regained the lead less than a minute later as Brody Trew scored at 12:28, but the Sasquatch responded again late in the frame.

At 18:31, Tom Tracy found the back of the net off feeds from Ricky Kramer and Young, evening the score at 2–2 heading into intermission.

Salem grabbed its first lead of the night at 10:30 when Young scored his second goal, finishing a passing sequence from Tracy and Kramer.

The Papermen responded quickly, as Trew tallied his second of the game at 11:54, assisted by Breon, tying the game once again.

The remainder of the period featured heavy physical play and multiple penalties, but neither team was able to break the deadlock.

Tracy broke the tie at 3:35, scoring his second of the night off assists from Young and Blaney. Just under five minutes later, Tracy struck again at 8:22, this time finishing a play set up by Blaney and Kramer to make it 5–3.

Momentum swung firmly in Salem’s favor at 10:56 when Brendan Young added a short-handed goal, pushing the lead to three. The Sasquatch capped the scoring at 15:33 as Tracy completed his four-goal performance with a power-play tally, assisted by Young and Kramer.

From there, Salem closed out the game with disciplined defensive play and strong goaltending.  

Salem’s Dave Weare got his first win behind the bench

Postgame Breakdown

Shots on Goal: Holyoke 60, Salem 54
Power Plays: Holyoke 1-for-9, Salem 1-for-2
Penalty Minutes: Holyoke 6, Salem 28

Goaltending:

• Ryan Creenan (Salem): 57 saves on 60 shots (Win)
• Chris Holland (Holyoke): 47 saves on 54 shots (Loss)

Three Stars of the Game

1st Star- Tom Tracy (Salem) — 4 goals,1 assist
2nd Star- Brendan Young (Salem) — 3 goals, 3 assists
3er Star- Ryan Creenan (Salem) — 57 saves on 60 shots and the win