GOFFSTOWN – His team had all but dominated its opponent for the last 38 minutes of hockey. It finally figured out how to beat Goffstown goalie Steve Case. And it turned nothing – a possible 1-0 loss – into something – a 1-1 tie.

But during a post-game interview on Monday, Jan. 8, at Sullivan Arena, Brett Borbidge couldn’t stop running his hands through his tousled black hair. If he could, he probably would have yanked out every last strand.

“This has been the most frustrating few games for us,” said Borbidge, a junior forward for the Bow boys hockey team. “It’s been very frustrating.”

Such is the state of the Falcons, a team used to dominating every aspect of the game, including on the scoreboard. In the 1-1 tie at Goffstown, Bow outshot the Grizzlies, 42-22. In the final two periods and overtime, the margin was 34-13.

Bow managed five power plays, but converted just its final one, with 1:27 left in regulation. Though Evan Pratt finally put one past Case – an emerging star for a much-improved Goffstown squad – Bow’s struggles were nothing new.

In its past four Division II games entering Wednesday, Jan. 10, the Falcons scored just six goals, three against a winless Merrimack squad. Meanwhile, Bow has consistently flirted with the 40-shot plateau and, on some occasions, broken it.

Compounding matters for the Falcons is the feeling they have everything else to compete. They have all-state goalie Corey Cotnoir, a player Borbidge said was “the best goalie in the state,” before adding, “But we can’t make (him) stand on his head every game.”

Their defense, led by junior Mike Wolfe and senior Pat Acone, is also tested, and, as a whole, they’re experienced; Bow has 14 juniors and seniors.

After losing several of last year’s top scorers to graduation, Bow coach Tim Walsh knew it would be a struggle scoring this season. But as his team ran its record to 3-2-1 entering a game at Dover on Wednesday, Jan. 10, Walsh could only wonder when all these shots would start finding the back of the net.

“We don’t have a lot of natural goal-scorers on this team, but the guys, they’re trying hard,” said Walsh, whose team’s two losses both came by a 2-1 score. “It’s a matter of concentrating in practice and finishing there and carrying it over to the game. We’ve been really working the past week or so just on picking corners; like don’t even look at the goalie, just look at the open corners of the net.”

Borbidge said he’s sure Bow will devote some upcoming practices totally to shooting, but Walsh said it will be up to players like Borbidge, Pratt and freshman Greg Bueddeman to eventually cure what is currently ailing the Falcons.

“But,” Walsh said, mentioning others like Brendan Bly, Jack Mulvaney and Alex Stevens, “they can’t score every goal.”