Head coach Chris D’Agostino speaks highly of Manchester Central junior Tyler Clark, and against Trinity High School, Clark gave his ice hockey coach good reason to flatter.

On Saturday, Jan. 30, the Hooksett resident blasted two goals to lead the Little Green to a dominating 6-2 win over the now 7-3-1 Pioneers at JFK Memorial Coliseum. Central improved to 5-5-0.

“If I had 22 of him, I’d win every game,” said D’Agostino. “He’s all heart, he’s Mr. Hustle, and he’s a great player who means a ton to this team.”

With 13:43 to play in the second period, Clark struck for his first tally when he launched a powerful slap shot from the point into the upper portion of the net to give his team a 2-0 edge.

Hooksett’s Mackenzie Myers pushed the edge to 3-0 little more than four minutes later; his shorthanded goal on a breakaway came courtesy of a perfect pass from senior Kyle Pratte.

Trinity cracked the scoreboard at the 8:17 mark of the second stanza, but Clark again extended his team’s edge early in the third period when he flicked a wrist shot over the goal line after a hesitation move.

The Little Green cruised to the victory behind 26 saves from freshman Evan Hockensmith, who started just his second game of the year.

Starting goalie Rene Couture had the day off, and D’Agostino said he knew there was no drop in talent between the two.

“It really comes down to goaltending for us,” said the Central mentor. “It was (Hockensmith’s) turn to play. He works hard in practice, and they’re really at the same level.”

Inconsistency has been Central’s biggest foe to date. The Little Green entered play against the Pioneers with consecutive losses.

On Jan. 23 Bishop Guertin thumped CHS, 7-3, then Manchester Memorial felled its city rival on Jan. 27.

Aside from the lopsided defeat to the Cardinals, who are atop the Division I standings, the Little Green have played well against the top teams in the league.

Central has toppled Trinity, Pinkerton Academy, Berlin, Concord and St. Thomas Aquinas. Those teams follow Bishop Guertin in the standings.

“We have a tendency to play at the level of our opponent, when in reality we could be playing better,” said D’Agostino. “Any team in this league has a shot to make a run at the title.”