#7 BC High Skates Past #5 St. Mary’s of Lynn 2-0

Boston, MA – Neutral Zone made the trip to UMass Boston to watch a top ten matchup of Super 8 likely teams: the visiting St. Mary’s Lynn and home team BC High. The Eagles scored within the first five minutes and then put the game away with an empty netter late to skate to a 2-0 victory on home ice. 

The game was generally played in transition with each team playing tough defense and limiting offensive chances. When lapses did happen, goalies Sal Caruso (Stoneham, MA) and Tom Kiesewetter (Plymouth, MA) were up to the task. 

BC High struck first in the opening minutes of the game when forward Brian Bulger (Norwell, MA) wristed a shot that deflected off a body and into the net. The teams traded some chances over the remainder of the game, but it wasn’t until Aidan Carey (Braintree, MA) broke through the neutral zone and sauced the puck into the empty net to salt it away. 

Both teams work hard and have some skill on the front and backends. Both should be contenders down the stretch and will be tough outs in the Super 8 tournament. Below are some general notes on who played well.

NZ Notes

For the home team, BC High, several players had strong afternoons. Kiesewetter did not face a ton of pressure, but he stood tall and kept his rebounds under control to earn the shutout.  Up front, Bulger was solid. He is tough on the puck and moves well through the middle of the ice. He drives the puck wide and has the confidence at this level to make plays. Carey made some plays and has quick feet and good edges. On more than a few occasions he drove wide and then pulled back to hit a trailing forward or defender. He is also counted on to play big defensemen minutes when the game was in doubt protecting a 1-0 lead. Ryan Flaherty (Milton, MA) had a nice day and was consistently noticeable. The 2005 is long and has a good set of hands. On a few occasions, he made defenders miss and got the puck to scoring areas in front of the net. On the back-end, Michael Dragon (Milton, MA) plays a ton of minutes and is a strong defensive presence. He has a long reach and frame and cuts down space well. He makes simple outlets easily and when he gets in trouble isn’t afraid to chip into the safe areas. 

For the visiting Spartans, Caruso kept them in the game through the first and second. He was patient and moved well across his crease to cut down scoring chances. He is mobile in net and reads the play well. He challenged shooters and took away angles. Davis Kinne (Swampscott, MA) plays in all situations and is counted on to drive the offense from the back-end. While he didn’t have his best night, he made several nice reads to easily get out of his zone, a few nice passes to spring the forwards and had two of St Mary’s best offensive chances around the goal. His defense partner, Alex Nazarian (Andover, MA) had a strong day as well. He is a smooth-skating puck mover. At times he made some questionable decisions but also had some strong reads to keep pucks in at the offensive blueline. He also has a quick release from the point to get shots to the net. Upfront, Brady Bullock was noticeable. He is smaller and has a quick first step. He made some nice plays in tight spaces to create chances. 

Three Stars:

  1. G Tom Kiesewetter – BC High
  2. F Matt Keohane – BC High 
  3. D Davis Kinne – St. Mary’s Lynn