North Billerica, MA – Tonight’s tilt at the Chelmsford Forum is a rare occurrence in playoff hockey where two teams from the same hometown are battling it out. This matchup featured St. John’s Shrewsbury vs. Shrewsbury HS and there was a palpable buzz from the second we walked into the arena. Each fan section easily brought about 100 students plus parents and other family members crowding the other sections. Not much business was getting done in Shrewsbury this afternoon…
The first period lived up to the hype as both teams were flying. The student sections were vocal and chanting all period long. The Colonials were moving the puck with precision in this first frame and that made it tough for the Pioneers to maintain zone time. Ultimately the Pioneers may be more muscular but the Colonials were stronger on their sticks. The seal was broken 10 minutes in off a nifty passing play. Junior Owen Cardosi skated over the blue line and found sophomore Dylan Lemay at the far post and he smartly found a cutting freshman Eli Cardosi at the opposite post: tic-tac-goal 1-0 Colonials. At this point, the fan section lost their minds and the decibel level jumped up a couple of notches. The Colonials had all the momentum but that changed two minutes later as St. John’s got that goal back. Junior defender Andrew Dowd threw a shot on net from the point that clanked off a couple of bodies in front and dropped to the ice behind senior goalie Matt Sande: tie game 1-1. That would be our score after one.
In the second period it was more of the same in terms of the pace of play: fast and frenetic. Both teams were giving it all they’ve got tonight and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. The physicality really picked up in this middle frame and St. John’s was found guilty of a penalty here but the Colonials were unable to cash in. Both teams traded punches equally through the 15 minute period and this game will go to a decisive third to see who wins the Battle of the Bury.
The final period was a frantic scramble by both teams to get the backbreaking goal that would seal a victory. Both teams were flying in this frame and both had numerous Grade A chances. It turns out there can only be one winner though. Three minutes into the final stanza senior defender Evan MacDonald fed junior blue liner Mitchell Albert at the point and he fired one home through a sea of bodies cleanly to make it 2-1 SJS. At that point, the building was really juiced and the Pioneers fed off the energy. As the period wore on that momentum began to shift Shrewsbury’s way and they had a ton of sustained zone time putting numerous shots on net around the five minute mark. There were a couple of sparkling chances but none got through senior goalie Dan Laursen. The Colonials pulled their goalie, but to no avail. Speedster Max Shustak added an empty netter and SJS took the win 3-1.
Three Stars:
- D Mitchell Albert, St. John’s Shrewsbury
- G Dan Laursen, St. John’s Shrewsbury
- G Matt Sande, Shrewsbury
TTPA: F Eli Cardosi, Shrewsbury
NZ Notes:
This game did not disappoint in terms of the in-town rivalry. It’s one thing for two teams to play each other, but you could see from the interactions on the ice: these two teams did not like each other and there was a lot of chirping, pushing and shoving. In addition, it was impressive to watch these teams get after it: SJS has a strong senior-led core and they play fast which is why they were able to knock off Super 8 teams this year. Shrewsbury is on the younger side in terms of its roster, but they have great vision on offense and their passing mastery tops anything that we have seen so far at any level in MIAA play.
For Shrewsbury, Matt Nuzzolilo reads plays nearly instantaneously. He is small, but his awareness and IQ are some of the best we’ve seen on the season. He knows how to avoid checks and how to dissect the offensive zone and he makes an impact on every shift. The defensive tandem of juniors Nico Evangelous and Tom Belbin was critical to the team’s success. The Colonials play an up-tempo style and encourage the defense to jump into the rush and they both were more than willing to do so with slick skating strides and shifty moves in traffic. Junior Jamison Alicandro was great in driving to the net and squatting on the puck all game long while his freshman teammate Eli Cardosi made himself an absolute pain to play against by getting in deep on the forecheck.
For SJS, Sean Clark was a wrecking ball all game, lining up hits along the walls and pushing opponents off the puck. Matt Myers continued to show his gamebreaking speed and excellent shot torque, causing headaches for opposing defenders when he got loose. Junior forward Max Shustak was crashing the crease all night long but he also used his speed on the backcheck. We also liked Will Brophy’s physical play and chirping the fan section on his way by: he cares not for your jeers, they only make him stronger.
Game 2: Westford Academy vs Waltham
North Billerica, MA – In the second game of the Chelmsford Forum doubleheader the Grey Ghosts of Westford Academy took on the Hawks of Waltham. The crowd was late arriving to this game but both sides had good turnouts: Waltham likely brought close to 100 students and Westford may have been close to 150. Westford Academy, in particular, brought the heat with a Hawaiian shirt theme, book em Danno.
In the first period, the story was the skating game of the Grey Ghosts who were tenacious for all 15 minutes and won nearly every race to the puck in all three zones. They have an attack mentality as a team and there is no such thing as a bad shot. They peppered sophomore goalie Jack Perry with shots in that first frame. It did not take long to crack the scoresheet: 45 seconds in senior Cameron Pacifico went behind the net and found junior Sean Milanette outside the dot who zipped a pass to the slot where senior Jason Bunyon one-timed it by Perry: 1-0 Grey Ghosts. About nine minutes later they padded their lead when Perry fielded a SOG but could not find the puck. Opportunistic forward Evan Twombly could and stuffed it home to make it 2-0 Westford Academy. After 1, the Grey Ghosts looked in control.
That is until period two. After the first was over, head coach John Maguire kept his team on the bench for a few extra minutes for a pep talk and as a result the team came out of the locker room with a fury that overwhelmed Westford Academy. They played more physical and stepped up their pace which forced the Grey Ghosts into more mistakes. Despite this, sophomore goalie Christian Guglielmo was calm, cool and collected in net. He made some great saves to keep the game scoreless. But he didn’t get to everything: on the man advantage senior captain Justin Moran made a nice cross-ice pass to the tape of Dylan Fogg who buried it on the far side: 2-1 Westford Academy. There were additional chances for Waltham that period, including a D zone turnover by the Grey Ghosts which led to two great scoring chances – one of which was a missed open net hitting the right post. Despite the pressure – the lead remained 2-1 into the third.
In the final frame, the opening few minutes looked about as even as you could get for a playoff game. The teams traded chances, created turnovers and developed odd-man rushes as a result. As the period wore on, Waltham continued to gain momentum and soon they owned possession, putting tremendous pressure on WA’s defense. At the five minute mark, the team thought they had scored the equalizer, but it was called back due to a high stick and the Waltham faithful was none too pleased about these developments. Still, the team continued to make a hard push and sure enough with a minute and a half to go they pulled their goalie and junior forward Anthony Attardo shoveled the puck home in a mad scramble at the cage to make it 2-2. Once again, the building was deafening to the sound of the Hawks fans hooting and hollering. Regulation play ended in a tie, so on to sudden death we went.
In the 4-on-4 OT period, the play was a bit more open and there were plenty of scoring chances for both sides…but both goalies were excellent and you could tell both teams were starting to get tired, flubbing shots and missing their targets. The teams were working so hard that Waltham actually ran out of water on the bench and had fans throwing down water bottles from the stands as play was going on. Later, a few intrepid Waltham fans would run to the nearest faucet to fill up the team’s water bottles late in the first OT to sustain the warriors. The first OT would conclude with no goals being scored.
The next OT period was 3-on-3, which really opened things up and for the first few minutes it looked as though we were destined for a shootout, but that would not be necessary. Junior forward Sean Milanette scored the biggest goal of his life going bar down on Jack Perry to win the quarterfinal and send the Grey Ghosts to the semis: 3-2 was the final.
Three Stars:
- F Sean Milanette, Westford Academy
- G Christian Guglielmo, Westford Academy
- G Jack Perry, Waltham
TTPA: D Justin Cormier, Waltham
NZ Notes:
Just when you thought the first game was the pinnacle of Mass HS playoff hockey, this one supersedes it. A double OT instant classic that featured a lot of momentum shifts but no lack of effort from either side. It’s a shame somebody had to lose this game because quite honestly both teams played equally well and were quite evenly matched. Waltham was heavier on the puck but Westford Academy was a bit quicker and more creative, if not cavalier, in their playmaking. WA’s skating game was a tough assignment but Waltham continued to work hard and was able to break through late in order to draw even and create chances to win it during OT.
For Waltham, Jack Perry was simply excellent. There were numerous chances in regulation and OT that should have found the back of the net, but he was able to control his crease well and he knew exactly where the puck was after the first period scramble that led to a goal against. His consistency led to the team’s comeback. The tandem of junior forward Dylan Fogg and sophomore Justin Cormier was tough for WA to handle because they showed great edgework and the ability to make people miss by shifting their weight and avoiding contact. You saw this team get stronger and feed off their crowd as the game went on and you thought that might be enough to give them the victory, but it took a perfect shot to beat Perry tonight.
For Westford Academy, the entire team can skate it effectively and they are not afraid to take chances because they create so many of them. Key for us was senior Cam Pacifico who was able to push the puck to space routinely and chase it down to create scoring chances. Senior defenseman Kevin Egan has great size and great mobility with the puck on his stick. He loves to go on the offensive and his passing accuracy is very good as well. Forward Jason Bunyon can really scoot as can captain Kyle Wizst who both were causing havoc on the forecheck and backcheck. Goaltender Christian Guglielmo was great all night long: nothing seemed to phase him. The sophomore moved well in his crease from post-to-post and showed very good reaction times as well.
