Stoneham, MA -In a non-elimination game in the winners’ bracket of the Super 8, the top seeded Arlington Spy Ponders took beat the St. John’s Prep Eagles 3-1 in a hard-fought and sometimes contentious game at Stoneham Arena. Arlington goalie Nate Brennan was great in the net making 36 stops to earn the win. Arlington will play Pope Francis on Saturday as they remain in the winner’s bracket. SJP will play CM in an all-Catholic, elimination matchup Wednesday.
The Spy Ponders owned the first period despite the shots being even at 9-9. After chances by both teams, Arlington struck first when senior Brendan Pigott fired home a rebound with 6:35 left. Classmate James Santagati picked you the assist. Santagati then got into the scoring action. He wheeled off the wall and fired a shot hard and low to put the Ponders up 2-0 with 4:26 left. Dom Laiosa set the play up and earned an assist. St. John’s Prep took a five-minute penalty 11:04 in on a dangerous hit. Arlington earned a two-minute penalty as they retaliated. When the Spy Ponders went to the man-up, Mr. Mass NZ finalist Brendan Jones took a pass from fellow finalist Anthony Messuri and Jones ripped one low and hard home. Tyler Callahan also picked up an assist.
The second period was a rough and tumble affair. The two teams quickly started to not like each other and scrums, pushing, shoving and big hits were plentiful. We enjoyed the intensity. About halfway through the period, Arlington took a major elbow penalty. On the five-minute power play, St. John’s Prep finally got one past Brennan. Senior Ned Malolepszy came out from behind the net and roofed one. Pretty shot that was assisted by classmates Evan Moore and Ryan Hart. Arlington killed the remainder of the penalty but accomplished little else in the middle frame. Shots were 11-8 in favor of the Eagles.
The third period, the Eagles outshot the Spy Ponders but had little luck with second chances or long stretches of zone time. Arlington took two penalties in a row about mid-way through the frame but killed both thanks to lots of intensity, smart sticks and Brennan. That seemed to be the last gasp for the Eagles as the Ponders settled down, got pucks deep and played in the Prep end to finish the game.
Three Stars
- Nate Brennan, Arlington
- James Santagati, Arlington
- Ryan Davies, Arlington
TTPA: Reid Malatesta/John Hourican
NZ Notes: For Arlington; they are not a big team but they are direct and tough. They stay focused and take hits just as well as they give them. On one play, Santagati who is not very big was drilled by a very large SJP player. James got smoked. He shook it off as the Prep player stood over him even after whistle. He got up, never looked at his opponent and went to the faceoff circle. The whole team played like that and they also went hard to the net in straight lines. Brennan looked prepared and poised. He is quietly becoming a star in these playoffs. Reid Malatesta is a sophomore who flew around, was instrumental on the penalty kill and is fearless/tough; Ryan Davies played a simple, calm game and led from the back. He made crisp passes and used the net to his advantage on breakouts. Solid game; Brendan Jones and Anthony Messuri were closely watched all night. They picked up their points and on one goal while two players took Messuri going to the net, space was created and the Spy Ponders scored. Both were very good. Leo Piandes played smart hockey, got pucks t the net and used his reach and speed to create turnovers. Hourican is tough, blocked shots, killed penalties, worked hard in his end, made crisp passes up ice, hit and stayed with pucks. He is the type of players that Arlington has that others teams don’t. He even made a pretty play up ice where he pushed pace, delayed, moved laterally and ripped one on the net. He is interesting and plays winning hockey. Santagati picked up a couple points and also picked up sticks on the backcheck, took hits, popped players and stuck his nose in all over the ice. Lots of seniors leading the way for a tough, athletic Spy Ponders team tonight. For St. John’s Prep, their best player was Malolepszy who scored a great goal with an elite shot in tight. Jack Riley is a pretty skater and can play up the ice. He must become smarter in his end to round his game out. He could be shut down, end of game type if he wanted. Ryan Hart can fly and pushed pace in transition. Cam Russo is a 2005 who saw some power play time. He is not big but is an interesting, athletic defenseman with very good feet.
