Lynn, MA – This was one of the marquee matchups on Wednesday night, especially with so many top billing games being postponed. The Cardinals of Pope Francis, defending Super 8 co-champs traveled to Lynn in order to face the well balanced St. Mary’s Lynn Spartans for a 7pm puck drop at Connery Rink. This game featured a number of the top young players in MIAA hockey and we were able to catch all of the action thanks to LiveBarn. Worth noting: this game was played with three conventional 15 minute periods.
In the first period, the action started fast and furious: just under five minutes in St. Mary’s Lynn cashed in on some early momentum when a Pope Francis penalty gave them an opportunity. Sophomore Brady Bullock took the ice he was given in the slot and fired one on net that senior Kyle LoNigro was able to tip home: 1-0 Spartans. Just over a minute later, the roles were reversed as a St. Mary’s Lynn penalty gave Pope Francis the man advantage which they cashed in on. Sophomore Ryan Shaw took a shot from the slot which produced a rebound and a netfront scramble, after a couple of whacks it slid over to senior forward Brandon Spaulding who buried it to tie the game at 1. The Cardinals, it turns out weren’t done. Only 23 seconds later, sophomore phenom Ryan Leonard scooped up a puck in the defensive zone, zipped down the right wing past the defense and took it all the way home, stashing it in near the left post: 2-1 Cardinals. Despite a ton of back and forth rushes and a few quality chances, that would be the score after one frame.
In the middle period, the high pace of play continued with both teams creating good looks at the net and both defenses collapsing nicely into the house to prevent second chance opportunities. The only goal of the frame came when a penalty was assessed to the Spartans and it did not take long for the Cardinals to cash in as Leonard won the faceoff and then got the puck back coming off the wall and he utilized teammate Evan Phaneuf as a screen, firing a shot past the netminder: 3-1 Pope Francis (assists to Shaw and Spaulding). Despite a strong push from the Spartans towards the end of the frame, that would be where we stayed entering the third.
In the final stanza, it was…guess who…Leonard who polished off a natural hat trick on the power play three minutes in, taking a pass from Shaw and depositing the puck top shelf. Two minutes later the Cardinals struck again as defenseman Matt Hanscom saw Phaneuf with a step on the defense and he cruised in on the breakaway and converted to make it 5-1 Pope Francis. Despite the score the Spartans refused to quit and they continued to play until the whistle, adding another tally with three minutes to go on the power play as senior forward Colby Magliozzi cut to space at the top of the circle and fired one past the goalie to bring us to out final score: 5-2 Pope Francis.
Three Stars
- F Ryan Leonard, Pope Francis
- F Ryan Shaw, Pope Francis
- F Kyle LoNigro, St. Mary’s Lynn
NZ Notes
- Pope Francis is for real folks. St. Mary’s Lynn gave them one of the toughest games they’ve had all season and they stood tall to the task. The talent on paper certainly checks out, but this roster has grown up and improved since last year’s championship. Look out.
- What else can you say about Ryan Leonard? He was our MassNZ Mr. Hockey Award winner last year and he looks every bit the part with this natural hatty: there were times where he couldn’t be touched tonight. Special.
- St. Mary’s Lynn gave the Cardinals a game tonight and cut their normal margin of victory in half. They had only given up one goal on the season…the Spartans scored two tonight. They are a team with great athleticism and a good balance of youth and veteran leadership; despite the loss this game is a good measuring stick for them.
- One thing that stood out in this game was the stick discipline for the Spartans: rush after rush their defenders used their sticks as the primary point of contact. If they hadn’t this score might have been far different.
- Brandon Spaulding has made a nice jump from last season: he grew from last year’s listing and he’s playing a man’s game down low (on his way to a three point night by our count). The chemistry he’s developed with Leonard and Shaw is evident and the three of them simply cycle teams to death both at even strength and on the power play.
