Saturday Round Up- Boys Prep Holiday Tournaments

Brooks    3    Berwick    0

Since Berwick sits at .500 they are shooting for the 3rd place game tomorrow. Brooks, being on their home ice is looking to take one out of their three matches so far on the weekend.

There is no other word to describe the pace of the first period: frantic. Both teams were up and down the sheet in a heartbeat: lots of rushes but not as many scoring chances as you might expect. Thanks to a dynamic, diving stick save by goalie Alex Ramsay, Berwick went to the room knotted at 0-0.

This second period was up and down until Brooks took things over midway through the period. In quick succession they notched three goals which sparked the home crowd and forced Berwick to pull its starter. The period ended at 3-0 on the way to the final stanza.

The third period was merely academic as both teams still came to compete but ultimately didn’t push the pace in quite the same fashion. Brooks will play tomorrow at 9am at home while Berwick will play for 3rd place against a skilled Tilton team.

New Hampton   5    Hebron    3 

It doesn’t get any simpler for New Hampton: win and you’re in the Championship Game tomorrow. For Hebron the hope is that you can win this game and tie the Huskies based on record.

The first period told the story of the type of game this was destined to be. In the early minutes of the first period Hebron grabbed the momentum with an early tally. That lasted until there were 15 seconds left and forward Greg Peterson scored on a wrister in tight to tie it up headed into intermission.

In the second it was Davis Bone earning the tally on the net drive to put New Hampton up 2-1 but then forward Kodi Legassie of Hebron took over, scoring two in the slot two minutes apart to give Hebron the 3-2 lead. Before the period ended the Huskies got the final say, tying up the score on a netfront scramble to make it 3-3.

In the third, New Hampton put the hammer down and did not let up. First, Marcus Joughin scored four minutes in to tip the scales in the Huskies favor and that set the tone for the period which Adam Shuchart capped off with an insurance tally from the point to make it a final of 5-3.

New Hampton finishes tournament play 3-0 which clinched a spot in the title game for them. They will await additional results to determine who they will face. Hebron looks much improved from last year’s team that played in this tournament – you can see that they will be even faster and stronger at this time next year.

#13 Gunnery    2     St. Paul’s    0

In the championship game at the Avon Christmas Classic, St. Paul’s and Gunnery met for the title. They play three 18 minute periods instead of the two halves in the other games. Gunnery came away with the 2-0 win with goals by Ryan Trom and Alex Jefferies. Senior JP Mella pitched the shutout in goal to help his team win their second straight title.

The first period was all Gunnery. They rolled four lines and had lots of time in the St. Paul’s end. Andy Beran was mostly up to the challenge in the St. Paul’s net but Gunnery did slip one by with 14:31 left as junior Ryan Trom put classmate Alex Coady’s rebound home. Nice rush by Coady to create the shot. SPS played a bit better the last five minutes aided by a power play as they went to the room with Gunnery up 1-0.

The second period saw more of the same but St. Paul’s slowly established more time up ice and generated more chances. It still was not evenly played and Beran had to make several tough stops but senior Gunnery goalie JP Mella was also up to the test and forced to make some quality saves. The second period ended like the first with Gunnery up 1-0.

In the third both teams battled and both played well. With 8:22 left Alex Jefferies put Gunnery up 2-0 with assists to Robert Cronin and Reed Dolph. That’s how they finished. Both teams had excellent tournaments, are well coached and never cheat the game. Fun game to watch as there was little nonsense and lots of great hockey.

Thoughts from Gunnery Coach Craig Badger: “Really proud of our guys. This is really tough tournament and our guys truly bought into each other and the process this weekend. It was a great step towards building a team in the truest sense. Hopefully it serves as a good jumping off point for us.”

 

Culver    3    Lawrence    2  (SO)

Culver beat host Lawrence 3-2 in a shootout on the second day of the Lawrence Groton tournament.

Lawrence held 1-0 and 2-1 leads on goals by Ridge Hubbard and Sam Colangelo but Culver tied the game on goals by Beau Fixari and James (Fisher) Shea. The game would head to OT where neither team would break through.

Nathan Cesarski won the game in the shootout after countless rounds.

The difference in the game was Grant Adams in the Culver net. He made several point blank saves that kept the game close.

1 – Grant Adams, Culver

2 – Nathan Cesarski, Culver

3 – Sam Colangelo, Lawrence

 

#3 Deerfield    3    #7 KUA    2  (OT)

Deerfield and KUA faced off in an important matchup between two ranked teams. Deerfield was coming off tough losses to Nobles and Salisbury and needed a win and KUA was 1-1 in the tournament looking to play for the consolation game.

KUA got off to a fast start scoring 39 seconds into the game on a nice goal in the slot from junior forward Paul Dore. They would score again late in the period when Drew Bennett took it wide on a zone entry and threw a great pass to the slot connecting with the net driving Zach Taylor who finished it off.

KUA controlled the play and developed a lot of offensive zone time but could finish in the second. Deerfield was gritty, worked hard and stayed in the game; plenty of help from netminder Thomas Gale. With 1:36 remaining in the period Deerfield senior Sean McAvoy caught a nice pass from behind the net and scored to bring the game to 2-1.

Heading into the third Deerfield continued their momentum and scored on the first shift of the period when Michael Holland scored in the slot. The last five minutes of the period was back and forth hockey; McAvoy hit a post, KUA got robbed on a few rushes and the game went to overtime.

Three minutes into overtime Sean McAvoy played hero and converted on a nice snap shot coming down the slot to win it for the Big Green.

Three Stars of the Game:

1- Sean McAvoy, Deerfield

2- Thomas Gale, Deerfield

3- Michael Holland, Deerfield

NZ’s Take:

These are two quality hockey teams who will be in the playoffs; it was a heavy game, teams were physical and competed hard. KUA had more speed and generated more chances but Thomas Gale between the pipes was the difference. Deerfield doesn’t have a ton of offensive weapons but they are hard to play against, they play an honest game, work hard and have enough skill and enough size to win tight games. KUA is likely bummed to let the game get away from them but this was a good game for both teams, either team could have won.

 

Upper Canada College     4     Belmont Hill     3

Belmont Hill did everything except win. The shots were 35-15 and they had the 3-2 lead in the third on 2 Ryan McGuire goals. Page got the game winning goal with just under 3 minutes remaining.

 

Taft    4    NMH    1

It was a better game than the score indicates. Thomas McAleer was strong in net for Taft. Empty net goal made it a 3 goal margin, but shots were 18-18.

 

Avon Old Farms    6    Kent School    4

Avon Old Farms earned a wild win in the third place game at their Christmas Classic. Stefan Miklakos netted two goals and added an assist to lead the way for Avon.

The first half featured five goals that came in bunches. Avon came out flying. Stefan Miklakos scored just 1:43 in unassisted as he found a loose puck, exploited a bad gap and snapped the puck home. Just 15 seconds later, Timur Alishlalov fired a puck home from the slot to give Avon an early 2-0 lead. Patrick Neal and Nick Cyprian assisted. Then at about the halfway mark Drew Tsakounis fired one home from a bad angle with assists to Tyler Boucher and Gentry Shamburger. Avon looked to be cruising. Kent, however, had other plans. As Cade McLaughlin scored on a pretty pass from Dane Dowiak with 7:33 remaining. Then with 5:09 left Kent struck again when Jason Kleinhans slipped a puck in with the assist to Dowiak. That’s how the period ended as Kent had real momentum going into the second.

With 13:15 left in the second #14 attacked the net and sniped for Kent to tie the score with 13:15 left. Kent then took the lead on a goal by Jonas Passante with assists to Alex Laferriere and Michael Posma on the PP. After the goal, Kent was called for an unsportsmanlike as a player skated by the Avon bench and showed off the logo on his shirt. On the ensuing power play Avon scored on the rush as Miklakos fed Tyler Boucher on the rush for the tap in score. Then with 5:49 left Miklakos scored the game winner as he waited and slipped a puck home through a screen. Gentry Shamburger picked up his second assist on the play.  Avon added and empty netter and the game ended 6-4. High paced, high intensity game with lots of momentum swings and lead changes.

 

Salisbury    3    Nobles    0

Salisbury and Nobles, two of the top teams in prep this season, meet in the last game of the round robin at Milton Academy. Salisbury jumped on the board early 5 minutes into the game on a power play when Justin Hryckowian found Nick Capone at the top of the circles who scored on a hard snap shot.

After the first goal the play settled down and was an even contest. It wasn’t until 6:39 remaining in the second period when Salisbury scored on another power play this time Michael Cameron on a rebound off the pad from a low point shot from Jake Quillan.

Both teams showed resiliency for their third game and three days and exchanged chances in the third period but the game was sealed when Chris Henn scored an empty net goal winning a race to the puck with 1:27 remaining in the game.

Three Stars of the Game:

1- Justin Hryckowian, Salisbury

2- Matt Coronato, Salisbury

3- Michael Cameron, Salisbury

NZ’s Take: This was a good game between two top teams. Nobles was without Ryan Stevens and Salisbury is without Tom Richter and Cole Vallese. Salisbury’s size, strength and depth were too much for Nobles and while it was a pretty even game overall, Salisbury was certainly the better of the two teams. Nobles has good speed, they work hard, they have defenseman who can move the puck and a consistent goalie but don’t have the size and strength to play with the bigger teams.

 

Westminster 3     #1 Hotchkiss    0

Westminster handed Hotchkiss their first off the season in a 3-0 victory.

The game started out pretty even and good pace and physical play. Westminster struck first with 58 seconds remaining in the first period when Sean Clarke drove the net, got a beautiful pass from Ned Blanchard behind the net and one-touched it into the net.

Westminster kept the momentum going and scored 29 seconds into the second period, yet again Sean Clarke going hard to the net and getting his stick on a loose puck in the slot and driving it home. Five minutes later Westminster tallied another, again from a loose puck rebound around the net when Belarus native Ignat Belov lofted a shot over the goalies pad for the 3-0 lead.

The game was pretty even after those goals and while both teams had chances, the game ended 3-0.

Three Stars of the Game:

1- Sean Clarke, Westminster

2- Ian Shane, Westminster

3- Ned Blanchard, Westminster

 

Millbrook     4     #5 Tilton     1

On paper this was a ranked team against an unranked team, but knowing Millbrook’s past success in this tournament (they made the Finals last year) and their team tenacity, we knew they would give the Rams a game. That’s exactly what happened after a quick 5 minutes of punches and counterpunches with zone rushes zipping in either direction. The momentum started to shift the Mustangs’ way and with a few minutes left in the first forward Ethan Abraham fed an open Griffin Tominez in the slot who whacked it home to make it 1-0 Millbrook. The biggest killer for Tilton was a net front scramble with five seconds left which resulted in yet another Mustang goal.

In the second, the play was much more methodical as it was littered with penalties on both ends but once again Millbrook capitalized when D Nicholas DeGaetani ripped a shot up high that went in and out of the net in a heartbeat and was subsequently called a goal after a very lengthy referee discussion.

The third period was once again kickstarted by a Millbrook boost when senior Ethan Abraham fired a shot shortside that found an opening on the power play to make it 4-0. Then Tilton started an all out assault of the net with 8 minutes to go and finally potted a power play goal on a shot tip by James Cates with about 5 minutes to go. They had all the momentum in the back half of the period, but it just wasn’t enough to finish the comeback. Ultimately, Tilton played well in stretches of this game but in many situations they were outmuscled by a heavier and more opportunistic Millbrook team.

 

Tabor     2     Trinity-Pawling    1

Tabor Academy scored two second half goals to come from behind and beat Trinity-Pawling in the second game on the final day at Avon. Senior Forward Alex Bower took a pass from classmate Blake Bartell and went in all alone where he went bar down for the game winner with 47.9 seconds left. The goal followed a wild minute plus where the teams went back and forth, each getting great chances.

Trinity-Pawling opened the scoring on a 2-0 short handed break where Taylor Ewing snapped it home. Both teams had multiple power play chances over the course of the game including long 5-3s. Tabor tied it when George Washington crew recruit, Clendenin Stewart whacked an Owen Rudicus rebound out of mid-air for the score. The game was wide open at times and both Kyle Myer for Tabor and Davvid O’Keefe for TP played well.

 

Pingree    3     NYA     2  (OT)

In a sleepy 9am game in South Hamilton, MA, all was quiet for nearly a full two periods as both teams were not on their A game. There were a litany of missed passes, dropped sticks, and swings and misses on shots. As the game wore on the play began to improve and finally the seal was broken with 3 minutes to go in the 2nd as Clement Delisle-Blais broke the seal with a wrister coming off the wing to make it 1-0 NYA.

The third period saw both teams make pushes one after the other as the momentum changed repeatedly. NYA added a second tally off a screened point shot two minutes in and then Pingree stormed back with two unanswered goals in three minutes to tie it up.

After going into OT, it was the brotherly connection of Ian Driscoll to Brendan Driscoll to win it for Pingree 3-2 with just a couple of minutes gone. It’s anyone’s guess who will be featured in the title match tomorrow but these two teams will have to pick up the pace in their next one.

 

#11 Andover    5    Milton    2

Andover looked to keep their championship hopes alive and go to 2-0 in the tournament facing Milton who started the tournament with a loss to Hotchkiss.

Andover didn’t waste any time and five minutes into the game were already up 2-0 with a pair of nice goals from junior Dawson Arkell and sophomore Chris Hocevar. Milton cut the lead to one when junior Tyler Crist banged home a rebound in tight 8:48 remaining in the period.

Andover began to pull away in the second period and scored two more to go 4-1. Milton didn’t quit and a nice quick release snap shot from the top circles by Mustang senior defender Emmet Powell brought the game to 4-2 with just under 7 minutes remaining. However, Andover cemented the win when senior Mac Carso buried a shot in tight with 3:56 remaining.

Andover will play Hotchkiss tonight; a win gets them to the Flood Marr Finals. Milton will face Westminster tonight.

 

Taft    4    Nichols    2

Taft got off to a 3-0 lead early but Nichols kept battling. Dylan Lugris was stoned on a penalty shot late in the second with the score 3-1, but would redeem himself with 25 seconds left making it 3-2. An empty net goal would end it at 4-2.

 

#8 Loomis    2    Berkshire    0

In the early game in the final day at the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic, Loomis Chaffee picked up two second period goals to come away with a win in the last day over Berkshire.

The players worked hard for both teams as it’s a tough turnaround from yesterday. Loomis got on the board on the second half when Alex Krause stole a puck and went in all alone for the deke and bury with 8:21 left. Soon after Reilly Connors took an ill advised penalty but made up for it right out if the box as he should the puck from an unsuspecting D and went off to the races where he finished for the unassisted tally. Berkshire pulled their goalie and played 6-5 for the last three minutes and created some chances but the Loomis defense and goalie Kohl Reddy were up for the challenge. He made some key saves as well as controlled his rebounds.