Groton School vs #9 Phillips Exeter
12/19/2018
@ Merrimack College
North Andover, MA– Very few Prep School hockey games going on today as most schools are on the holiday break, but The Groton School and Phillips Exeter squared off at Merrimack College.
Starting in goal for Groton School- Tristan Mecenas (Mount Airy, MD) and for Exeter- Ryan Welch (Swampscott, MA).
Exeter Big Red got the scoring started with a little over two minutes left in the first period as junior Forward Reese Ramirez (Pittsburgh, PA) found the back of the net. Assisting on the goal, Andrew Seaman (Winnetka, IL). The Big Red lead 1-0 going into the first intermission.
In the second period, Groton found the back off the net three different times. Exeter goalie, Ryan Welch came up with a big breakaway save on Groton forward, Drew Burke (N. Andover, MA) minutes into the second. Moments later, the first goal came from Bradon Slawaska (Pierrefonds, QC) with the low hard slap shot from the point beating Welch. Assisting on the goal was Marc Borghi (Rye Beach, NH). All tied up 1-1. Just about halfway through the period, the Zebras found the back of the net again, Will Torriani (Kirkland, QC) with the finish coming from Jonah Gold (Palos Verdes, CA). The very next shift, Groton gets there third and final of the period with a great zone entry, Jonah Gold moves it wide to Drew Burke who slides it back door to Ronan Doherty (Reading, MA) for the goal. End of 2 it’s 3-1 Groton.
At the start of the third, Exeter makes a hard push to put a few home but Groton goalie, Tristan Mecenas makes some good stops and keeps the 3-1 lead. With just over 3 minutes left, the Big Red make it 3-2, Tommy Gannon (Santa Monica, CA) blows one by Mecenas short side. Noah Jankowski (Methuen, MA) gets the helper. A minute later, Jonah Gold answers the call with his third point of the night and puts the puck in the net to give Groton the 4-2 lead. Final Score- Groton 4-2.
#9 Exeter falls to 7-3-1 on the year with Stanstead College coming into town tomorrow for their last match up of 2018. Paddy Mangan (South Burlington, VT) had a strong game on the blue line and did a good job transitioning the puck up the ice. Also, Michael Pitts (Raymond, NH) was impressive in the loss.
Groton advances to 3-4-1 to close out 2018. Jonah Gold lead the way for the Zebras today with 1-2-3 along with goalie Tristan Mecenas.
Three Stars
- Jonah Gold (Groton)
- Drew Burke (Groton)
- Tristan Mecenas (Groton)
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
