Westminster School 5 at Deerfield Academy 1 (S)

Westminster School 5 at Deerfield Academy 1; December 4, 2019

Westminster, CT: Deerfield travelled to the newly renovated Jackson arena in the final scrimmage before the regular season begins. Westminster was able to get off to an early two goal lead in the first period and never looked back. Westminster goaltender Bennett Ostern was able to shut the door on any Deerfield come back as he looked confident and poised in net.

The first period featured a pair of goals from Westminster from Charles Flam and Darion Benchich. Flam’s goal came off a turnover by Deerfield and he was able to find a bit of space in the offensive zone where he got his shot off in traffic and beat goaltender the Deerfield goaltender. Benchich added to the Westminster goal scoring later in the period as he capitalized off a Deerfield offensive blueline power play miscommunication, that sprung a breakaway in which he found the back of the net with.

The second period was much more physical and Deerfield looked to calm down a bit and as a result they cut the score down to one after a Max Abene goal early in the period. As Deerfield picked up the hitting, they also picked up their penalty count as Westminster was able to capitalize on their chances. Westminster scored their third goal of a game on the power play as defensemen Brandon Walker showed nice patience on the power play and found Brennan Horn who was sitting in an open area of the ice. Horn showed his quick release and the puck got past Deerfield’s young goaltender Justin Katz. Holy Cross commit Ryan Pineault was able to add to the Westminster total minutes later with another power play goal as he blasted a point shot through traffic into the back of the net.

The third period featured less emotion as both sides were just playing out the remaining time on the clock. Westminster controlled the puck and were able to add another power play goal as Senior defensemen Ned Blanchard showed off his ability to make people miss him and found Wyatt Pastor for a one timed goal.

Three Stars:

First Star. Brennan Horn (Westminster)

Second Star. Ryan Pineault (Westminster)

Third Star. Bennett Ostern (Westminster)

NZ Notes: For Westminster, this team is deep with two-way hockey players and a solid defensive core. Senior defensemen Ryan Pineault and Ned Blanchard are both scoring threats from the back end whenever they touch the ice. Justin Louette-Issac is a steady two-way defender who does a very nice of bringing a physical style of play to the Westminster blueline. Up front for Westminster they feature a line up of smart forwards who are very opportunistic. Darion Benchich is an extremely effective PK guy who showed off anticipation as he was able to spring two PK breakaways and a solid burst of speed that allowed him too pull away from defenders. Bennett Ostern is a big goaltender who plays aggressive and looked very much in control today. Westminster looks mature as a whole as they are well positioned, well coached and have elite special teams.

For Deerfield; unlike Westminster looked like they were trying to find their identity still. Deerfield is a younger team and will rely heavily on their young guys this year. 04 Forward Andrew Garzone was utilized in every situation and has the makings of a very solid two way forward as he loves to get to the net and plays in all three zones. Late 2004 Goaltender Justin Katz who came in half-way through the game looks like the second coming of long time Deerfield goaltender Thomas Gale (Boston Jr. Bruins/Dartmouth) Katz tracks the puck well, has quick feet and is extremely well positioned.

Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images