Salisbury and Kimball Union have faced eachother the past two seasons in the Elite 8 Finals with Kimball Union winning both games. This year the two teams faced off against one another in the quarterfinals at a neutral site (Westminster School).
Sullivan Mack, Prep Player of the Year Candidate, put KUA on the board with an impressive individual effort wrap around goal in the first shift of the game. He wasn’t done there he would score another ten minutes later off a great centering pass from Tomas Mazura from the wall on the rush and Mack fired a low snap shot stick side to go up 2-0. It was a pretty even game after the goal with Salisbury showing some life late in the period but KUA’s defense stood strong and limited them to mostly to low percentage shots.
With the Crimson Knights gaining some momentum to end the period they started the second taking it to KUA. However, they were called for a penalty and the Wildcats siezed the opportunity where Tomas Mazura scored a catch and shoot on the power play around the faceoff dot. With the 3-0 lead the game was looking out of reach for Salisbury but there was no quit on that bench as Jake Quillan scored a nifty goal in tight off a point shot from Bobby Metz to cut the lead to two. Seven minutes later he would strike again off a rush where Samuel Deckhut gained the zone wide then cut to the middle and dropped the puck for Quillan who snapped a low stick side goal to make it 2-3.
Just a minute after Quillan’s score the Knights tied it up this time off an impressive shot by Oliver Frontini that went shortside hight; hit the goalies shoulder, the post and then went in.
Half way through the second period with the score being tied it was obvious this was going to be a grudge match to the final whistle. Credit to KUA they stopped the major Salisbury momentum swing again on the power play when Teddy Griffin caught a pass just inside the blue line and carried it in a few steps to the top circles and fired a snap shot that beat a screened Salisbury goalie to go up 4-3.
Salisbury would answer the call less than 30 seconds later when Lucas Mercuri powered to the net and scored a loose puck in the crease for the tie up. He would score against three minutes later with just 13 seconds reamining in the period off a quick-release 5-hole shot to get Salisbury their first lead of the game.
After a wild second period, the game was 5-4 heading into the third period; both teams had different goalies in net than who started the game. The next goal was going to be crucial and it was the Knights who got it. Salisbury went on the power play and Jared Crespo took a heavy one-timer from the point which was rebounded to Cole Vallese in the slot who made a clever spin and shoot which hit the goalies pad and Dean Bauchiero was there to jam it in.
KUA, down by two, showed no quit and Sullivan Mack was all over the ice making plays at both ends. They had a few quality chances off the rush and were able to keep the play down in Salisbury’s end for stretches in the second half of the final period. However momentum siezed when KUA’s captain Tomas Mazura, who had a strong game for the Wildcats, took a cross check penalty in the offensive zone with 3:40 remaining. Salisbury’s Jake Quillan would seal the game 7-4 with an empty netter to complete the hatrick and send Salisbury to the semi-finals.
Notes:
Salisbury was the better team; they were deeper, they were heavier on pucks and they had more discipline. They showed a great deal of resiliancy scoring 3 unanswered goals in the second period to tie the game when it looked like it was out of reach. It was not a case that KUA took their foot of the gas or started taking stupid penalties; they played hard, they didn’t get rattled when Salisbury came back, they just didn’t have the depth to matchup with Salisbury.
Wasn’t a strong night for goaltending, there was 11 goals scored and some were nice plays or nice shots but several were soft which is uncharacteristic at this time of year.
Mercuri vs. Mack; two candidates for Prep Player of the Year squared off here. They both had two goals and they were both had very strong performances. Mack is fast, skilled, works his tail off and can fire the puck. Mercuri is not as explosive but he’s stronger, more physical and can wear down opponents below the dots. Both led their teams and proved why they are up for the award.
Adam Fantilli was out of this game with injury which had a real impact on KUA’s depth and scoring ability. He finished the year with 18 goals and 18 assists in 26 contests and will likely go down as the best prospect to ever play in the league. They missed him tonight for sure but had a strong performance from his brother Luca.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
