After the quarterfinal rounds on Wednesday NZ scouts breakdown the upcoming game, who the key players are, some key stats and predictions.
St. Paul’s School vs. Worcester Academy
Matchup: St. Paul’s has had an up and down season; they started the year on a 5-game win streak then went 7-6-0 in the middle of the seeason and currently on a 6-game win streak. Not only are they winning games but the margin they are winning in the past 3 weeks has been equally as impressive scoring 31 goals and only allowing 6 goals against. Worcester on the other hand is 3-3-0 in the past 6 games. Worcester hasn’t had the same strength of schedule as St. Paul’s playing 8 games against playoff bound teams and going 2-4-2 in those contests. St. Paul’s went 7-6-0 against playoff bound teams which shows they had a tough schedule and won the majority of those games. St. Paul’s is a top 5 team in the leauge in scoring offense with over 100 goals scored on the season but both teams have given up just under 2 goals against. The teams have not played eachother this season but St. Paul’s has the advantage in record vs like opponents.
Players to Watch: Ashlyn Garnett (St. Paul’s) – Providence Commit; Gabrielle Roy (St. Paul’s) – Boston College Commit; Jade Arnone (St. Paul’s); Kristina Allard (St. Paul’s) – Northeastern Commit; Maddie Beck (St. Paul’s), Natalie Tulchinsky (St. Paul’s) – Boston College Commit; Tiffany Hill (St. Paul’s) – Dartmouth Commit; Carley Daly (Worcester) – Amherst Commit; Ciara Wall (Worcester) – UNH Commit
Predictions (3-0 St. Paul’s)
Winner: St. Paul’s
“St. Paul’s has Elite 8 talent and a lot of returners from last years 21-2-4 season. There is a talent gap in this game in favor of St. Paul’s and they have the offense that will be tough for Worcester to matchup against.” – Brendan
Winner: St. Paul’s
“I like Worcester, they play really hard and don’t rely on one or two players; its a team effort all the way. With that being said, St. Paul’s is just too talented, they have too much depth and will be able to wear them down over three periods.” – Jess
Winner: St. Paul’s
“Key stat in this game is record against playoff teams; Worcester has a losing record when playing playoff teams while St. Paul’s has a winning record and played 5 more games against those teams. I like St. Paul’s here and believe them to be the favorites in this entire bracket.” – Mel
Choate vs. Milton
Matchup: Choate started the season 5-1-0 and finished the season 5-0-0 but had a rough patch in the middle with a 3-9-1 run through 13 games in the middle of the season. Milton is an interesting team in that they have a losing record but have performed well against some of the better teams in the league including wins against New Hampton and St. Mark’s and ties against Worcester and Loomis including a 1-goal loss to Nobles and went 5-10-3 against playoff teams. Choate is 7-8-0 against playoff opponents. The Wild Boars have a good core of seniors and returners from last years squad and solid offense averaging nearly 3 goals per game. These teams have not played agianst one another this season but Choate has the edge against like opponents.
Players to Watch: Christina Tournas (Choate); Mairead Kennedy (Choate); Lexington Secreto (Choate); Brooke Edwards (Choate); Emily Evans (Milton); Liliana Zavolas (Milton)
Predictions (3-0 Choate)
Winner: Choate
“These teams are pretty evenly matched but Choate is more experienced, they have a little deeper roster and can score in a multitude of ways. I like their chances here.” – Brendan
Winner: Choate
“Should be a close one here but I like how Choate is playing this past month going 5-0-0 and winning handedly in some of those game. In close games the team with momentum is going to win and Choate enters this game with a lot of momentum.” – Jess
Winner: Choate
“This is a 50/50 game for me but I like Choate’s 7 seniors and I think they have the goaltending, the special teams play and structured attack that they get the nod.” – Mel
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
