2/13/04
#5 Thayer Too Much for #6 Belmont Hill
Belmont, Mass. – Thayer Academy broke open a 2-2 game with three goals in the final three minutes of the second period en route to a decisive 6-3 win over Belmont Hill here this evening.
Freshman LW Max Gratchev (2g,1a), junior RW Pierce Norton (2g,1a), senior RW Jimmy Russo (1g,1a), and junior defenseman Ryan Joyce (2a) led the scoring parade for the visitors. Freshman defenseman Kevin McNamara had two assists for Belmont Hill.
Thayer’s three-goal explosion, which gave Thayer the lead for good, started with a powerplay tally off the stick of Norton – his second of the game. The South Boston native broke down the right side and, possibly utilizing a screen, snapped it by Belmont Hill sophomore goalie Wes Vesperini low to the stick side with 2:58 left in the period. Freshman center Brian Gibbons and senior d-man Ryan Feldoff picked up assists on the play.
Belmont Hill’s Matt Gordon had a great chance to regain the tie when the play went back down to Thayer’s end, but couldn’t convert.
With 53 seconds left, Thayer’s Gratchev fired a shot from the left point that beat Vesperini over his right shoulder.
Then, with 4.7 seconds on the clock, and Belmont Hill struggling to get the puck out of their end, Thayer junior LW Greg Collins swept home the rebound of an Anthony Aiello shot to put Thayer up 5-3 going into the second intermission.
Thayer upped their lead to 6-2 with a third-period goal by Jimmy Russo, with assists going to Gibbons and Norton.
That put the game out of reach.
Belmont Hill freshman LW Mark Dube scored with 3:14 remaining to account for the final 6-3 margin of victory.
Prior to Thayer’s late-second period outburst, this was a tight game, with good up and down action, a quick tempo, and some rugged physical play, particularly by Thayer.
Thayer scored the only first-period goal when defenseman Ryan Joyce nudged the puck from inside his own blue line to Gratchev in the neutral zone. Gratchev got it up to Norton who put it past Belmont Hill goaltender Chris Mannix (he and Vesperini split games 50-50 for Belmont Hill, and today was no different).
In the second, Gratchev made it 2-0 Thayer at the 4:39 mark, tucking the puck past Mannix from a few feet out.
About a minute later, Belmont Hill cut it to 2-1 when junior defenseman Brian McCafferty took a high shot that looked like it was going over the net. Thayer goaltender Dan Beauregard got a piece of it with his glove, but it appeared to roll down his arm and bounce into the net.
Belmont Hill tied it up when Chris Galvin got the puck to junior John Balben, who redirected it past Beauregard with 5:46 left in the period.
Several minutes later, Thayer exploded for three and put the game out of reach.
Thayer took 10 penalties (three to Norton), while Belmont Hill was whistled for six.
Thayer outshot Belmont Hill 34-21.
Afterward, Thayer coach Larry Rooney said his players “played a sound game -- We forechecked, we backchecked, and we got the puck to the net.”
“We got guys who were in a slump, like Gratchev and Norton, back on track. We hit when the hits were there. We blocked shots. We won the little battles.”
The key to the game, Rooney said, was the powerplay goal that made it 3-2. “Joe Rosano drew a penalty when he drove to the net and was hauled down. I told him he deserved an assist on the goal.”
Rooney said his team had come out slow the previous few games. Today, he said,“I saw us play with intensity and a sense of urgency.”
2/28/04
Thayer Thumps St. Seb’s; Wins Keller
Chestnut Hill, Mass. –Diminutive freshman center Brian Gibbons had a four-point afternoon (1g,3a) and senior goalie Dan Beauregard kicked out 30 shots to lead Thayer to a 7-2 win over St. Sebastian’s in the annual Arthur Valicenti Cup at BC’s Conte Forum this afternoon.
The win clinched the Keller Division of the ISL for Thayer, who will also be heading to the prep quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The game was close early on, with Thayer scoring the only goal of the first period as freshman wing Max Gratchev, all alone at one corner of the crease, banged home a puck that emerged from a jammed-up scrum at the opposite corner. The goal, a power play goal, came at the 15:52 mark, and came right after St. Seb’s rang one off the crossbar at the opposite end.
In the final seconds of the period, Beauregard made a nice save to hold Thayer’s lead.
In the second period, Thayer, on the power play, went up 2-0 when Gratchev fed Gibbons who took it into the St. Seb’s end, then made a nice backhanded pass to Ryan Joyce below the hash marks. Joyce buried it at the 6:00 mark.
Thayer went up 3-0 when junior wing Matt Harrington scored on a wraparound at 11:51.
St. Seb’s got on the board at 12:59 when Doug Rogers snapped one top corner past Beauregard to cut the Thayer lead to 3-1.
St. Seb’s had the edge in shots in the second, 16-9.
In the third, things fell apart for the Arrows, who took a bunch of penalties and had difficulty killing them. St. Seb’s defensemen allowed their opponents to score three goals in which Tiger forwards skated virtually unimpeded out of the corner. Greg Collins did it, Gibbons did it, Harrington did it. Pierce Norton, also scored, banging home the rebound of an Anthony Aiello shot from the right point.
With 55 seconds left in the game, Todd Davis scored for St. Sebastian’s, but it was, of course, way too little, and way too late.
Afterward, Thayer head coach Larry Rooney credited his goalie. “Beauregard was the difference in the first period and much of the second. We weren’t really playing that smart defensively in front of him. Eventually, though, we started to put the puck away.”
Asked if he though at the beginning of the season that his team would emerge as the Keller champs, Rooney said that, “On paper I knew we were skilled. I figured we could finish in the top half of the division, maybe the top 2-3 spots. We surprised people, I think. Belmont Hill surprised people, too.”
As for the playoffs, Rooney said, “I haven’t really thought about it. We just have to be ready.”
Notes: In other games... Host Hotchkiss scored three third-period goals to upset #3 Taft, 4-1.... #7 Andover, playing at home, blanked archrival Exeter, 2-0... #8 Belmont Hill topped BB&N; though we don't even have the final score on this one... Nobles notched four second-period goals to top Milton, 6-4... #4 Salisbury scored six goals in the second period en route to an 8-2 win over host Canterbury.... #5 Tabor blanked host NMH, 4-0; no further details are available... Pomfret got two goals from Patrick Welch and 25 saves from Trevor Pieri in a 4-1 win at KUA... In Ashburnham, Mass., a Danny Rossman goal with 3:15 left in regulation lifted #1-ranked Cushing to a 4-3 win over Holderness.... #10 Deerfield topped visiting Westminster, 7-1; no further details are available.... #2 Avon topped Loomis, 4-1; no further detials are available... Check game results above for box scores of many of these games.
2/25/04
Playoff Contenders – Most of Them – Post Wins
#1 Cushing walloped host Holderness, 9-1 with Chris Bourque (3g,3a), Danny Rossman (2g,3a), Billy Ryan (4a), and John Frey (1g,2a) leading the attack… Senior goaltender Jared DeMichiel turned away 25 shots as #2 Avon shut out host Canterbury, 3-0… #3 Taft shut out Trinity-Pawling 6-0; no further details are available… #4 Salisbury, which trailed Hotchkiss 2-0 after two, got goals from Mike Atkinson and Brian O’Hanley in the third, and Brad Baldelli in OT to pull out a 3-2 win over their neighbors. Freshman Chris Atkinson had three assists for the Steaks. Brandon Jackmuff tallied both Hotchkiss goals and Zane Kalemba kicked out 39 of 42 shots in a losing cause…#5 Tabor got a hat trick from junior Chris Potts while goaltender Stephen Ritter kicked out 23 of 24 shots in a 4-1 home win over Kimball Union… #6 Thayer beat BB&N, 9-1; no further details are available… Freshman Joey Smith scored in OT to give #7 Andover a 2-1 win at NMH. Cory Schneider kicked out 36 of 37… #8 Belmont Hill went on the road and thumped St. Paul’s, 8-3. Joe Whitney had a hat trick, while David Antonelli and Mark Dube each had a goal and two assists. Five other players had two-point games for the Hillies. Nick Snow had a goal and two assists for St. Paul’s… #9 Governor Dummer took a tough loss, bowing to Nobles 7-2. Chris Poli (3g,1a) and Erik Pridham (3a) led the Nobles attack… #10 Deerfield walloped Kent 10-2; no further details are available… Exeter, led by two goals from Tom Dolan and a 37-save shutout by Andrew Piekos, played the spoiler in a 4-0 win over Pomfret…. Check game results above for complete box scores of these and other games.
2/22/04
Rescheduled Games
The Andover at Belmont Hill game originally scheduled for Fri. 2/6, but snowed out, will be played tomorrow afternoon (Monday 2/23) at 4:45 pm. This game has playoff implications for both teams.
In another makeup game Monday, Hotchkiss will be playing at Canterbury at 4:15 pm. This is a makeup date from the Dec. 6 snowstorm.
On Wednesday 2/25, the Cushing at Holderness game originally scheduled for Fri. 2/6, but also snowed out, will be played at 2:30 pm. As this is a league game with possible playoff implications, and no other dates available, Wednesday’s scheduled Cushing-Boston Jr. Bruins game has been scratched.
2/21/04
Quick Leads #2 Avon in Battle of Founder's League Iron
Salisbury, Conn. – A John Mori slapshot from the right faceoff circle at the 2:43 mark of the third period broke open a 2-2 tie and propelled #2-ranked Avon to a 5-2 win over #4 Salisbury before a packed house here this afternoon.
The difference in the game, which was an intense full-throttle, wide-open affair with as much heated emotion as we’ve seen from two teams this season, was the play of Jon Quick, Avon’s junior goaltender from Hamden, Conn. Quick, who according to the scoresheet kicked out 53 of 55 shots (we think that’s a little high), was terrific throughout, using his size and quick feet to limit Salisbury to a pair of power play goals.
Avon opened the scoring at the 5:29 mark of the first period when Chris Davis, on a 2-on-1, fed linemate Augie DiMarzo in tight. DiMarzo, driving hard to the net, banged it past Salisbury junior goalie Jeff Mack.
Avon made it 2-0 with 41 seconds left in the period. The goal was very similar to its predecessor, though this time it was an even-strength goal, and the players were flip-flopped, with DiMarzo feeding Davis.
In the second, Salisbury came out hard, and dominated the game. Just 1:55 in, the Steaks, on the power play, got on theboard when junior center Mike Atkinson deflected a shot from the right point by Brad Baldelli.
At the 12:43 mark, and again on the power play, Salisbury wing Jerry Pollastrone blasted a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle to tie the game up at 2-2. Andrew Estey picked up the assist on the goal.
Salisbury had numerous other chances to score in the second period. With a lesser goalie than Quick, Salisbury would have headed into the second intermission up by several goals. Instead, they skated off with a 2-2 tie.
In the third period, Avon didn’t let Salisbury regain the fire they showed in the second.
After Mori gave Avon the lead back at the 2:43 mark, Winged Beavers’ junior forward Rob Tesar made it 4-2 at the 4:30 mark to put Avon up by two. DiMarzo took a pass from Davis to make it 5-2 with an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left. It was the third point of the day for both DiMarzo and Davis.
Notes -- In other Top 10 action: #5 Thayer, on a third-period goal by Greg Collins, topped visiting St.. Paul’s, 2-1…. #8 Gov. Dummer’s Brian Day (1g,2a) and Brian McGuirk (3a) had productive days in the Governors’ 4-4 home tie with St. Sebastian’s. Nick Coskren (1g,2a) and Ted Brzek (2g) paced the Arrows… #3 Taft topped Choate, 6-3; no further details are available…. We’re still waiting on the Kimball Union at #1 Cushing game, and the Holderness at #9 Tabor game…. For more details please see the box scores under game results above.
2/18/04
#1 Cushing Rolls Over #6 Andover, 6-1
Andover, Mass. -- #1-ranked Cushing Academy exploded for four goals in a span of 5:21 in the second period en route to a decisive 6-1 win over #6-ranked Andover here today.
The offensive star of the game was Cushing junior center Billy Ryan, who had one goal and two assists and was a force every time he stepped on the ice. The defensive star was senior goaltender Keith Longo.
Cushing was again without leading scorer Chris Bourque, who will see his doctor on Friday and, if he gets clearance, suit up for Saturday’s game against Kimball Union.
It didn’t look great for Cushing in the early going today, as the Penguins allowed Andover several glittering opportunities, including back-to-back short-handed attempts by Kyle Kucharski and Steve Rolocek, the latter off a turnover in the slot. On both occasions – and at least one or two others in the first ten or so minutes, Longo came up with glittering saves to keep the game 0-0.
Meanwhile, the Cushing offense was ratcheting it up, having their way with the Andover D. With 1:54 left in the period, Cushing finally broke through against Andover senior goalie Cory Schneider, who was under intense scrutiny today by a raftful of NHL scouts eager to see how he’d do against Cushing’s high-powered offense. On that first goal, Cushing sophomore defenseman Keith Yandle skated the puck into the left wing corner and threw it out front where sophomore Tommy Bardis one-timed it over Schneider’s glove.
Cushing, despite outshooting Andover 17-8 in the period, took just a 1-0 lead into the dressing room.
In the second period, the onslaught commenced at the 4:03 mark, as senior Ben Wahler knocked home a rebound in the slot to make it 2-0. About 45 seconds later junior Sam D’Agostino hit a pipe. Then Yandle made it 3-0 at 7:22 when his shot from the point appeared to deflect off of the skate of an Andover defenseman. Cushing made it 4-0 at 8:33 when, playing a man down, junior Alex Berry roofed one from the left face-off circle. Senior Boomer Ewing made it 5-0 with a turnaround backhander in the slot at 9:24.
Schneider wasn’t at the top of his game, though, without taking anything away from Cushing, the BC recruit received little in the way of help. After two periods, Cushing led 5-0. The shots were 38-16 in Cushing’s favor at that point.
Ryan, who’s narrowed his college choices to BU, Maine, and UNH, made it 6-0 early in the third when, with Cushing skating shorthanded, he broke in alone, put a deke on Schneider and tucked it.
With the big lead, Cushing began to take penalties in the third. At the 7:29 mark Cushing’s Kevin Kessler took a minor, and Ewing took a major, and then got tossed on a misconduct. When Cushing head coach Steve Jacobs protested, he too got a game misconduct.
Cushing killed the ensuing 5-on-3, but not the ensuing 5-on-4. At the 12:15 mark, Mike Foley hit sophomore defenseman Tommy Dignard with a nice pass just below the right faceoff circle. Dignard rifled a shot past Longo to break the shutout.
In the third Cushing took seven penalties to Andover's one. Andover outshot Cushing 14-7 in the period which was, of course, the only period in which they held an edge in shots
Schneider wound up with 39 saves on 45 shots, while Longo had 29 saves on 30 shots.
Afterward, Cushing coach Steve Jacobs said, “We came out and played a great hockey game. We were flying, moving the puck, and creating scoring chances.”
“Cory Schneider is a great goalie,” added Jacobs. “But we have a great goalie, too. For two years Keith Longo has been outstanding, and he was again today.”
Notes -- In other Top 10 action: #8 Gov. Dummer hosted Lawrence Academy and skated off with a 5-2 win behind two-point efforts from Benn Ferriero (2g), Mark Rinaldi (1g,1a), Brian McGuirk (2a), and Brian Day (2a)…. Chris Davis (1g,2a), John Mori (1g,1a), Augie DiMarzo (2g), and Sean Backman (2a) helped lead #2 Avon Old Farms to a 6-2 win at Choate… An OT goal by Holy Cross recruit Brian Kolb gave #9 Tabor a 4-3 win at #5 Thayer…. Deerfield, on the road, edged #3 Taft, 3-2… #4 Salisbury knocked off host Albany Academy, 4-2… #7 Belmont Hill beat Milton, 7-2…. Host BB&N upset #10 Noble & Greenough, 6-4.... Check game results above for full box scores.
2/14/04
Tabor Wins Travis Roy Cup
Marion, Mass. – Tabor Academy junior goaltender Stephen Ritter made 28 saves and junior RW Chris Potts scored the game-winning goal as the Seawolves topped St. Sebastian’s 5-3 in the eighth annual Travis Roy Cup here this afternoon.
The game, an entertaining one, with a large number of scoring chances at both ends of the ice, marked the third time Tabor has beaten St. Seb’s in the eight-year series between the two schools.
St. Seb’s scored the first goal of the game and each and every time they did, Tabor came right back and answered it with a goal of their own.
The game, which gave the appearance of one that might be headed to OT, was tied at 3-3 ten minutes into the third period when Potts beat an Arrows defender to a loose puck along the near half boards, cut to the net and snapped one past St. Sebastian’s senior goaltender Mike Coskren to make it 4-3 with 7:52 remaining.
The Arrows couldn’t answer that one, and Tabor came up with an insurance goal when junior LW Peter Lenes broke down the right side and slid a backhander toward the net which seemed to catch Coskren by surprise. The goal, Lenes’ second of the game, came with 1:21 left in regulation, and was the backbreaker.
On the ensuing faceoff, the Arrows pulled their goalie, but to no avail.
Three players for each team had two points apiece: For Tabor, Lenes (2g), Potts (1g,1a), and Matt Cook (2a) and for St. Sebastian’s, Doug Rogers(1g,1a), Ted Brzek (1g,1a), and Colin Young (2a).
Tabor’s Ritter won the game’s MVP award. All of Tabor’s top players came up with strong games – Lenes, Potts, Cook, Dan Maturi, Steven Silva, and John Burns were all very noticeable.
In the first period, St. Seb’s went ahead 1-0 when Doug Rogers knocked home the rebound of a Colin Young shot at 16:40.
Tabor, on the power play, got it back with 19.4 seconds left in the period when Dan Maturi made a nice pass out from the corner, finding defenseman Andrew Brennan alone in front.
In the second period, St. Sebastian’s went up 2-1 at 2:06 when Brzek fed Nick Coskren on a 2-on-1.
Tabor tied it up at 2-2 when senior Brian Kolb redirected a shot from the point by John Burns at the 6:07 mark.
Tabor went up 3-2 with 3:20 remaining in the period when Cook hit Lenes with a nice pass on a 2-on-1 break.
The Arrows’ Nick Coskren took a hitting from behind penalty with two minutes left in the period, but Tabor couldn’t cash in.
In the third, St. Seb’s tied it at 3-3 when Rogers, leading the rush, had his shot blocked by Ritter. The rebound, however, came out to Brzek, who was trailing the play. The diminutive senior from Duxbury knocked it home at the 2:11 mark.
St. Sebastian’s then had two great chances to take control of the game. With Colin Young in the box for tripping, Chris Murphy had a clean breakaway on a shorthanded attempt, but Ritter stopped him cold.
About five minutes later, Rogers, with the two teams playing 4-on-4, hit Nick Coskren with a pass, sending him in all alone. Coskren couldn’t convert, however, and, less than a minute later, Potts scored the game winner for Tabor.
Notes: In other games involving Top 10 teams, #2 Avon topped host Deerfield, 6-1, with Jon Quick kicking out 25 of 26 shots and Augie DiMarzo (2g,1a) and Brian Warner (1g,2a) leading the scoring; #7 Gov. Dummer outshot BB&N 50-15 and outscored them 4-3, with BB&N sophomore goalie Marc Pulde kicking out 46 in a losing effort; #10 Pomfret, behind a pair of goals from Greg Genovese, topped Gunnery, 3-1, on the road; #3 Taft defeated #9 Hotchkiss 6-2 at Taft's hockey palace; #1 Cushing topped host Canterbury 5-2, with Billy Ryan (g,2a,eng) and Boomer Ewing (g,a) leading the scoring; and #4 Salisbury topped Loomis, 5-2... Thayer, Belmont Hill, and Andover all played Friday, and had today off.
2/11/04
#3 Taft and #4 Salisbury All Tied Up
Salisbury, Conn. -- In a good up-tempo prep game, #3 Taft escaped with a 2-2 tie with #4 Salisbury here this afternoon.
Salisbury had a distinct edge in play, outshooting the visitors 39-18, but Taft sophomore goalie Alex Kremer was excellent, keeping the Rhinos in the game with a number of key saves.
In the first period, Taft got on the board 1:35 in when senior T.J. Kelley scored with assists going to Tom Maldonado and Luke Popko.
At the 7:33 mark, Salisbury got it back when defenseman Daryl Veltman, during a line change, hit UNH recruit Jerry Pollastrone with a pass. Pollastrone, who was a force throughout the game, using his speed and hustle to create numerous scoring opportunities, fired a slapshot from the top of the left face-off circle that hit Kremer’s glove, bouncing over it and into the net. It was Kremer’s only hiccup of the game.
Taft went ahead at the 8:55 mark with a power play goal. Brown recruit Todd Johnson, stationed at the top of the left face-off circle, took a pass from senior Kurt Hertzog and blasted it. Senior LW Matt Smith got a piece of it on the way through and Taft took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room.
Salisbury’s Mike Atkinson hit a post with just seconds left in the period.
The game moved into the second period with Taft up, 2-1, and it would stay that way throughout the middle stanza.
In the third period, Salisbury made it 2-2 when Mike Atkinson, a Vermont recruit, took a shot from the point and Boston College recruit Brian O’Hanley jumped on the rebound.
That was it for the scoring. Salisbury kept the pressure on, with brothers Chris Atkinson and Mike Atkinson each coming up with great opportunities only to be denied by Kremer. Maldonado had a good chance for Taft with a bit over a minute left in regulation.
Salisbury outshot Taft, 12-3, in the third period.
In overtime, Salisbury kept the pressure on, and went on the power play when Taft was whistled for tripping a couple minutes in. Salisbury, however, just couldn’t come up with the winning goal. Salisbury dominated overtime, outshooting Taft, 8-0.
After the game Salisbury coach Dan Donato said, “Their goalie played a terrific game. He made some tremendous saves... plus we hit a few posts.”
“Taft is a very good team,” he added. “Last month, they beat us, 5-2, and I thought that was our one bad game of the season. For us, this was a great game mentally. Our effort was incredible. I told the players they could be proud of this one.”
“Both teams played very well.”
2/11/04
Ewing, Rossman, Ryan lead #1 Cushing Past Tabor
Marion, Mass. – Defenseman Kyle Koziara broke a 2-2 tie 5:33 into the third period and Boomer Ewing added an insurance goal to lead #1 Cushing to a fast, well-played 4-2 road win over Tabor here today.
Playing without injured wingers Chris Bourque and Alex Berry, the Penguins got strong offensive games from Ewing (1g,1a), who made plays at top speed throughout, as well as from Danny Rossman (2a), and Billy Ryan (1g,1a). For Tabor RW Dan Maturi and defenseman John Burns played well.
Rossman set up Koziara’s decisive goal with a clean faceoff win. Standing at the right point, the big defensemen quickly fired a 55’ wrister that sailed into the net past a badly-screened Stephen Ritter at 5:33.
Less than a minute later, a long pass by Tabor buzzsaw Peter Lenes sprung Chris Potts on a breakaway, but he was stuffed by goalie Keith Longo, who, like Ritter, played well. That’s as close as Tabor would come.
The tenacious Seawolves had tied the game at 2-2 early in the third on a nice individual effort by Burns. Pinching at the left point, Burns grabbed a loose puck and had a clear alley to the net before beating Longo with a short backhander at 2:23.
After a scoreless first period, Cushing took the lead on a goal by Dan Silhavey at 4:38 of the second. The senior winger from Dallas had a lot of net to shoot at after a pretty set-up from Rossman.
Tabor tied it at 10:27 while Cushing’s Keith Yandle was sitting out an elbowing penalty. Senior defenseman Leonard Badeau beat Longo from close range after a nice pass from Maturi. Steven Silva also was credited with an assist.
Cushing grabbed the lead again at 13:56 while the teams were skating 4-on-4. After Ewing drew several Tabor players toward him in the slot, he slid the puck across to Ryan, who beat Ritter with a high shot. Kevin Kessler also received an assist.
Ryan returned the favor later on with Cushing up 3-2. After some good corner work by Mickey Rego, Ryan found Ewing alone in the slot. The BU recruit whipped a ten-footer past Ritter at 9:57 to seal the win.
Cushing (18-0-2) visits Canterbury on Saturday while Tabor (11-6) plays host to St. Sebastian’s for the Travis Roy Cup.
--- M.D.
Notes: In other games involving Top 10 teams today, #3 Taft tied #4 Salisbury (see below for full game story)…. #2 Avon Old Farms spotted Gunnery a 3-0 first-period lead then came roaring back, scoring nine of the next ten goals in a 9-5 home win. Sean Backman had a natural hat trick in the second period. Augie DiMarzo (2g,1a) and Chris Davis (1g,2a) also had three-point games….Nobles went on the road and knocked off #7 Gov. Dummer, 4-2 as Chris Poli picked up two goals and an assist…. Senior goaltender Ted Levine had a shutout and sophomore Chris DeJohn scored a PPG to lead Westminster to a 1-0 home win over #9 Hotchkiss…. #6-ranked Belmont Hill got a pair of goals from freshman Joe Whitney in a 4-2 win at St. Sebastian’s…. Cory Schneider made 24 saves and seniors Mike Foley (2g,1a) and Artie Mittnacht (3a) led the scoring parade as host Andover whacked Kimball Union, 7-1…. #10 Pomfret got three points from Greg Genovese (2g,1a) in a 4-3 road win at Choate…. #5 Thayer edged Lawrence Academy 4-3 on the road.
2/7/04
Thayer Battles Back -- Almost
Canton, Mass. -- A shot from the right point by junior defenseman Chris Genovese 1:07 into overtime gave #8-ranked Governor Dummer a 3-2 road win over #3-ranked Thayer here this afternoon in a physical game featuring some good up-and-down action amidst spells of sloppiness.
GDA led 2-0 until the 7:19 mark of the third period when Thayer junior forward Corey Griffin tapped home a shot from the point to make it 2-1. Thayer then poured it on.
GDA took a penalty with 6:03 remaining, but Thayer couldn’t convert. With 1:13 on the clock, Thayer senior RW Jimmy Russo broke in cleanly from the blue line and fired a shot that went off the blocker of GDA senior goalie Dan Wieczorek, hit the post, but didn’t go in.
Finally, freshman forward Brian Gibbons dug the puck out of the right corner, threw it toward the net and Griffin knocked it home – his second goal of the game – with 12 seconds remaining in regulation.
In the first, GDA got on the board at the 12:27 mark when sophomore forward Matt Lombardi, falling backwards in the slot, got off a shot that beat Thayer senior goaltender Dan Beauregard.
The teams went into the first intermission with a 1-0 GDA lead.
There was no scoring in the second, though Thayer did squander a 5-on-3 opportunity.
In the third, GDA made it 2-0 when junior forward Benn Ferriero made a nice pass tosenior Brian Gallagher, who broke down the left side – his off-wing – and fired a high shot past Beauregard.
Several minutes later, Thayer began their comeback, and forced the game into overtime.
“In the first, we played well,” Governor Dummer coach Peter Kravchuk said afterward. “In the second and third they got some momentum. But our goalie was great.”
“We gutted it out. Sometimes you have to win games that aren’t pretty.”
For GDA, Wieczorek made 23 saves on 25 shots. In the Thayer net, Beauregard made 19 saves on 22 shots.
With the win, GDA bounced back from a 3-2 loss Wednesday at St. Paul’s. For Thayer, which lost 5-0 to Nobles on Wednesday, it’s the first time this season they’ve lost two in a row.
Note: The only other game today involving a top 10-ranked team was #9 Andover at BB&N. We haven't received a score from that one yet.
2/6/04
Time Change for Wed. 2/11
The Nobles at GDA game on Wed. Feb. 11, originally scheduled for a 5:30 faceoff, has been moved up to 4:00 pm.
2/6/04 UPDATED 1:30 pm
Weather Causing Havoc Again
Because of snow and icy roads, tonight's Cushing at Holderness game has been postponed. No makeup date has been set.
Today's scheduled Nobles at St. Paul's game has been postponed too. It will be made up a week from now -- Fri. Feb. 13 at 5:00 pm.
St. Sebastian's at Lawrence has been postponed. We have no makeup date.
Andover at Belmont Hill has been postponed. While not a league game, the schools hope to reschedule it.
The only other game on the prep schedule for today is Proctor at Tilton -- and that game is still on.
2/4/04
Schneider, Dignard Lead Andover Past Deerfield
A goal by sophomore defenseman Tommy Dignard with 6:03 left in the third period broke a 0-0 tie as #9-ranked Andover went on to blank Deerfield 2-0.
On the winning goal, Dignard, below the right faceoff dot, took a pass from junior forward Steve Rolocek, and snapped a shot that beat Deerfield junior goaltender Rick Redmond just inside the near post, about halfway up, glove side.
Dignard added an empty netter with no virtually no time on the clock. His shot zinged off the crossbar before deflecting down and into the goal.
Andover got another sterling performance from goaltender Cory Schneider, who came up with 30 saves as his team was outshot 30-14. A handful of them were excellent saves, including a nice pad save on Mike Butler and a blocker save on a streaking (we don’t mean like the guy at the Super Bowl) Chris Diozzi, both in the second period.
Notes: #10 Pomfret scored three power play goals in the second to take a 4-1 lead over #1 Cushing into the third period, whereupon the host Penguins reeled off three of their own to escape with a 4-4 tie. Cushing outshot Pomfret 41-23. Boomer Ewing (2g,2a) figured in all four Cushing goals. Billy Ryan (1g,2a), and Keith Yandle (3a) each had three-point efforts. Greg Genovese (2g), Patrick Bowen (1g,1a), Mark Mulhern (2a), and Patrick Welch (2a) paced Pomfret…. Sophomore Taylor Bergeron scored with 59 seconds left in regulation to lift St. Paul’s to a 3-2 win over #8 GDA. St. Paul’s senior Nick Snow scored two first period goals for the hosts, while GDA, which outshot SPS 41-22, picked up both of their goals in the second period. Junior Skylar Nipps kicked out 39 shots for St. Paul’s….#2 Avon outshot Westminster 49-22 and outscored them 9-3, with Augie DiMarzo (1g,3a), Chris Davis (3g), Sean Backman (2g), and Mike Arciero (1g,1a) leading the scoring parade…. Freshman Chris Atkinson (1g,1a), junior Mike Atkinson (2a), and junior Gerry Pollastrone (1g,1a) were the big scorers and junior Jeff Mack had 29 saves to lead host Salisbury past Trinity-Pawling, 4-1…. #6 Hotchkiss, winless in their last four, was upset by Choate, 5-2…. #4 Taft whacked Kent, 10-0.... Nobles upset #3 Thayer, 5-0.... We’re still waiting for a score from the Lawrence Academy at #7 Belmont Hill game.
