Boxboro, MA – MassNZ made the trip down 495 to catch a battle of the hyphenated schools as the Acton-Boxboro Colonials were playing host to the Concord-Carlisle Patriots. This was our first time scouting in-person at the Nashoba Valley Olympia and the stands were jam-packed with students from both schools early for this tilt. As you might expect it was a Christmas theme for the students in attendance and they all wore some form of green and red refinery. But there was a game afoot and we were right at ice level to take it all in.
In the opening frame, while there were no official goals that made it on the scoreboard, both teams were generating chances. This game was played at great speed on both ends and there was a nice mix of physicality to boot. We were impressed by the athleticism and good decision-making on both sides. There were some Grade A looks for both teams and a couple of posts rang out in the process. We would move onto the second frame looking to break the ice on the scoreless tie.
In the second period, you saw the tension and hostility rise, in addition to the digits on the scoreboard. There were more than a few extra skirmishes and trash talk after each whistle. It was clear these two teams were not exchanging Christmas cards this year. With that said, the scoring started right off the jump as super sophomore Will Manchuso fed freshman forward Joe Grasso on his way to the net on the back door to make it 1-0 Patriots. Concord-Carlisle kept the pressure on for the early part of the period but Acton-Boxboro reclaimed that momentum on the power play five minutes into the frame. Junior defenseman Billy Dapkas picked up a puck off the half wall and threw it at the net and it slipped through the goalie to tie this game at 1-1. The roughhousing and jawing picked up as the period wore on but Concord-Carlisle would gain the advantage again as Manchuso found a wide-open senior captain Jay Carter in front of the net alone and he tucked it home to make it 2-1 Patriots. There were a couple more skirmishes before all was said and done but that would be our score after two. Would that lead hold? 15 more minutes would give us our answer.
In the third and final period, both teams would see time on the power play but neither would be able to bury the dagger goal. This period was played fast and physically, just like the two that preceded it and both teams were pushing hard because the next one would be huge. Ultimately, neither team was able to tilt the ice in their favor, but the Patriots did win the possession battle for anyone who was keeping track. The defenses on each side held until the waning minutes as Acton-Boxboro pulled their goalie but were unable to get a clean setup in the attacking zone. We would wrap up this game with a final score of 2-1 Concord-Carlisle.
Three Stars:
- F Jay Carter, Concord-Carlisle
- F Will Manchuso, Concord-Carlisle
- D Billy Dapkas, Acton-Boxboro