Played on March 13, 2024
Vincent Borgesi (D, R, 5’8″, 173, Northeastern University, 03/02/2004, Northeastern)
Game Grade: A
Standing 5’8″ and weighing in at 173lbs Borgesi is an undersized right shot defenseman with very fluid powerful strides, explosive four-way agility and a deep knee over toe athletic skating posture that allows him to consistently win battles against larger opponents. He was trusted by his coaches to be used in all situations leading Northeastern in ice time with 27:38 TOI, including being tied for a team high 3:21 on the power play and being second among defensemen with 1:43 on the penalty kill. Although he led Northeastern in playing time in the offensive zone by almost three full minutes with 13:55 his coaches regularly chose to have him start his shifts with a face-off in the defensive zone. Before defensive zone face-offs it was obvious that Borgesi was scanning the ice preparing himself for where Merrimack’s forechecking pressure was most likely coming from. He then communicated with his teammates and once the puck was on the ice he was a transition machine. Offensively he moved the puck quickly and then jumped into the rush. His passes were hard flat and on the tape and when he did not have a clear passing lane Borgesi moved his feet to open high percentage passing lanes. He scored Northeastern’s second goal of the game on a quick stick royal road one-timer from just inside the blueline and he finished the game +2. Over the course of the game Borgesi attempted 6 shots with two of those hitting the net and three of them being blocked. None of the blocked shots led to Merrimack odd man rushes or breakouts but it is worth noting that through 35 games he has had 57 shots blocked. He led Northeastern in puck touches with 178, 57 more than his closest teammate, and he controlled the puck sixteen seconds more than his closest teammate and had the puck on his stick for 1:03. Defensively Borgesi used his feet to establish his ice early and then his low center of gravity to hold his ground. During wall battles he stayed on the net side of the puck and again showed strength by hitting and pinning his man to the wall to end the cycle. Borgesi’s strength and ability to stay on the net side of the battle led to him leading Northeastern by generating ten breakouts with five being by pass and five by carrying the puck out of the zone.
Pito Walton (D, R, 6’3″, 192, Northeastern University, 03/17/2000, Princeton)
Game Grade: B
Standing at 6’3″, 192lbs Walton is a slightly above average sized right shot defenseman who showed long strides that finished with a toe snap, an easy heel to heel pivot and average straight line speed. Offensively he has high level puck poise, confidence and a low panic point. In just about every situation he will take the extra time needed to settle the puck down before attempting to make a play with the most obvious example coming on his goal where Walton literally showed no panic as he held the puck for a solid second in the low slot before firing a snapshot home. Over the course of the game he attempted seven shots with two hitting the net but his patience also negatively impacted his overall game as he was tied for a team worst with having four of his shots blocked. He had an 84% completed pass percentage which was the lowest among Northeastern defensemen and fourth lowest on the team. Although he did not have any assists, he finished the game +3 with one goal coming out of solid defensive zone coverage and the other two coming after defending Merrimack line rushes cleanly and forcing turnovers through a blocked shot and a very nice sneaky poke check at his defensive blueline. Walton had an interference penalty midway through the first period that we feel was unintentional incidental contact where he was simply just stronger on his feet than his opponent. Walton showed good puck anticipation which allowed him to win loose puck races and win 63% of his 50/50 puck battles as he led the game with an outstanding 17 takeaways and was second on the team with eight loose puck recoveries.. Walton played primarily 5 on 5 minutes with only 0:39 seconds of special teams play.
Zach Bookman (D, R, 5’10”, 176, Merrimack, 03/29/2002, Merrimack)
Game Grade: B
Standing at 5’10”, 175lbs Bookman is an undersized right shot defenseman with a smooth stride and excellent backwards skating mobility. We do not view him as a threat to dangle an opponent by putting the puck through their feet but he has the puck poise and skating ability to make opponents miss in open ice or to drag them away from his intended passing target before firing a pass to his teammate as is evidenced by his 97% in game passing accuracy percentage. Defensively he showed good strength by winning 80% of his 50/50 puck battles and nice puck anticipation by having eleven takeaways and a team high 8 loose puck recoveries. Although he finished the game -3 with the first goal being the only one where we feel he was involved he played a team high 10:47 in the attacking zone compared to 9:29 in the defensive zone. On his first minus he and a Northeastern forward were involved in a net front battle as a point shot was coming in but Bookman failed to clear the shooting lane and contributed to screening his goalie. We understand that screens happen and the goal came off a one-timer but we would have liked to see him establish his ice earlier and use his leg drive to push his man clear from the low slot. The second minus came after Bookman joined the rush and unfortunately was hit by a teammate’s one-timer in the heel and the third minus came on an empty net goal. He was used in all situations playing a team high 23:03 including being tied for a team power play high of 2:52 as well as playing 1:25 while shorthanded.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images