St. Paul’s 2 Avon 1 (SO)
Pace was frantic from the beginning and both teams had some quality early chances. St. Paul’s was very physical all over the ice. Only goal was on the PP by Joe Schubert with 19:37 remaining as he stayed with a rebound in front. Assist went to senior James Orne. The second half was much of the same; back and forth hockey with scoring chances coming from both teams power plays. Avon was able to tie it up on a shorthanded goal when Stefan Miklakos went in on a breakaway and deked Avon netminder for the equalizer. Both teams headed into overtime but nobody was able to score. The game then moved to a shootout where Avon was stopped on all three tries and St. Paul’s was able to score on one of them on a nice move from senior Eric Sinson. St. Paul’s advances to the championship game against Gunnery and Avon will play Kent in the consolation game.
Three Stars of the Game:
1- Andy Beran, St. Paul’s
2- Joe Schubert, St. Paul’s
3- Alex Aslanidis, Avon
Salisbury 4 Deerfield 1
Deerfield and Salisbury both had their second game of the day playing in the last game at Day #1 of Flood Marr. It was a physical game right from the start and neither team was backing down. Salisbury struck first on a power play goal with a minute remaining in the first period off a low wrist shot goal through traffic from Jake Quillan. Deerfield would respond eight minutes into the second period off a power play goal from Sasha Shogren. He let go a low wrister through traffic from the top of the circles that snuck by Salisbury netminder Jared Levine.
With 5:31 remaining in the second period Salisbury junior Matt Coronato slid a puck cross slot to Michael Cameron who made a quick catch and shoot and scored. Deerfield had a few quality chances at the end of the period but were unable to capitalize.
The first 10 minutes of the third period was a good, physical game where both teams had scoring chances. However, with 3:31 remaining in the game Salisbury extended the lead 3-1 when Nick Capone fed Justin Hryckowian in the slot with a well placed pass where he dangled the goalie 1v1 and slipped it into an open net. Deerfield had a shot off the post at 2:13 remaining off a point shot from Noah de la Durantaye but Salisbury netminder Jared Levine pounced on the loose puck. The game was sealed when Salisbury captain Clay Korpi iced the puck into an empty net.
Three Players of the Game:
1 – Justin Hryckowian, Salisbury
2- Matt Coronato, Salisbury
3- Jake Quillan, Salisbury
Cushing 4 Lawrence 3 (SO)
In the final quarterfinal, Cushing escaped with a 4-3 win (shootout) against host Lawrence. The Penguins held a 3-2 lead heading into the third, but Sam Colangelo scored his second of the game to tie it. Cushing would win the shootout 3-1 with Jake Hewitt scoring the final goal. Hewitt had a big game and was constantly around the net.
Cushing will play Dexter in the semi’s, while Lawrence will play Culver.
Three Stars of the Game:
1 – Jake Hewitt, Cushing
2 – Sam Colangelo, Lawrence
3 – Brad Zona, Cushing
Tabor 7 Berkshire 2
In the “ do you want to sleep in a little” game where loser will play Loomis at 8:30 AM tomorrow, the two teams played an even half of hockey. Morgan Winters scores both the Tabor goals with assists on both to Jake Cady while Berkshire got a tally from their skilled offensive D Jake LaChance.
Second half Tabor took control immediately. Cady scored from Winters. Then Tyler Harvey scored on the PP from Cady and Winters. That made it 4-1 Tabor with 23:30 left and chased the goalie out for Berkshire. Game got really sloppy and chippy with the result never really in question. Jake LaChance scores both Berkshire goals. Berkshire will play Loomis at 8:30 AM tomorrow while Tabor will play Trinity-Pawling at 10:30.
Dexter 1 Culver 0
Dexter scored a shorthanded goal and held on to beat a short-staffed Culver team 1-0.
Doug Grimes took a stretch pass off a turnover and snapped one by the goalie to stake Dexter to a 1-0 advantage. Derek Mullahy would make it hold up as he was perfect on every shot he saw.
It looked like Culver was down a few of its top players but battled hard and tested Mullahy in the third. Dexter plays the winner of Cushing/Lawrence tomorrow, while Culver plays the loser.
Gunnery 3 Loomis 2 (OT)
Pretty easy to tell these teams don’t like each other as there was a quick pace and lots of hitting for the second game of the day. Ryan Trom started the scoring for Gunnery to give them the 1-0 lead with 10:32 left. Loomis responded as Alex Krause tipped a shot from Anthony Cipollone to even then score. Loomis survived 5-3 PP for Gunnery with Cody Hoban blocking two shots to help the cause. Then with 41.3 seconds left Reilly Connors snapped one home from the slot to take the lead. Loomis however quickly took a five minute major and will start the second down a man.
The second period was much like the first. Chippy, intense and nasty. That lasted right into the hand shake. Was one of the most entertaining games however of the Classic. Alex Jefferies scored from Robert Cronin on a nice set up for a one timer from the faceoff dot to tie the game. Regulation ended 2-2. Then Jeffries got loose on a 2v1 in OT and made no mistake as he took the shot and banked it in off the far post just under two minutes into OT.
Andover 3 Westminster 1
Westminster and Andover skated to a 0-0 tie after the first period. It wasn’t until just under 6 minutes remaining in the second period that Andover got on the board with a sneaky goal off the rush by Andover senior Thomas Manty. Andover scored again two minutes later when Mac Carso fired a snap shot high over the goalies glove in the slot for the 2-0 lead. Westminster was able to capitalize on the power play with 1:12 remaining to cut the lead to 1 when Ryan Pineault fed a beautiful pass down to Jordie McKenna who fired home the one-timer.
The third period Westminster put the pressure on but Andover’s goalie Charlie Archer stood tall and made a lot of big saves. The game was sealed with 1:05 remaining when Andover senior Jonathan Assayag scored an empty net goal.
NZ’s Take: This was a good game; Andover may have stolen this one as Westminster controlled the play for stretches. Two players who really stood out for Westminster in this game were Jacob Monroe and Ryan Pineault. Andover was without captain Christian Powers but his two linemates Thomas Manty and Mac Carso both found the net.
Three Stars of the Game:
1 – Charlie Archer, Andover
2- Ryan Pineault, Westminster
3- Mac Carso, Andover
Holderness 3 Groton 2 (SO)
Holderness advanced to Saturday’s semi final versus Proctor winning 3-2 in a shootout.
Holderness took a 2-1 lead with 6 minutes to go in the third period, however, #6 Drew Burke tied the game up less than a minute later.
The game remained scoreless through OT. #9 Isaiah Fox scored the lone goal of the shootout.
Groton will play Pomfret tomorrow.
1 – Isaiah Fox, Holderness
2 – Drew Burke, Groton
3 – Connor Androlewicz, Holderness
KUA 1 Nobles 0 (OT)
After a tough loss this morning against Salisbury, KUA rebounded nicely here for the win in overtime. For a 1-0 game it was full of action at both ends. The pace of play was excellent, especially considering both teams had played earlier that day. Both goaltenders were strong from start to finish and it was up and down. As the game went into the third however KUA looked like the better team; they are bigger and more physical and were wearing down Nobles who had to play their top two lines heavy minutes to stay with the Wildcats.
It was 0-0 to end regulation but in overtime it was KUA who prevailed. Arlo Merritt got a puck in the slot, patiently toe dragged around the Nobles defenseman and fired a low wrister under Marc Smith‘s glove with 1:44 remaining in overtime.
Three Stars of the Game:
1- Arlo Merritt, KUA
2- Veeti Kohvakka, KUA
3- Marc Smith, Nobles
Kent 4 Trinity Pawling 1
After watching their chances of a chance at the finals go up in smoke with the Gunnery OT win, Kent came out and looked prepared and played hard. They controlled play and had plenty of zone time. Kent’s Michael Posma scored on a rebound of a shot by Alex Laferriere and Colin Cobb picked up a secondary assist. Kent held the 1-0 lead until 4.4 seconds left when Tommy Raith stole a puck and buried short side. 2-0 Kent after one half and it could be more as TP’s Evan Ruschil made several point blank saves.
Kent continued to control play. TP took a lot of penalties. Posma scored from Laferriere and Laferriere scored from Posma. Colin Cobb picked up a couple assists as well. Alex Contey played well in the net for Kent, especially killing off a long 5-3 TP PP. Kent will play in the consolation game tomorrow but are clearly one of the best teams in the tournament. They played very well tonight.
Proctor 5 Pomfret 3
Proctor survived a late surge from Pomfret and used an empty net goal with just over a minute left to skate away with a 5-3 victory in the opening game of the lawrence/groton tournament.
Myles Abbate had a goal and a few assists and Ronan Walsh netted a hat trick in the win. Both forwards looked strong and made several plays to create scoring chances.
Proctor will move on in the winners bracket and play either Groton or Holderness tomorrow for a right to play in the finals on Sunday.
1 – Ronan Walsh, Proctor
2 – Myles Abbate, Proctor
3 – Will Rosen, Pomfret
#1 Hotchkiss 2 Milton 0
#1 ranked Hotchkiss kept the undefeated streak alive today after defeating Milton 2-0 in their opening game of the tournament. It was a low scoring affair without a ton of chances on either side. Hotchkiss didn’t get on the score sheet until 20 seconds remaining in the second period when senior forward Jordan Ehrensperger made a nifty move in the slot and beat Milton standout goalie Erik Voloshin just inside the post stick side. He would score the only other goal of the game on the power late in the third period on a beautiful top corner snipe from the tops off the circles just over the goalie’s glove.
Three Stars of the Game:
1-Jordan Ehrensperger, F, Hotchkiss
2- Henry Wilder, G, Hotchkiss
3- Emmet Powell, D, Milton
NZ’s Take: This was unlike the games before it which were open ice and both teams generating lots of chances. This was controlled, structured and low in mistakes or odd-man rushes. Hotchkiss and Milton both play disciplined hockey and they both competed hard. Hotchkiss has beaten some very good teams this year and deserves their #1 ranking but they don’t have the firepower of the teams who played earlier today. With that being said their goalie Henry Wilder was excellent from start to finish and will always give them a chance to win games.
#14 Salisbury 3 #7 KUA 0
A rematch of last year’s Elite 8 Championship game where two of the top-ranked teams heading into the season faced some adversity through the first few games. Salisbury jumped out on KUA early, got pucks in deep and controlled play the whole first period. At the 5:29 mark Salisbury defenseman Bobby Metz shot a low shot from the point which Michael Cameron picked up the loose rebound and put the Knights on top. KUA had a chance to tie the game late with 30 seconds remaining when Brian Carrabes had a breakaway and made a nice deke but ultimately got stuffed by Salisbury junior goalie Nick Haas.
The second period was more balanced with back and forth action both teams exchanging chances. However, Salisbury got back to back goals halfway through the period. The first came from junior Lucas Mercuri on a breakaway deke which was a highlight reel move showing both the patience and skill to finish. The pass from Jarod Crespo was even better, beautiful feed through the Neutral Zone through traffic which hit Mercuri in stride to spring the breakaway. Less than two minutes later it was Michael Fairfax scored a catch and shoot in the slot off a nice feed from behind the net by junior Jake Quillan.
Three of the Game:
1- Nick Haas, G, Salisbury
2- Jarod Crespo, D, Salisbury
3- Lucas Mercuri, F, Salisbury
NZ’s Take: both of these teams will likely be in the hunt when it’s all said and done. This was a fast and physical game; both teams showing great size, speed and depth. Salisbury was the better team, they were winning the battles, they kept it simple, got pucks deep behind KUA defense and attacked the net. KUA had chances throughout but struggled to finish and get inside the Salisbury defense.
Lawrenceville 1 Upper Canada College 0
Nikita Nesterenko broke the tie with a short side snipe. TJ Septimphelter, in net for Lawrenceville, held off a spirited, last-minute push with several point-blank saves after his team his a post on the empty net.
St. Paul’s 4 Berkshire 0
St. Paul’s controlled the play from the puck drop. Berkshire was never able to generate a consistent forecheck or zone time as SPS efficiently limited odd-man rushes and broke pucks out. SPS scored 10 minutes in as the OT hero from last night Eric Sinson sent a cross-ice pass to Julian Menes who then drove the cage and deposited the puck up top on the partial breakaway. Period ended 1-0. Charlie Murphy was in the net for SPS and made some early saves but faced little action.
It was much of the same in the second as St. Paul’s played a meticulous and smart game that frustrated Berkshire. Menes added a second goal when an odd bounce led to a puck on his stick in the slot. He made no mistake as he scored post and in to put his team up 2-0. With 14:56 left Owen Stadheim came streaking down the wing and snapped the puck home to put St. Paul’s up 3-0. Berkshire pulled their goalie with about 4 minutes left in an attempt to mount a comeback but Julian Menes banked an empty net goal from his end, off the boards and in the net for the hat trick. Game ended 4-0. Andy Beran played the second half in net for SPS so he and Murphy shared the shutout.
1- Julian Menes, F, SPS
2- Max Dumas, D, SPS
3- Teddy McElaney, D, SPS
#2 Nobles 4 #3 Deerfield 1
Nobles jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the game on a power-play goal from William Zink. There was no stopping there as they extended the lead by two later in the period when Owen O’Connor won an offensive zone faceoff back to Colby Bailey who one-timed it past Deerfield netminder as the puck got deflected and trickled 5-hole.
Deerfield came back hungry in the second and with 11:10 remaining Deerfield senior forward Tomas Zourikian scored on a rebound from beside the net to elevate it over the goalie’s pad and make it a one-goal game. Nobles answered late in the period when Jack Cronin went in all alone on Deerfield goalie Thomas Gale and made an excellent deke move and slipped the puck past him.
The third period was back and forth. Deerfield was in the game until the very end but with 1:42 remaining Deerfield pulled the goalie and Nobles junior Robert Lapsley scored from the red line to put the game out of reach.
Three Stars of the Game:
1- Marc Smith, G, Nobles
2- Jack Cronin, F, Nobles
3- Noah de la Durantaye, D, Deerfield
NZ’s Take: Nobles was the better team, Deerfield is solid, they play hard, they have some size on the backend and are hard to play against but they won’t be able to score goals against top teams and had little offensive zone time and quality scoring chances.
Nobles is legit, they have speed, they are deep up front and goaltender Marc Smith was sharp. The blue line wasn’t tested much here but they can skate and play a nice possession game.
Trinity-Pawling 4 #8 Loomis 1
The local team came out with more energy and kept it simple and TP carried the play early. About 8 mins in Joey Musa found the back of the net from Stephen Perez. Loomis seemed to wake up and carried more of the play the last 12 minutes. Jake Sigal scored on a great individual effort ending with a backhand deke for the goal.
Trinity-Pawling won a lot of pucks and wore Loomis down on route to a 4-1 win. With just under 20 minutes left in the game, CJ Zezima scored the ultimate game-winner as he was on the receiving end of a well-executed 3 on 2 with John Gelatt and Taylor Ewing. TP struck again when Jackson Breton dipped and fired a shot that created an empty net rebound for Shane Murphy to put TP up 3-1. Steven Willey added an empty net from his blue for the 4-1 final and an impressive win for the Pride.
Three Stars of the Game:
1- Evan Ruschil, TP
2- Jackson Breton, TP
3- CJ Zezima, TP