AOF Christmas Classic
Gunn v #7 Berkshire
Berkshire took on The Frederick Gunn School to kick off the annual Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic. Both teams exchanged scoring chances in the first half until Whit Denzin broke the deadlock 10 minutes in. Ryan Collins delivered a hard shot through traffic that Denzin redirected past Berkshire goaltender Alex Kim. The remainder of the half remained scoreless to give Fred Gunn a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room.
Berkshire came out strong in the second half, but Fred Gunn capitalized again on a great
shot from the point off the stick of 2009 Jack Giamou, who ripped it over the shoulder of Kim. Three minutes later, Berkshire broke through when Gus Chong made a smart step inside the offensive blue line to keep the puck in the zone for the Bears. Matt Lacombe came in to support and found Erion Milla, who walked in and beat Gunn goaltender Alex Schnarr short side to cut the lead in half. With just under five minutes remaining, Berkshire was again knocking on the doorstep step firing away on the power play. Senior defenseman Dominic Somma walked in and found Jonah Rainisch backdoor, but Gunn was able to get in front of it and turn the puck the other way. Whit Denzin notched his second of the game when he won the puck on a turnover and sprung in on a shorthanded breakaway to bring Fred Gunn’s lead back to two goals. With two minutes remaining, Berkshire was pressing when Matt Lacombe beat his defender wide and took it far post to bring the game to 3-2.
Despite a late push by the Bears, Gunn hung on for the win after a late insurance empty-netter from Nathan Desanto. With a 4-2 final, Alex Schnarr and Fred Gunn got the win while Alex Kim took the loss in net for Berkshire.
First Star: Whit Denzin (Fred Gunn)
Second Star: Alex Schnarr (Fred Gunn)
Third Star: Erion Milla (Berkshire)
Loomis v Trinity-Pawling
Next up at Avon Old Farms was the Pelicans of Loomis Chaffee taking on the Trinity-Pawling Pride. The game was physical and filled with back-and-forth action. Bryce Mastriano kicked off the scoring on a second-chance opportunity in front from Owen Schwarz to give Loomis an early 1-0 lead. Loomis struck again, in the first half, less than two minutes later, when Logan Ferrara ripped one high, short side to make it 2-0 Loomis. The Pride got one back two minutes later when Peter Wienckowski finished on a great feed from David Fridman. Ferrara continued to press for Loomis when he found Joey Burke back door to give the Pelicans a two-goal cushion once again. On a scrambled play down low, David Fridman drove the net and slid the puck home, five-hole. After a short delay, where there appeared to be some confusion, the referees declared a good goal in favor of the Pride to cut Loomis Chaffee’s lead to one heading into the locker room.
Loomis once again got a quick start when, less than a minute into the second half,
Nikolai Bazalitski put one short side over the shoulder to give Loomis the 4-2
advantage. Each team tallied one more goal, with William Watson credited for Loomis and Zachary Martsching for Trinity-Pawling, giving us a final score of 5-3 in favor of Loomis Chaffee. Liam Joyce absorbed the loss for Trinity-Pawling while Markus Weber earned the win for the Pelicans.
First Star: Logan Ferrara (Loomis)
Second Star: David Fridman (TP)
Third Star: William Watson (Loomis)
#9 Kent v #4 Avon Old Farms
In the marquee matchup of the day, Kent took on host Avon Old Farms. Kent got on the board early and never relinquished their lead. Dylan Rafail got a great first touch on the puck after Noah Fitzsimmons found him in the slot, where Dylan put it just underneath the crossbar to put Kent up 1-0. Cooper Ranawat was tested throughout the first half but held firm in the net to give Kent a 1-0 lead at the break.
The line combination of Will Schlechtweg, Lucas Husted-Edwards, and Jack Broderick continued to bring a presence to the game to assist in tilting the ice in Kent’s favor in the
second half. Both teams had their chances in even-strength opportunities and power
plays, but neither could find the back of the net until Alex Chiesi let go of a one-timer from the point to increase Kent’s lead to 2-0. With the goalie pulled, Avon got on the board with 20 seconds remaining when Grover Henderson finished in front of the net on a great passing play from Maksim Yakub and Brody Latkin.
2-1 would be the final; however, Kent took home the win 2-1. Cooper Ranawat
was outstanding in net for Kent, while Anthony Palmer absorbed the loss for AOF.
First Star: Cooper Ranawat (Kent)
Second Star: Alex Chiesi (Kent)
Third Star: Grover Henderson (AOF)
Tabor v #10 St Paul’s
Wrapping up the final game of day one here at the Christmas Classic was Tabor taking
on St. Paul’s. It was a battle of the goaltenders, as this was a low-scoring affair that ended 2-1 in Tabor’s favor. Vinny D’urso was fantastic in net for the Seawolves, while Blake Truchon took the loss in net for St. Paul’s.
Tabor took a 1-0 lead thanks to a rip from outside the top of the circle from Grant
Solomon. St. Paul’s responded when Callum Green laid a massive hit on the forecheck,
which knocked the puck loose from the Tabor defender. Jaden Ficek found Mitch Smith
back door for the easy finish to even the game at 1-1.
The game would stay this score until, with a minute to go, Chase McCoy broke in on net
and sold a great fake to get the goalie, where he then found Sacred
Heart commit Ethan Travis back door for the finish and eventual game winner.
First Star: Vinny D’urso (Tabor)
Second Star: Chase McCoy (Tabor)
Third Star: Ethan Travis (Tabor)
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling