Small School
#2 Winchendon vs #1 Holderness: Winchendon wins there semi final game in OT 2-1 with a goal from Jackson Smail and saw good goaltending from Brady Knode. In the Holderness game, we expected a high-scoring game, but it ended up being a 1-0 win with a goal from Viktor Samal. Both these teams have played once before on February 18th. Winchendon came up victorious, winning 6-4. We expect a higher-scoring affair in this game compared to the other two matchups. NZ Predicts: 60% Winchendon
Large School
#4 Brunswick vs #2 Cushing: Brunswick beats the one-seed Tabor 5-4 in OT to win a trip to UConn. They were down 3-0 early and were able to storm back with help from Keegan Kazan, who scored a hat trick, and from the OT winning goal scorer, Hunter Hanford. Cushing is headed back to the arena where they won the Elite 8 last year and where they beat Brunswick back on February 11th when they won 6-2. Cushing gets here from beating Andover 6-1, with help from Sebastian Mogull, Blake Cash, Chase Warsofsky, Parker Murch, and Ben Marcolini all recording two points. We expect a closer matchup with the large school championship on the line. NZ Predicts: Split Decision
Elite 8 (Open)
#8 Avon Old Farms vs #2 St. Mark’s: Will Manchuso and the rest of the talented St. Mark’s team win big on Saturday, 7-3. Avon is also able to win big against a Hotchkiss team that rarely lets in a lot of goals, with a score of 5-0. Nico Ciardiello scored multiple times in the game. Neither of these schools have faced off against each other this year. Both teams have proved they can find the back of the net. Anthony Palmer will need to be good to fend off the offensive firepower of the Lions, and Avon has upset each team they have played to get to the championship game. Will the streak end against St. Mark’s? NZ Predicts: Split Decision
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images