WESTON, Mass. — Despite a late goal for Rivers, St. Mark's held on for a big win on Saturday, taking down the Red Wings, 4-3.
The Lions opened the scoring early when sophomore forward Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.) knocked in a rebound off a shot from senior defenseman Jack O'Connor less than two minutes into the game.
Rivers knotted things up, 1-1, early in the second period when freshman forward Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) took the puck to the net and found freshman Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.) in front for a tally.
St. Mark's appeared to take the lead midway through the second period when freshman forward Keith Olympia (Sudbury, Mass.) scored, but it was called off due to goalie interference. The Lions eventually did score later in the frame when sophomore forward Thomas Birks had a shot from the point bounce off him and in, making it 2-1.
The third period is where things got crazy.
Junior defenseman Moussa Seydi extended St. Mark's lead to 3-1 when his shot from the point zipped past Rivers junior goalie Derrick Huang.
Meyer responded just over two minutes later when he stepped over the blue line and put one over the glove of St. Mark's senior goalie Justin BriseBois.
St. Mark's sophomore forward Will Manchuso (Stow, Mass.) tipped in a shot from sophomore defenseman Phin Howard (Newton, Mass.) with 3:45 to play, giving the Lions a 4-2 lead.
While Meyer scored again with 28.2 seconds left in the game, the Red Wings couldn't muster another goal.
With the win, St. Mark's improved to a dazzling 10-1-2, while Rivers fell to 8-5-1.
Let's dive into some takeaways from this one.
1. St. Mark's line of Max Santos, Will Cooney and Teddy Drury did a nice job against the Rivers '09 line
Whenever I watch Rivers, I'm always curious how opposing teams will handle the super-line of freshmen Meyer, Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.) and Sam Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.). At the Kevin Mutch Tournament, Brunswick stuck senior center Oliver Czaja on them and it worked.
Lions head coach Carl Corazzini mostly sent his line of Santos, Cooney and Drury over the boards when Rivers' top line hit the ice. Late in the second period, Santos won a puck battle in the offensive zone and almost scored. The trio got a few chances and had Rivers on their heels for a bit. Early in the third period, Santos was robbed at the far post by Huang who made a fantastic leg save. They had other chances throughout the game, too.
The trio was aggressive on Meyer, Sears and Pandolfo, not giving them a lot of time and space. St. Mark's defensemen were also all over those three, finishing hits and making life tough on them trying to get to high-danger ice.
It was a nice showing for Santos, Cooney and Drury. They got chances for and prevented numerous potential chances against.
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2. That didn't stop Carter Meyer from having a strong game
Meyer still had three points. Even with all that pressure and defense against him, Rivers' top point-getter still put up two goals and notched an assist. Sears also had a goal and an assist.
His play down the wall to get to space and hit Sears with a pass in front was pretty. It came at a big time and at 5v5, it was important for getting the Red Wings back in the game.
The highlight reel play came midway through the third period when Meyer entered the offensive zone, cut to his left and absolutely sniped a shot into the top corner over BriseBois' glove. St. Mark's defenders had solid gaps, too. But Meyer is just that good, using a quick move to his left to get BriseBois out of position just enough.
Meyer's second goal came shorthanded off a defensive zone draw. Junior forward Justin Graf took it up ice, got a shot off and Meyer put in the rebound.
As of Saturday, Meyer has 20 goals and 37 points in 14 games, which is good for almost an average of three points per game. Ridiculous.
3. Moussa Seydi had a very strong game
Seydi had a stout, two-way performance on Saturday. His goal was nice, uncorking a missile from the point that beat Huang clean. But it was his defense that has the biggest impact.
He was hard to play against, consistently using his 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame to box out opposing forwards from the netfront and finish hits. In the first period, he had a nice sequence where he stepped up at his own blue line, forced a turnover and kickstarted the rush the other way. He was physical with Meyer, Sears and Pandolfo all game, as he refused to give them space and even engaged with some extracurricular stuff after whistles. I also liked his puck-handling at the point as he didn't rush plays.
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4. Caiden Pellegrino had a nice showing
One local '09 who doesn't get enough attention is Pellegrino. He opened the scoring on a heads-up play by the net, picking up the rebound and putting it around Huang. He almost scored his second later in the period at the far post, but Huang dove across and robbed him of a sure goal.
His small-area passing was really good, as his vision came through finding his wings on rushes. He won puck battles in the offensive zone and supported plays well as the center in his own zone. Through 13 games, he has three goals and 14 points and projects to be a big part of the St. Mark's lineup for the rest of this season and future ones.
5. Manchuso continues to show Division 1 potential
Manchuso showed well on Saturday. His goal was the eventual game-winner, as he got positioning in front of the net and angled his body to have the shot ricochet off him and keep going. He's a powerful skater who pushed the pace and was able to drive play. His chemistry with sophomore linemate Cam MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) was apparent, too.
Manchuso is tied for the team lead in points (20) with MacPherson and junior forward Evan Nee (Arlington, Mass.).
6. Freddy Meyer also continues to show Division 1 potential
Younger brother Carter gets a lot of ink, but Freddy, an '07 defenseman, was terrific again on Saturday. He laid big hits and smaller, impactful hits in his own end and the neutral zone. His most impressive moments, however, came with the puck, as he was elusive behind his own net and would often rush the puck himself. Because he was a full-time forward just over a year ago, he's smart on the routes he takes through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. Sure, he's 5-foot-10, but he plays like he's 6-foot-2. I'm intrigued by his development over the next couple of years.
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Leftover thoughts...
- Huang had a good game on Saturday. In the first period, he stretched out and robbed Pellegrino. He stoned Santos early in the third period and followed that up with a remarkable save on Nee.
- We're going to learn a lot about St. Mark's through the rest of January. To this point, the Lions haven't had the most difficult schedule. After Rivers on Saturday, they face Belmont Hill and St. George's over their next two games. Those two games will be key in determining if St. Mark's is an Elite 8 team or a high seed in the Small School Tournament. But as of right now...
- The Lions are No. 2 in the Elite 8 race, according to USHR, which is impressive given many new players on the roster and a lack of seniors.
- While the Lions graduate both goalies after this season, they won't lose too many seniors. A majority of the core will be back next season.
