FOXBORO, Mass. — Hockey season is upon us.
There may be some runway left in the summer, but the River Rats Jamboree signaled the onset of a new season.
The Jamboree featured many of the top teams and prospects from the region and around the country with divisions ranging from the U18 to U14 and even 2012s.
I spent Monday at the trusty Foxboro Sports Center, focusing on the U18s. I caught the Long Island Gulls' dramatic win over the Yale Jr. Bulldogs, Mid Fairfield's triumph over the Cape Cod Whalers and the Boston Jr. Eagles' win against the River Rats.
Let's dive into 11 standouts among the U18s.
Cooper Snee
Yale Jr. Bulldogs/Avon Old Farms, 6/20/2006, F, right shot, 6-0/175
NCAA: Providence
Good things happened whenever Snee was on the ice for the Jr. Bulldogs. He was a big play-driver on his line, and his strong, wide base made it hard for defenders to knock him off the puck. The Providence commit ran a great give-and-go with Domenico Clarizio early on, finding him with a saucer pass to the slot for a dangerous redirect chance. Snee later led an excellent zone entry that led to a goal for Indiana Grossbard, dancing around the defense and driving down the wall before working the puck back out high. He also helped set up Stefano Pietrantonio's goal. Snee dropped off to Grossbard and drove hard to the net, taking away the defenseman and opening up a lane for a centering pass. He dropped into the butterfly to save an empty-net goal toward the end of the game for good measure.
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Joseph Argentina
Long Island Gulls, 9/4/2007, F, right shot, 5-7/155
Argentina was around it all game for the Gulls. He scored in the second after going to the net, where Brendan DeFeo found him. It was good to see Argentina get rewarded after he had created some good chances earlier with little luck. He was also excellent at the face-off dot, especially down the stretch when he won two key defensive zone draws as the Gulls protected their lead.
Kyle O'Leary
Boston Jr. Eagles/Nobles, 6/25/2006, F, right shot, 6-1/190
NCAA: Yale
O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.) was unstoppable for a good chunk of the Jr. Eagles' win, scoring on back-to-back shifts. His first goal came off a heck of a shot in the slot as he collected and shot a loose puck all in one motion. It was on and off his stick in no time. The second came on a strong drive to the net, burying a feed from Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.). O'Leary was in the mix again on his next shift, forcing a turnover out high on the forecheck before setting up Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.) for a Grade-A look.
Ryan Cameron
Long Island Gulls, 8/21/2007, G, catches left, 6-1/170
NCAA: Boston College
Cameron started strong for the Gulls, making several high-quality saves early. He had good angles and was square to shots. He smothered everything, too, giving up hardly any rebounds. At the start of the second, he robbed Sam Houston with the glove, jumping out to the top of his crease to cut down the angle before flashing the leather. Cameron was at his best late as the Gulls clung to a one-goal lead. He was calm under pressure and continued to do a great job limiting rebounds. He was also excellent at tracking pucks through heavy traffic.
Brendan DeFeo
Long Island Gulls, 8/26/2007, F, left shot, 5-9/165
NCAA: Vermont
DeFeo's line with Argentina took over the game for the Gulls down the stretch in short order. He got things started by finding Argentina with some good hands and vision to finish off a nice sequence. Shortly after, DeFeo scored a beautiful shorthanded goal, stripping the puck at the defensive blue line, deking around the defense and scoring with a slick forehand-backhand finish in tight. He scored again on his next shift with a good shot from the left circle off a fantastic feed from behind the net by Marko Lisica. That goal went down as the game-winner.
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Matthew MacDonald
Cape Cod Whalers/Thayer, 4/11/2006, D, right shot, 6-2/175
MacDonald (Walpole, Mass.) was the Whalers' most effective skater in their loss to Mid Fairfield. He consistently made good decisions to pinch at the offensive blue line, keeping offensive zone sequences going. There was one shift where he won a 50-50 puck at the half wall, drove down to the corner and fed Alex Recht (Wellesley, Mass.) for a one-timer at the right dot. MacDonald also knew when to jump into the play and lead the rush. He scored a terrific end-to-end goal later on as well. He evaded two forecheckers with some nifty moves near his blue line before waltzing through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, stuffing a forehand-backhand finish at the left post.
Indiana Grossbard
Yale Jr. Bulldogs/Avon Old Farms, 12/21/2007, F, right shot, 5-9/170
NCAA: Dartmouth
Grossbard can flat-out rip the puck. He was fantastic on Snee's line, scoring early on as he won a battle in front of the net and found the loose puck. Grossbard later set up Pietrantonio with an excellent centering pass as Snee drove to the crease. Grossbard also added a major shooting threat to the Jr. Bulldogs' power play, working out high. He rang the crossbar with a heavy shot from range after he had forced Cameron to make a big high-blocker save earlier. He has an effortless, powerful release.
Talen McBride
Mid Fairfield/Frederick Gunn, 4/12/2006, D, left shot, 6-5/205
McBride was a heavy, physical presence on the blue line for Mid Fairfield. For most of the game, the Whalers generated hardly anything in the middle of the ice whenever McBride was on the ice. He used his lengthy reach effectively as well as his size. It helped him win battles along the boards and knock forwards off the puck.
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Teddy MacAusland
Boston Jr. Eagles/Nobles, 1/13/2006, F, right shot, 5-10/160
MacAusland was effective on O'Leary's line with his speed. He set up O'Leary's second goal with a good solo rush, blazing down the wall before sending a feed out front. He did a good job of closing down passing lanes and taking space away from defenders quickly on the forecheck as well. It led to some extended attacking zone time for the Jr. Eagles.
Domenico Clarizio
Yale Jr. Bulldogs/Taft, 4/30/2007, F, right shot, 6-0/180
Clarizio nearly scored early in the game with a great deflection in the slot off a give-and-go with Snee. He got rewarded shortly after with a spectacular goal. Clarizio got a step on the defense for a partial breakaway. With the defender draped all over him, he chipped the puck in bar-down, perfectly over the glove, as he fell to the ice.
Nate Porter
Neponset Valley River Rats/Dexter, 3/10/2006, F, right shot, 5-10/180
Porter (Hingham, Mass.) opened the scoring for the River Rats in their loss to the Jr. Eagles, flashing one of his best attributes: his shot. He got the puck at the top of the right circle in transition and wasted no time, rifling a quick, heavy release off the post and in. He made it look easy.
