SOUTHBORO, Mass. — Belmont Hill was going to need to set an early tone going into St. Mark's and facing the No. 3 Lions.
That's exactly what Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.) provided.
The Sextants senior forward stepped up in the neutral zone, deflected a puck past the defenders and got a breakaway. He went from forehand to backhand and slipped the puck past an outstretched Julian Herrara (Providence, R.I.).
That was halfway into the first period, and Belmont Hill never looked back, upsetting St. Mark's, 3-1.
Belmont Hill extended the lead on a power play midway through the second when Herrara stopped a shot from Belmont Hill defenseman Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.), but freshman forward Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.) knocked in the rebound.
St. Mark's responded late in the second. Lions junior defenseman Blake Grislis (Narragansett, R.I.) had a nice keep-in and shot on net that Belmont Hill junior goalie Ethan Bauer (Belmont, Mass.) stopped, but junior forward Will Cooney (Wellesley, Mass.) batted in the rebound, cutting the lead to 2-1.
But that momentum was halted early in the third period. Sophomore defenseman Alex Guo (Weston, Mass.) got a loose puck at the top of the circle and rifled a shot past Herrara's glove.
The win improved Belmont Hill to 11-4-2, while St. Mark's fell to 12-2-0.
Let's dive into some standouts and takeaways.
Patrick Woods
Belmont Hill, 7/5/2007, F, right shot, 6-1/170
Hometown: Charlestown, Mass.Â
Woods set the tone with his goal, which was all about his compete, in the first period. But the do-it-all center kept it going throughout the game. He drove play and was effective at drawing defenders to him and dishing out pucks off the rush. On a penalty kill midway through the second period, Woods intercepted an attempted clear by Herrara. When St. Mark's gained the puck back in its own zone, Woods stayed hot on the forecheck. Woods' hustle and compete led him to catch up to Dartmouth commit Will Manchuso (Concord, Mass.), who had a shorthanded breakaway late in the game, and break up the scoring chance.
Louis Marobella
Belmont Hill, 5/31/2007, D, right shot
Hometown: Sudbury, Mass.Â
Marobella was a force on Wednesday night. He was consistently laying big hits, but he was also intelligent in defending down low with his stick and his positioning. On one shift early in the first period, he stepped up to make a big hit on a St. Mark's rush and then moments later, blocked a shot. His best play came late in the second period. Up a goal and with St. Mark's pressing, he got down and broke up a pass from Providence College commit Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.) to senior forward Evan Nee (Arlington, Mass.) in the slot.
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Evan Jones
Belmont Hill, 2/9/2007, D, left shot, 5-11/180
Hometown: Arlington, Mass.
NCAA: DartmouthÂ
A lot of this game came down to clean breakouts (more on that in a bit), and Jones was at the center of it. The Dartmouth commit broke pucks out of his own zone with poise, reading each forecheck and making the correct read. Belmont Hill's forward trio of Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.), Jackson Burns (Wellesley, Mass.) and Robert DeKleine hemmed in St. Mark's for a long time late in the first period. Unfortunately for the Lions, Jones was one of the defensemen at the point, and he was able to successfully dance and sift through coverage with the puck. It wasn't a huge surprise when his shot led to Lee's goal.
Sam Lee
Belmont Hill, 9/29/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.Â
Lee scored, but what stood out the most was his intelligence. Two sequences in the second period come to mind — and both involved dumping the puck in. On one play, he was skating with possession through neutral ice and felt pressure on his back, so he chipped the puck in. Moments later, he had possession and picked his head up to see he was alone with four St. Mark's skaters closest to him. So he gained the red line and dumped it in. Why is this some impressive feat? Most players at 15 years old and with his skill level (there aren't many) would try to dangle through or outskate coverage. Instead, he chose the smart move.
Ethan Bauer
Belmont Hill, 10/25/2008, G, catches left, 6-3/185
Hometown: Belmont, Mass.Â
The Sextants did a good job of limiting high-danger chances, but Bauer still made 36 saves. Bauer's positioning was always sound. The Belmont High product never overcommitted to shots, and it resulted in him making some good chances look pedestrian. Early in the second period, Bauer made a slew of in-tight saves on St. Mark's sophomore forward Bruce Zhong. He tracked pucks well, too, especially on tips.
Logan Cotter
St. Mark's, 8/10/2010, D, left shot, 5-10/160
Hometown: Marlboro, Mass.Â
It wasn't St. Mark's day, but Cotter showed well. He was active in stepping up when defending the rush. On one shift, he broke up a play and then stepped up to lay a good hit on Belmont Hill junior forward Liam Boyle (Needham, Mass.). Early in the third period, Cotter's step-up led straight to a chance by Pellegrino. Cotter was a standout defenseman in his birth year throughout the fall. As a freshman, he's become more comfortable at the prep level.
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Takeaways...
- St. Mark's big three of Nee, Pellegrino and Manchuso are high-end prep players. But on Wednesday night, they struggled to generate offense and get inside on Belmont Hill's defense. There was one time in which Pellegrino had the puck alone in the slot and opted to pass the puck off to Nee on his strong side. Nee then tried to pass the puck back into the slot, only for the play to be broken up. Nee had a nice dangle off the rush that led to a chance, but Bauer turned it aside. There were also multiple NHL scouts in attendance to watch Manchuso, who was ranked as a fourth-round prospect in NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings. He didn't generate much offense either. The trio, who play on different lines, had a tough night. All three average over two points per game.
- As I said earlier, this game came down to which team's breakouts were cleaner, and it was Belmont Hill by far. The Sextants moved pucks out of their zone as a unit with centers getting low enough in the zone to provide another outlet. Head coach Brian Phinney is fortunate to have some slick puck movers in players like Jones, Guo and sophomore Nick Ware (Weymouth, Mass.). At the other end, Belmont Hill caused chaos on the forecheck.
- A St. Mark's forward who has intrigued me in this game and the matchup with Tabor last week: sophomore Anthony Brunetti (Lewiston, Maine). He's a shot-first wing who showed good poise with the puck and helped his line with seniors Grady Bishop (Ashland, Mass.) and Max Santos have some good offensive zone possessions.
- Along those same lines, a Belmont Hill forward who caught my eye on Wednesday was sophomore Nicholas Hand (Dover, Mass.). The 6-foot, 174-pound forward played a heavy game. Midway through the first period, he won the puck in the offensive zone corner and drove the net for a scoring chance. He notched another chance later in the frame as well.
- As of late Wednesday night, St. Mark's ranks fifth in the JSPR, which is the algorithm that picks the playoffs, while Belmont Hill is ninth. The JSPR will change a lot between now and March, but I have that two-game stretch on Jan. 31 (Governor's Academy) and Feb. 2 (Dexter Southfield) circled for St. Mark's. After losing to Belmont Hill and Tabor, those games should be impactful for Elite 8 seeding come the end.
