MILTON, Mass. — The public-address announcer was calling out the all-tournament team for the Flood-Marr when he got to the team in second place.
He called out Hotchkiss. The only problem was that Hotchkiss took down Deerfield, 4-1, in the Flood-Marr championship.
Obviously, the public-address announcer had made a mistake, and he admitted so with a laugh. But it was emblematic.
Hotchkiss, the team that had six wins last season and hasn't had a winning squad since 2019-20, won the Flood-Marr?
Boy, did they. And emphatically.
The Bearcats opened the scoring late in the first period when senior forward Matthew Wallace forced a turnover, got the puck and beat Deerfield goalie Elliot Lennon with a wrister. Moments later, junior defenseman Evan Williams entered the offensive zone and got a shot on Lennon. The Deerfield netminder turned it aside, but Williams hustled to the rebound and scored, making it 2-0.
Deerfield answered not long after when senior forward Matteo Alvarez drove the net, and a shot by junior forward James Bellig deflected off Hotchkiss goalie Neilan Johnson and then off Alvarez and into the net.
But Hotchkiss continued to press. After a scoreless second period, junior forward Ryan Murray potted one past Lennon, and Williams capped it off with an empty-net goal.
The Flood-Marr title is Hotchkiss' first since it won back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.
Let's dive into some standouts and takeaways.
Matteo Alvarez
Deerfield, 7/20/2007, G, catches left, 6-2/180
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, Calif.Â
Alvarez's goal came from using his size to drive the net, getting a fortunate bounce off his skate and in. But that's all him putting himself in a smart spot. His line with freshman Owen Hannah and sophomore Owen Andrews was one of two lines that head coach Tim McVaugh relied upon heavily. That trio was able to get several long offensive zone chances. Alvarez's size and dominance had quite a bit to do with that.
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Ryan Murray
Hotchkiss, 9/10/2008, F, left shot, 5-10/170
Hometown: Westfield, N.J.Â
Murray was dominant for Hotchkiss. The speedy center drove play and hit the ice in all situations. His speed and hockey sense came in handy when Hotchkiss was killing penalties (more on that in a bit). Murray's goal came from getting the puck in a high-danger area off the rush and beating Lennon over the glove. He had multiple other chances and was constantly noticeable.
Aidan Patton
Hotchkiss, 5/26/2007, F, left shot, 6-1/198
Hometown: Wallingford, Conn.Â
Patton's blend of speed and size made him so intriguing. He was physical, always laying the body and separating players from the puck. His speed put Deerfield's defenders on their heels, as they had to respect both his feet and how big he was. He had a hard shot as well. That speed led him to get a breakaway midway through the third period, but Lennon denied him. Patton did what it took to win in other areas, too, getting down to block shots when needed.
Evan Seow
Hotchkiss, 10/25/2007, D, left shot, 5-8/165
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.Â
I can't say enough good things about Seow. His edgework and skating were outstanding. Seow was elusive and shifty with pressure, always finding ways to get to open space. When he had pucks at the point, he was able to move his feet well to get open shooting and passing lanes. His vision was great, too. And, in his own zone, he took up smart positioning around the net to limit Deerfield from getting to high-danger areas. Division 3 schools should have his name circled.
Matthew Wallace
Hotchkiss, 4/2/2008, F, right shot, 6-0/183
Hometown: Seminole, Fla.Â
Wallace's shift that led to his goal was absurd. He was relentless in forechecking Deerfield and eventually forced a turnover high in the zone. He picked the pass off, went in and scored over Lennon's glove. Wallace's motor and speed were key for Hotchkiss in pinning Deerfield deep in its own end. His line with juniors Finley Walsh and Issac Oberting had multiple extended offensive zone sequences, and it had a lot to do with Wallace's relentlessness.
Wallace was at USA Hockey's Select 17 Camp this summer and notched six points in six games.
Evan Williams
Hotchkiss, 9/1/2007, D, left shot, 6-4/190
Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.Â
Williams will be remembered for two goals, and rightfully so. The one that came in the first period was a fantastic heads-up play to join the rush. But Williams set a tone early when he laid a huge open-ice hit on his first shift. Throughout the game, he used his good stick to take away passing lanes and intercept Deerfield's passes in his own zone.
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Takeaways...
- Hotchkiss really won the game when it successfully killed a five-minute major. Patton hit junior forward Caleb Regner from behind and was called for the long penalty. Hotchkiss' penalty kill was aggressive and never let Deerfield get any real scoring chances until the final 1:30. Deerfield came very close to scoring, but sophomore defenseman Chris Chun got down and blocked a shot that looked to be heading into the open side of the net. Once Hotchkiss killed that, the game felt over.
- The Bearcats came out firing. They laid some big early hits while also controlling possession. It took a long time for Deerfield to get its first shot of the game. Its first quality scoring chance was really Alvarez's goal, which came late in the frame. Hotchkiss set an early tone.
- It wasn't Deerfield's day. They were a step slow and had a very difficult time getting to interior ice in the offensive zone.
- It was eye-opening how good Hotchkiss was. That was as complete a start-to-finish performance as I've seen in a long time. The Bearcats are big, play with a lot of speed and have multiple lines and defensemen that can make an impact. Not to mention having Flood-Marr Tournament MVP Neilan Johnson in net.
- There were a lot of NHL scouts in attendance with Lennon and Johnson, two goalies on NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary Watch List, going head-to-head. It wasn't quite the goalie battle they wanted. Johnson didn't face nearly enough shots to provide a convincing evaluation. For his sake, he certainly did throughout the tournament — just not really on Sunday. Lennon's three goals all beat him clean, so it wasn't his best day. But he did make numerous big-time stops in tight.
