Salisbury set an early tone: It wasn't going to be Avon Old Farms' day.
Roughly eight minutes into the big-time boys prep matchup, Avon Old Farms junior forward Grover Henderson was crossing with the puck in front of senior goalie Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.). Salisbury junior forward Parker Tumelty read where Henderson was going and just tried to poke the puck from him.
Tumelty didn't just poke the puck off Henderson's stick — he poked it past a stunned Palmer.
That opened the scoring, and No. 2 Salisbury never looked back, taking down No. 5 Avon Old Farms, 6-0.
Tumelty's goal was the only one in the first. But in the second, Salisbury junior forward Greyson Espenshade scored twice, putting the Crimson Knights up 3-0. Both came from the front of the net, but one was a one-timer while the other was him being all alone on the power play.
The floodgates opened in the third period. Salisbury junior forward Luca Desjardins scored eight minutes into the final frame before Espenshade completed the hat trick 28 seconds later. Salisbury senior forward Riley Slovis sniped one past Palmer with 2:09 to play to put the stamp on a huge win.
The victory improved Salisbury to 22-3-2, while Avon fell to 14-7-2 and has now lost six in a row.
Let's dive into some takeaways.
Greyson Espenshade and Salisbury's top line dominated
Salisbury's top line of Espenshade, senior Luke Walkauskas and junior Angus Proctor caused major problems for Avon Old Farms.
That line had several long offensive zone possessions that wore down Avon's five-man unit. Proctor, at 6-foot-2, consistently won his board battles and finished every hit. He created space for Walkauskas and Espenshade on the cycle as well.
On Espenshade's first goal, it was Walkauskas, however, who won a board battle behind the Avon net and fed his linemate, who was wide open in front for a one-timer. That all came off a long cycle. Espenshade's two other goals were off power plays.
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Salisbury's forwards have the perfect blend of big, power forwards and shifty, skilled scorers. The Espenshade line is the epitome of that.
Outstanding game from Salisbury defenseman Jack Mazzella
Mazzella's puck-moving and quick feet were evident from the start. He had no problem getting the puck in his own end and taking it himself, usually delivering a crisp first pass to get the rush going the other way.
In the offensive zone, he was aggressive and intelligent on his pinches, keeping the puck in and extending possession. He delivered the primary assist on Espenshade's second goal when he was down low. Mazzella won a board battle that caught two of Avon's four penalty-killers in the corner and fed Espenshade in front for the tally.
I was impressed with Mazzella's hands, too. On one sequence in the third period, he dangled from the blue line into the low slot and almost got a scoring chance off.
It hits at a bigger point that...
Salisbury may have the best defensive core in prep
That's quite a statement. But as my No. 2-ranked team, Salisbury's D core is deep and can do everything. That was on display quite a bit on Saturday.
Mazzella played with sophomore Elliott Watson, whose fleet feet have been well documented. He notched two nice assists on the final two goals. His quickness also helped him close in on opposing forwards off the rush.
Seniors Zach Gill and Avery Tymus played together. Both play a reliable, physical game and were able to win a large majority of their 1-on-1s and board battles. They didn't let much near the front of the net either. Tymus showcased some offense, too, at one point, dangling an Avon forward at the point (which sent the Salisbury student section into a frenzy) and got low in the zone for a shot that was stopped by Palmer.
Senior Tyler Roccas (Fairfield, Conn.), a Quinnipiac commit, played with junior Michael Halvorsen. Halvorsen, at 6-foot-4, provided size and physicality. Roccas was a two-way force. He showcased a great stick and shutdown abilities in his own zone. But where he really popped was in the offensive zone. He was unafraid to hold onto pucks at the blue line, using his feet to get to space. He had (and set up) numerous chances. On Slovis' goal, Roccas made a heads-up pass across the neutral zone after Avon made a bad change.
Salisbury's defensemen are big and a pain to play against.
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Salisbury's forecheck wreaked havoc
That sentence on Salisbury's defensemen applies to the forwards. The Crimson Knights' forecheck was a problem for Avon's breakouts.
Salisbury's F1 was all over Avon's defender retrieving pucks. The F2 typically wasn't far off, cutting off an outlet or an angle for the Avon defenseman to take. The F3 usually read the play well to support high and cut off the zone exit.
Espenshade's line did this well, along with the lines of Nate Burlock, Caden Creech and Elliott Bibeau-Rivard, and Landon Klein, Luca Desjardins and Devin Cokinos. They created turnovers and longer offensive zone possessions. It wore Avon Old Farms down.
Some Avon Old Farms standouts
Saturday was a brutal one for Avon Old Farms, but there were some bright spots.
Up front, Henderson's size and physicality came through. He had a couple of big hits. Early in the second period, he hustled back, got under a Salisbury player's stick to steal the puck and kicked off a rush the other way.
I was impressed with senior winger Liam Donnelly. In the first period, his speed helped him beat out an icing and then later, he snuck behind the defense and got a breakaway, only to be stoned by senior goalie Jordan Rittenberg (more on him in a bit).
On defense, Yale commit Matthew Koch was assertive in carrying pucks and getting offense going. He almost scored late in the first period, but was stoned by Rittenberg, who somehow saw the shot through a screen.
Jordan Rittenberg was stellar
Rittenberg wasn't necessarily busy, but he stood tall when necessary.
Avon's best chances came early in the first. Rittenberg stoned Henderson on a shot from the slot after Avon senior Jacob Jett made a great pass to get him the puck. Rittenberg robbed junior forward Nico Ciardiello with the blocker off a one-timer a few moments later. And then the save on Koch didn't come long after.
After Rittenberg stoned Donenlly on his breakaway and he stopped junior forward Sean Millen's shot from the top of the crease, the netminder later got a piece of junior defender Max Yakub's shot from the point, but it began to trickle past him. With pressure all around him, Rittenberg reached back with his stick and pulled the puck from going in.
Salisbury dominated the rest of the way, but it's a very different game if Rittenberg wasn't huge to start.
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Where does Avon go from here?
It's been rough sledding for the Winged Beavers. They've lost six straight, but this loss actually doesn't have them falling too far.
As of Saturday at 5:50 p.m., Avon is No. 4 in the JSPR and is projected to finish as the No. 8 seed in the Elite 8. In the final week, head coach Mark Naclerio's team takes on Pomfret, Canterbury and Loomis Chaffee. Given that USHR's algorithm expects Avon to lose one more game (which I assume is the Canterbury one), Avon is on track to sneak into the Elite 8.
One thing is for sure: Avon is better than this rough stretch.
