WESTON, Mass. — The puck was funneled into the high slot.
No. 4 Belmont Hill had six skaters on the ice, while Rivers, who was killing a penalty, had four. With 1:00 showing on the clock, Belmont Hill senior forward Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.) caught the puck from sophomore defenseman Nick Ware (Weymouth, Mass.) and fired a shot into the top of the net, tying the game, 3-3.
Despite a late push and overtime, that's how the score stayed.
The goal was Carolan's second of the third period. With Rivers up, 3-1, in the third, Carolan jammed a rebound past Rivers goalie Derrick Huang (Carlisle, Mass.) to cut the lead to 3-2.
Rivers, however, was the team that got off to a better start.
The scoring began just under seven minutes into the game when senior forwards Luke Morin (Weston, Mass.) and Stephen Rousell (Roslindale, Mass.) had a great give-and-go at the Belmont Hill blue line, leading to Morin's initial shot being stopped by Belmont Hill goalie JJ Thibodeau (Waltham, Mass.), and the rebound being put in by Rousell.
Rivers extended its lead in the second period when sophomore forward Carter Felt (Natick, Mass.) converted on a power play.
Belmont Hill's first goal came on a weird bounce, as senior Patrick Woods' (Charlestown, Mass.) shot from near his own bench bounced off Huang's chest, over him and in.
Rivers moved to 11-6-2 with the tie, while Belmont Hill is now 14-5-4.
Let's dive into some standouts and takeaways.
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Matthew Carolan
Belmont Hill, 3/26/2007, F, right shot, 6-0/170
Hometown: Stow, Mass.Â
Carolan was everywhere for Belmont Hill. His two third-period goals brought the Sextants back. His first goal came from being unfraid to go to the net, as the shot from senior defenseman Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) was stopped by Huang, but Carolan fought through coverage to put the rebound in. With exactly one minute left and down a goal, it was Carolan who got the puck in the slot and fired it past Huang. His physicality helped create chances throughout the game.
Derrick Huang
Rivers, 6/8/2007, G, catches left, 5-11/170
Hometown: Carlisle, Mass.
NCAA: YaleÂ
Huang was a big reason why Rivers led for most of the game. In the first period, he robbed freshman Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.) on a shot from the slot, then went post-to-post to deny Carolan a chance. As Belmont Hill pushed in the third period, Huang stood tall. There was one chance when he showed off his good tracking abilities and ate up a chance from the point, with Carolan all over him. And then, with just seconds left on the clock, he got a piece of a Carolan shot with his shoulder, getting Rivers to overtime. Other than Woods' goal, Huang had a really good day.
Sam Lee
Belmont Hill, 9/29/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.Â
Lee was an offensive force. He consistently showed off his good hands and poise. When he was in tight spaces with pucks, he never panicked and found ways to get to open space. He made intelligent puck decisions and created chances from that. The more I watch Lee during the prep season, the more I think he should definitely be a U.S. National Team Development Evaluation Camp invite.
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Nick Ware
Belmont Hill, 1/5/2010, D, right shot, 5-10/169
Hometown: Weymouth, Mass.Â
Belmont Hill head coach Brian Phinney clearly trusts Ware quite a bit with his deployment on the power play, and it's easy to see why. Ware consistently used his feet to open up passing lanes to make smart, often simple plays with the puck. On one sequence in the first period, he gained the offensive blue line, had a defender on him, waited an extra second and found sophomore Jackson Burns (Wellesley, Mass.) open on the weak side for a shot.
Carter Felt
Rivers, 8/7/2010, F, left shot, 5-10/170
Hometown: Natick, Mass.Â
Felt notched a power play goal for Rivers by driving hard to the net and jamming in a loose puck. He had other scoring chances, too. But Felt's physicality was on display even more. On a rush in the first period, Belmont Hill eighth-grade defenseman Emmett Aufiero (Winchester, Mass.) was defending him and did a nice job of standing up to the feisty Rivers forward. But Felt powered through him, sending them both flying behind the net. He was able to get to the inside on scoring chances and finished every hit he could. The only hiccup was a penalty he took on a late hit on Ware midway through the third period. Belmont Hill scored on the ensuing power play.
Evan Handler
Rivers, 3/19/2007, D, right shot, 5-10/165
Hometown: Walpole, Mass.Â
Handler has always been a breakout machine, but that was especially true on Saturday. No matter the pressure on him, Handler found a way out. Towards the end of the first period, Handler wheeled around the back of his own net and faked the reverse, causing the forechecker behind him to stop for a second, which gave Handler an extra step. Handler then sifted a perfect pass up ice to spring a winger. Handler defended the front of his own net well with physicality and his good stick, as he always seemed to have his stick positioned in the perfect spot.
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Takeaways
- Both teams were on the second leg of somewhat dissappointing back to backs. Belmont Hill tied Phillips Andover, 2-2, on Friday night, while Rivers was coming off a 2-0 loss to Brooks. It's no wonder the Red Wings were the better team in the first period, coming off the bad loss on Friday.
- The Sextants needed some time to wake up, but I'll give them this: They showed some guts coming back. Things weren't going their way on Saturday, with Huang making stop after stop and the team parading to the penalty box. But Belmont Hill immediately took advantage of that Felt penalty to bring themselves to within one, and then pushed hard enough for Carolan to score again with a minute left.
- With the way things stand on Saturday night, Rivers should be a very tough out in the Small School tournament. The Red Wings are scrappy, intelligent and hard to play against in their own zone. Their physicality can wear a team down.
