ASHBURNHAM, Mass. — In one of the biggest games of the season for both teams, Cushing took down St. Mark's, 4-2, Friday night.
It took until the second period for either team to get on the board. Cushing struck first when junior left wing Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.), a UConn commit, brought the puck to the top of the offensive zone on the power play and sifted a shot through to make it 1-0. The play came off a faceoff won by Boston College commit Landan Resendes (Marlborough, Mass.).
While the first two periods featured a combined one goal, the third featured five.Â
The Penguins snagged the first two lamplighters. Despite St. Mark's killing off two penalties in the first half of the period, Cushing still carried all the momentum. The Penguins cashed in when junior right wing Carter Wallace tipped in a shot from junior defenseman Owen Tatro (Colchester, Vt.) to make it 2-0. Then, less than one minute later, Linas Dedinas fired home a shot off the rush to extend the lead to 3-0.
Then came two Cushing penalties and the game changed quite a bit.
It started with St. Mark's junior defenseman Calvin Beard (Southborough, Mass.) wiring a shot past Cushing goalie Cooper Rautenstrauch to cut the lead to 3-1 with 6:38 to play in the game. Then with just over two minutes to play and on the power play again, Beard scored from the exact same spot to make it a one-goal game.
Despite a hard-fought comeback from St. Mark's, Resendes iced the game with an empty-netter.
Both teams have Elite 8 aspirations. While Cushing is a sure bet and Friday night's win certainly helps the Penguins, St. Mark's is battling for a spot in the Elite 8. The Lions sit at 15-5-1, having lost their last two games (Cushing and Brooks) and tying the one before that (St. Sebastian's).
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St. Mark's also was without star forward Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) on Friday. He suffered a broken wrist in Wednesday's loss to Brooks. Gallant leads the region in points per game (1.94) and leads his team in points with 33.
Let's dive into standouts and then check out some leftover thoughts from Friday's game.
Landan Resendes
Cushing, 12/10/2005, RW/C, right shot, 5-10/165
NCAA: Boston CollegeÂ
Resendes has a major case to be named Player of the Year in prep hockey and Friday's game was more fuel for that argument and it didn't have much to do with his goal and assist. His ability to be dynamic was a step above everyone else on the ice. He was quick on pucks, always finished checks and was responsible in his own end (he kills penalties with Gardula, his linemate). He was creative with the puck in tight spaces and was great at creating chances off the rush. While he continues to dominate the prep scene (40 points in 23 games), he's proving that whenever he decides to make the jump to Cedar Rapids in the USHL, he'll be more than ready.
Calvin Beard
St. Mark's, 10/4/2005, D, right shot, 6-0/185Â
Beard continued to impress Friday night. His two goals were massive, considering St. Mark's went from being down and out to being within a goal all in a matter of minutes. They were pinpoint shots and he did a good job at getting them through. His poise with the puck coming out of his own zone is terrific and he always seems to make the right reads on his breakouts. He also had a couple of solid offensive zone entries too.
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Zach Rizzo
Cushing, 8/7/2004, D, right shot, 6-0/165Â
Rizzo was strong on Friday. Aside from a bad tripping penalty late in the third period, his movement with the puck was solid. He had a strong sequence in the first period when he got the puck at the offensive blue line, brought it around the zone and fired a shot on net that generated a big rebound. His play works well with defensive partner Ryan Philbrick, who's a UNH commit. The two were great at executing breakouts Friday and helping their team gain zones.
Jack Costanzo
Cushing, 12/9/2003, C, left shot, 5-8/170Â
Costanzo recently got promoted to playing between Resendes and Gardula, which I'm sure makes life a bit easier for the postgrad. His play in the middle complements his linemates well, as he plays above the puck and has good quickness. He hit the post off a sweet feed from Gardula in the first period and had a great chance in the third off a one-timer, but St. Mark's goalie Charles Watson made a fantastic save.
Jonathan Balzarini
St. Mark's, 3/9/2005, LW, left shot, 5-8/150Â
Balzarini was great with the puck Friday night. His best play came when he helped set up Beard's second goal, as he carried the puck around the zone and made a nice pass to Andrew Gibbons (South Kingstown, R.I.) at the point. Balzarini also had some nice scoring chances, such as when he took the puck hard to the net in the second period and got a great shot off against Rautenstrauch in the third.
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Leftover thoughts
- Gardula is a vital part of Cushing's first line. His ability to make small, impactful plays was so important and will continue to be as Cushing gears up for what it hopes is a long playoff run.
- Dedinas has a missile of a shot and seemed to be everywhere at once on Friday. He's not the flashiest skater, but his secondary scoring has been important for Cushing.
- Losing Gallant with a broken wrist is a massive blow for St. Mark's. Duh. While the Lions don't have a clone of Gallant on standby, they do have a plethora of really solid forwards like seniors Sebbie Johnson, Jimmy Lyver (Grafton, Mass.) and Damon Myers, as well as juniors Austin Borggaard (Worcester, Mass.), Gibbons and Balzarini who will be expected to pick up some of the production left behind by Gallant.
- Despite being down 1-0 after two periods, St. Mark's held the advantage, leading Cushing in shots, 22-13. Rautenstrauch was a huge part of getting Cushing the win.
