BROOKLINE, Mass. — It was an epic battle of top 10 teams in prep school hockey to open the season on Wednesday afternoon at Thorndike Rink on the campus of Dexter Southfield.
The hosts skated to a 2-2 tie with the preseason favorite of many, the visitors from Cushing Academy.
Boston College commit Landan Resendes (Marlboro, Mass.) scored both goals for the Penguins. Harvard commit Sean Keohane (Milton, Mass.) and Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.) found the back of the net for Dexter Southfield.
The game was played in front of a large crowd that included approximately three dozen NHL scouts and college coaches. Everyone in attendance was treated to an intense, closely contested prep game with about 10 future Division 1 players on the ice.
Evaluating Cushing
Cushing played a strong game on the road, but was hurt by a lack of discipline at times. The Penguins gave up a goal while Dexter Southfield was on the power play. Coach Paul Pearl's team would have had a power play in the third period if it weren’t for a retaliatory penalty that caused the referee to even things up.
I like Cushing’s first line, first defensive pairing and starting goaltender. The team’s depth might have been a little overstated in the preseason. There are certainly some good players after the top line and pairing, but not greater than the other contenders.
Newcomer Cooper Rautenstrauch was terrific in net. He made a big save with his shoulder on a shorthanded bid by Brayden Naumann in the second period. In the third period, he flashed the leather to make a glove save on Porter. For a smaller goaltender, the West Seneca, N.Y., native did a good job of eating pucks and preventing second chances.
Evaluating Dexter Southfield
Coach Danny Donato’s team has a few big names on defense and up front. The team’s lack of depth could prevent it from going further than it might have otherwise. Only five defensemen saw ice time with four getting a consistent shift. Up front, it seemed like the fourth line got significantly less ice time as the game moved along.
One thing I did like about this year’s edition, at least on Wednesday, was it brought more of a blue-collar mentality than in past seasons. The team played harder than it had at times in the last couple of years. \
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All this being said, Dexter Southfield showed me it belonged in the top 10. The team is well-coached and has enough talent to win more games than it loses. Finally, Paul Dalessio (Burlington, Mass.) might be one of the smaller goaltenders in prep hockey, but he showed Wednesday he’s capable of keeping his team in games. His arrival upgraded the goaltending department.
2023 NHL Draft Watch
Ethan Gardula
Cushing, 2/28/05, LW, left shot, 6-1/178
NCAA: UConn
Gardula was ranked below Keohane in my preseason prognostication of 2023 NHL draft prospects in prep hockey. On Wednesday, the Princeton, Mass., native outplayed Keohane. On a two-on-one rush, he was driving down the left side when he sent a perfect saucer pass over to Resendes for a goal. His skating and ability to protect pucks was noticeable. He showed his tenacity a few times, including early in the third period when he picked Keohane’s pocket in the neutral zone and got an odd-man rush out of it. Gardula played in all situations and played his off wing, which is an unfamiliar position for him. He has the tools to play in the NHL. I want to see him be even more of an alpha, demand the puck, take over games, and assert himself consistently. The season opener was a nice step in the right direction. I’d say he played like a fifth-round pick in Wednesday’s tilt.
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Sean Keohane
Dexter Southfield, 11/4/04, D, left shot, 6-4/182
NCAA: Harvard
It was an up-and-down game for Keohane. He’s unquestionably the team’s leader and logs a ton of minutes. He scored a power play goal by pinching down the weak side and sliding a feed from Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.) into the net. He showed off his bomb of a slap shot from the point in the second period when a clapper rose up and caught Rautenstrauch up high in the chest. He’s tall and has range defensively. His stick was able to get into passing and shooting lanes. He deadened a few Cushing plays by closing and taking away time and space. The biggest concern, in terms of NHL upside, was his decision-making Wednesday. He turned a few pucks over, including one from the right-wing wall in the first period and one up the middle in the overtime period. His size and skating ability remain intriguing. He’s still worthy of a draft pick, based on his physical tools and potential upside. Based on Wednesday’s game, I’d suggest a fifth or sixth-round pick.
2024 NHL Draft Watch
Landan Resendes
Cushing, 12/10/05, RW, right shot, 5-9/165
NCAA: Boston College
Resendes was the best player on the ice and it wasn’t even close. If he were bigger, there’d be a lot of buzz on the future BC forward. He played center in the season opener. He’s typically played right wing in the past. Resendes played in all situations. He scored his first goal by finishing off a great feed from Gardula. He caught the pass and snapped off the release quickly and accurately. His second goal came with the Penguins’ net empty for an extra attacker in the final minute of regulation. He swooped in and slammed a loose rebound into the back of the net. He had a couple of other great chances, including one shot that he buzzed right over the net with a wide-open look. Those plays all showed off his stick. His skating was most evident on a rush in overtime where he pulled into second gear to blow by the opposing right defenseman. Resendes has that swagger and ability that gets you on the edge of your seat when he’s got the puck on his stick.
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Nate Porter
Dexter Southfield, 3/10/06, C, right shot, 5-10/170
Porter scored the second goal for Dexter Southfield. It was a good example of the type of player he is. He fired a puck from a bad angle near the right wing wall and it banked in past the goaltender. He rang the post later in the game and had a couple of other chances to create offense on the rush. He’s usually a shoot-first type of player, but I think he could have shot the puck even more Wednesday. There was a two-on-one where he forced a pass when he should have just ripped it. Overall, Porter has an elite shot and skates well enough to be on the radar for the 2024 NHL draft.
Cushing lines
Marshall-Resendes-Gardula
Dedinas-Markevych-Green
Sacco-Quinn-Belik
Favreau-Agnew-Wallace
Philbrick-Rizzo
Davis-Maldonado
Russo-Marcoux
Rautenstrauch
Dexter Southfield lines
Sutherland-Emery-Morgan
Naumann-Porter-Minchello
Condon-Dwan-Hurton
Butte-Assad-Leetch
Keohane-Lanza
O’Keeffe-Frechette
Nicklaus
Dalessio
