BOSTON — With the way St. Sebastian’s and Tabor played Saturday night, you would’ve thought the Stanley Cup was on the line. Instead, it was the Travis Roy Cup both teams were battling for, which is a pretty good trophy.
Except no one really won it. Despite desperate pleas from St. Sebastian’s student section for a shootout, the game ended in a 3-3 tie after a five-minute overtime period.
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an exciting game — because was it ever.
Down 3-1 with just under eight minutes to play, Tabor’s top line of Jack DesRuisseaux (Manchester, N.H.), Xavier Vaillancourt and Josh Itri (Sandwich, Mass.) went to work. DesRuisseaux tipped a shot from the point past St. Sebastian’s goalie Pelle Russo (West Newton, Mass.) to cut the lead to 3-2.
Then, with 3:43 remaining, a shot from Tabor defenseman Brad Guden (Norfolk, Mass.) from the blue line went off a St. Sebastian’s defender and past Russo to tie the game, 3-3. The scattered Tabor fan section erupted.
Tabor opened the scoring midway through the first period when left wing Tommy Sheehan (Warwick, R.I.) was sprung for a breakaway and his shot squeaked through Russo.
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The Arrows responded eight minutes into the second frame when left wing Colin Gorman (Westwood, Mass.) snuck down the left side of the ice and put one through the legs of Tabor goalie Gus Ackerman (Marion, Mass.) to tie the game, 1-1. St. Sebastian’s center Ben Merrill (Hingham, Mass.) tucked one short side on Ackerman later in the period to give the Arrows a 2-1 lead.
Early in the third, a shot from St. Sebastian’s defenseman Jack Connors (Westwood, Mass.) from the point got past Ackerman to extend the advantage to 3-1.
This was an outstanding game — one filled with a blend of great pace and physicality. Both teams brought it Saturday, which made it all the more disappointing when there wasn’t a real winner.
Ackerman and Russo won game MVPs for their respective teams.
Here are the standout players from Saturday night’s thriller.
Jack DesRuisseaux
Tabor, 2/24/2004, C, right shot, 5-10/170
DesRuisseaux was everywhere Saturday night, constantly making his presence felt on the forecheck as the F1 or F2. There were a few times in which he got the puck in his own end, exited the zone and weaved through the neutral zone to gain a zone entry into St. Sebastian’s territory. In the corners, his battles often led to him retrieving the puck and looking for an open linemate in front of the net. DesRuisseaux with left wing Vaillancourt and right wing Itri were easily Tabor’s best trio. They were great at putting pressure on St. Sebastian’s defenders.
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Casey Mutryn
St. Sebastian’s, 2/1/2008, RW, right shot, 5-8/141
The first-year doesn’t jump off the scoresheet just yet, but his hockey IQ and compete were obvious Saturday night. There was one sequence in the second period in which as the third forward high on the forecheck, he forced one turnover to get the puck back deep and then positioned himself to snag a loose puck right after it. His battling in the corners led to Ben Merrill’s (Hingham, Mass.) goal, as Mutryn helped Isaac Mitchell (Harvard, Mass.) in getting the puck from Tabor’s defenders.
Isaac Mitchell
St. Sebastian’s, 2/28/2005, LW, left shot
Mitchell drove play really well. There were a handful of times in which he used his speed and hands to zoom through the neutral zone and gain zone entries for St. Sebastian’s. His problems came when he tried to do too much with the puck and held on to it for too long. This was the first time I saw Mitchell playing with Merrill and Mutryn and it seems like a good move from head coach Sean McCann to balance his forward lines and create depth.
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Keanan Dewberry
Tabor, 5/8/2005, RW, right shot, 5-10/170
Dewberry did a good job at creating chances for himself, as he found ways to create separation from defenders. One example of this was in the second period when he cut to the middle in the St. Sebastian’s zone and fired a shot on net. Then, he positioned himself to tip a shot from the point. His work in the corners and on the cycle was good, as well as his speed. He was impactful all night.
Jason Zaccari
Tabor, 6/2/2005, D, left shot, 6-0/181
He wasn’t flashy, but he got the job done Saturday night. He often made simple plays and clean breakout passes, helping Tabor get out of its zone cleanly. He also knew when to join the rush. With 17.4 seconds left in the third period, Zaccari rushed down the left side, got to space and fired a wrist shot high glove on Russo. While he didn’t score, the decision to hold onto the puck and wait for that shot was the right one.
