2/12/05
Cushing Blanks Canterbury
In a game between two teams battling for playoff position, Cushing Academy, behind a 24-save effort from Richard Bachman and goals from Damen Nisula, Tom Bardis and Pat McLaughlin (an empty-netter), came out on top, 3-0, in a neutral-site game played at UMass-Amherst.
The game, a physical, hard-fought battle, featured a scoreless first period, one in which Cushing came out strong, hitting virtually everything while putting early pressure on the Canterbury defense and goaltender Jason Zuck.
Canterbury, however, had the best scoring opportunity of the first period when defenseman Ryan Miniacci stole an errant Cushing pass and broke in on a 2-on-1. Vin Ciardullo moved to his right and fed a perfect pass to John Silvestro, who had an open side, but shot the puck wide.
The second period began just like the first, with Cushing putting hard and constant pressure on the Canterbury defense.
After trading early penalties, both teams settled down, but the hitting picked up.
With the puck low in Canterbury’s zone, some nifty board work by Cushing forward Aaron Blades paid off as he fed a pass from the corner to a very-ready Damen Nisula, who one-timed a slapshot over Zuck’s left shoulder from just outside the slot.
The period ended with some spectacular saves by Zuck, most particularly a point-blank glove save off a shot from Cushing forward Brad Malone.
Canterbury had the slight edge in shots on goal in the second.
In the third, Canterbury came out and put their most consistent pressure on the Cushing defense. Just ten seconds into the third, Penguins’ forward Pat McLaughlin was called for roughing. Canterbury kept the puck pinned in Cushing’s end on the powerplay, and forward Brian Smith knocked home a loose puck to the right of Cushing goaltender Bachman.
But this was not Canterbury’s day. Somehow, the referees called the play as dead, and the goal was disallowed, one of a number of blown calls in the game.
Canterbury seemed deflated after that, and Cushing wore them down with relentless physical play.
Cushing scored their second goal on a fast center-ice transition, with Tom Bardis banging home a goal on a pretty passing sequence from Aaron Bogosian and Broc Little.
With Zuck pulled, Cushing made it 3-0 with 45 seconds left and McLauglin potted his empty-netter off a nice pass from Keith Yandle.
--- B.P.
2/27/05
Playoff Matchups Announced
Div. I:
#8 Tabor vs #1 Nobles, 3:00 @ Nobles
#7 Cushing vs #2 Berkshire, 4:00 @ Berkshire
#6 Choate vs #3 Loomis, 4:00 @ Loomis
#5 Pomfret vs #4 Lawrence, 4:00 @ Lawrence
Div. II :
#8 Brewster vs #1 GDA
#7 Kingswood vs #2 Gunnery
#6 Middlesex vs #3 Kents Hill
#5 Greenwich vs #4 Brooks
We’ll add in the locations and times of the Div. II games as we learn of them.
Semi-Finals: Saturday, March 5, 2005
Dexter and Southfield Schools, Brookline, MA
Div. II:
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, 10:00 am
3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner, 12:00 pm
Div. I:
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, 2:00 pm
3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner, 4:00 pm
Finals: Sunday, March 6, 2005
Div. II Championship Game, 10:30 am
Div. I Championship Game, 12:30 pm
