2/23/05
Thomson, Nipps Lead St. Paul’s Past Belmont Hill
Belmont, Mass. -- Senior forward Dewey Thomson scored a pair of second period goals and senior goaltender Skylar Nipps kicked out 31 shots to lead St. Paul’s to a 2-1 win over Belmont Hill here today.
With the win, St. Paul’s, 11-3-1 in league play, remains tied with Nobles in the Keller Division race. St. Paul’s hasn’t won a Keller crown in 21 years, since the 1983-84 team led by Don Sweeney and Ed Krayer. Also, and more importantly, it keeps St. Paul’s alive in the race for a playoff spot.
Today, after a lackluster first period with perhaps one decent scoring chance per team, things heated up in the second when St. Paul’s got on the board just 13 seconds in after the visitors got the puck down to the Belmont Hill end and applied pressure. Thomson was allowed to take a few whacks at a puck in front of Belmont Hill goalie Wes Vesprini. Eventually, he put it home for the 1-0 lead. Junior Kevin Kaiser got an assist on the play.
Belmont Hill got the goal back less than two minutes later, on what appeared to be a tip-in from a scrum in front of Nipps. Sophomore James Moscatel got credit for the goal, with an assist going to Brian McCafferty.
The game winner for St. Paul’s came when Nipps got the puck to senior forward Roly Morris, who moved it to Thomson, who carried it into the Belmont Hill end with speed. From the right faceoff circle, Thomson backhanded a high shot that sailed past Vesprini and into the net at the 11:43 mark.
That was all the scoring for the game. Belmont Hill, which outshot St. Paul’s, 32-23, though territorially it was a bit closer than that, had a great chance to tie it up with 2:51 left in regulation, but Nipps got his glove up quickly and came up with a game-saving save, snagging a high shot by Ryan Young, Belmont Hill’s leading scorer.
Afterwards, St. Paul’s head coach Tim Pratt said, “Belmont Hill is a good team and they outplayed us. But Skylar was great and we dug down when we needed to.”
“Dewey Thomson,” Pratt continued, “has really stepped it up since Ryan Blossom (lacerated spleen) has been out. He’s supplied the offense that we needed. But this is a team where guys step up. We have the two best goalies in the league in Nick Smith and Nipps, so we always have a chance, and today guys who don’t geta lot of credit – like Ed Ross and Andrew Dostie – played well. A lot of guys do a lot of little things well.”
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
