2/18/06
Wolcott Ties Up #1 Salisbury
Salisbury, Conn. -- #1-ranked Salisbury ran into a hot goalie today as Randy Wolcott’s acrobatic play gave #5 Avon Old Farms a 3-3 tie in a classic game between two of the top New England prep teams.
Wolcott stopped 44 of 47 shots by the Salisbury sharpshooters, including seven in a scoreless overtime period.
The pace of the game was fast, with numerous shifts of momentum, though Salisbury clearly had the edge in play.
But Wolcott, a junior who played last season at Notre Dame-West Haven High School, was the difference, making several spectacular saves, including at least a half dozen from point-blank range. On one save, while flat on the ice, Wolcott used his stick to block a rocket clearly destined for the upper part of the net.
The game got off to a fast start, with both teams making rink-long rushes that kept spectators in the full house on the edge of their seats. Salisbury drew first blood on a delayed penalty call, with Avon appearing to drop its guard, allowing John Cavanagh to feed a perfect pass to his cousin, David Cavanagh, who, from 15 feet out, drilled it into the top right corner to make it 1-0 at 9:20.
Salisbury outshot Avon 11-10 in the period.
The second period was scoreless, though if it weren’t for Wolcott, Salisbury could have come out of it with a four or five goal lead. Salisbury again outshot Avon, this time by a 12-11 margin, and the shots were hard, sure shots coming off a series of well-executed passes.
At 6:40 of the third, Salisbury, on the power play, went up 2-0 as Mark Arcobello unleased a strong slap shot from the center point of the blue line. Wolcott may have been screened on the play.
Just 49 seconds later, Avon got on the board when a Cam Atkinson shot on Salisbury goalie Anthony Borelli bounced off the goalie’s stick, trickled through his legs and rolled across the crease and goal line, just beyond Borelli’s desperate reach.
The momentum shifted, as this time Salisbury let down its guard, allowing Avon to swarm all over the Salisbury end and, just 22 seconds after the first goal, to strike again, tying things up at 2-2 as Garrett Kerr scored on a shot that somehow found its way through a huge pileup of players in front of the Salisbury goal.
Then the momentum shifted again, and Salisbury regained the lead when Michael Biega took a perfect pass across the crease from David Cavanagh and slapped the puck past Wolcott at the 9:40 mark. Wolcott had no chance on the shot.
Avon, though, did not cave. A little over three minutes later, at 12:42, the Winged Beavers tied the game up at 3-3 when Chris Wieland poked in a rebound after a rink-length rush by the Avon forwards.
In the final minute of regulation, Salisbury swarmed all over the Avon end of the ice, but Wolcott turned back each rush, one with a nifty glove save.
Salisbury dominated in overtime, taking seven shots on Wolcott, while Avon did not get off a single shot on Borelli. With less than half a minute left, Salisbury made one final push, but Wolcott stopped the initial shot on the drive and then, after losing his stick, shut down Salisbury while flat on his back, stretched out across the crease to cover a puck that was sitting there just waiting for a Salisbury player to tip it in.
”The goalie made the difference,” said Salisbury coach Dan Donato after the game. “We held the edge. We controlled the tempo. We should have won.”
Avon coach John Gardner agreed that Salisbury played the better game.
”We tried to stay with them, but Salisbury has a lot of talent,” Gardner said. “I’m glad we don’t have to see them again.” -- T.M.
2/28/06 Update
The schedule for tomorrow has been updated below, along with the times and brackets for this weekend.
2/27/06
Calling All Blackberries, Treos, Razors – and Plain Old Cell Phones
For this year’s quarterfinals, we’re going to do what we did last season, and post updates at the end of every period of every game, both Div. I and Div. II, both boys and girls.
We’re looking for volunteers to phone in scores at the end of each period and, if possible, include goal scorers, shots on goal, etc. This worked really well last year and, in pretty close to real time, we were able to bring updates to people across the country and around the world.
If you’re willing to help out, please email cwarner@ushr.com and let us know which game you will be attending.
With your help, we can pull this project off again. It should be fun.
2/26/06 Updated
Wednesday's Quarterfinal Matchups
Div. I
#1 Berkshire vs. #8 Westminster -- 3:00 at Berkshire
#2 Pomfret vs. #7 Loomis -- 3:15 at Pomfret
#3 Nobles vs. #6 Andover -- 3:30 at Nobles
#4 Lawrence vs. #5 Choate -- 6:00 at Lawrence
Div. II
#1 Brewster vs. #8 Brooks -- 4:00 at Brewster
#2 Greenwich vs. #7 Kents Hill -- 3:30 at Dexter
#3 Rivers vs. #6 St. George's -- 4:00 at Rivers
#4 Hebron vs. #5 Kingswood -- 4:15 at Exeter
Sat. March 4 -- Semifinals
at Southfield School; Brookline, Mass.
Div. II
10:00 am -- 1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner
12:00 pm -- 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner
Div. I
2:00 pm -- 1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner
4:00 pm -- 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner
Sun. March 5 -- Finals
at Southfield School; Brookline, Mass.
10:30 am -- Div. II Championship Game
12:30 pm - Div. I Title Game
The Regular Season Winds Down
A week from now, the regular season will be over and we'll know the playoff pairings. Going into the final week, it looks like there are nine teams with a strong chance to make the playoffs in Div. I. They are, in alphabetical order, Andover, Berkshire, Choate, Hotchkiss, Lawrence, Loomis, Nobles, Pomfret, and Taft. Likely to fall a little short are Westminster and Cushing. In Div. II, the eight look to be Brewster, Brooks, GDA, Greenwich Academy, Groton, Gunnery, Hebron, and Kents Hill. Having good years in Div. II, but probably not good enough to make the postseason are Kingswood-Oxford, Middlesex, Proctor, and Rivers. The latter progam is in its second year.
The final week of the regular season looks like this:
Mon. Feb. 20, 2006:
N.E. Falcons @ Pomfret, 8:00
Tue. Feb. 21, 2006:
Kingswood-Oxford @ Taft, 4:30
Vermont Academy @ KUA, 4:30
Wed. Feb. 22, 2006:
Berkshire @ Taft, 2:30
Deerfield @ Williston-Northampton, 2:30
Brooks @ St. Mark's, 3:00
New Hampton @ KUA, 3:00
Middlesex @ BB&N, 3:15
Tabor @ Cushing, 3:15
Exeter @ Hebron, 3:30
Choate @ Hotchkiss, 3:30
Thayer @ Groton, 3:30
Millbrook @ Rye CD, 3:30
NMH @ Loomis-Chaffee, 4:00
St. Paul’s vs. St. George’s, 4:00 (at Groton School)
Berwick @ Pingree, 4:00
Greenwich @ Westminster, 4:30
Andover @ Holderness, 4:30
Milton @ Pomfret, 4:30
Kent's Hill @ Proctor, 4:30
Rivers @ Lawrence, 5:15
Canterbury @ Portsmouth Abbey, 5:00
Noble & Greenough @ Governor Dummer, 5:30
New England Coyotes @ Kent, 6:00
Thurs. Feb. 23, 2006:
Thayer @ St. Mark’s, 5:00
Fri. Feb. 24, 2006:
Southfield @ Rivers, 3:00
Thayer @ Tabor, 4:45
East Coast Wizards @ Pomfret, 7:00
Kingswood-Oxford @ Kents Hill, 8:00
Sat. Feb. 25, 2006:
Kingswood-Oxford @ Hebron, 1:00
Lebanon High School @ Proctor, 1:30
NMH @ Tabor, 1:30
Rivers @ Tilton, 2:00
Noble & Greenough @ Milton, 2:00
Exeter @ Andover, 2:00
Taft @ Hotchkiss, 2:30
Loomis-Chaffee @ Deerfield, 3:00
Portsmouth Abbey @ Greenwich Academy, 3:00
Groton @ St. Mark's, 3:45
KUA @ Williston, 3:45
Brooks @ Governor Dummer, 4:00
New Hampton @ Kent’s Hill, 4:00
St. Paul's @ Lawrence, 4:00
BB&N @ Thayer, 4:15
Conn. Northern Lights @ Canterbury, 4:45
Holderness @ Brewster, 5:00
Cushing @ Choate, 6:00
Westminster @ Kent, 6:30
This Week's Games
Mon. Feb. 13, 2006:
Kent @ Taft, 5:00
Brooks @ Noble & Greenough, 5:00
Wed. Feb. 15, 2006:
Thayer @ Kingswood-Oxford, 2:00
Taft @ Westminster, 2:30
Canterbury @ Millbrook, 2:30
Kent @ Hotchkiss, 2:30
Holderness @ Vermont Academy, 2:30
KUA @ Tilton, 2:30
NMH @ Williston, 2:30
Pomfret @ St. Mark's, 2:45
Cushing @ Deerfield, 2:45
Groton @ Brooks, 3:00
Exeter @ New Hampton, 3:00
Middlesex @ Lawrence, 3:30
Pingree @ Dana Hall, 3:45
St. Paul's @ BB&N, 4:00
Brunswick @ Winsor, 4:00
Kent’s Hill @ Brewster, 4:00
Choate @ Berkshire, 4:00
Andover @ Noble & Greenough, 4:30
Greenwich @ Gunnery, 4:30
Hebron @ Proctor, 4:30
St. George's @ Milton, 5:00
Loomis @ Springfield Pics, 5:00
Rivers @ GDA, 5:45
Thurs. Feb. 16, 2006:
Choate @ Kingswood-Oxford, 5:00
Fri. Feb. 17, 2006:
Holderness @ New Hampton, 2:00
Greenwich vs. Brewster, 4:15 (@ Rye CD)
Brooks @ Middlesex, 5:00
Milton @ Andover, 5:00
Tabor @ St. Mark's, 5:30
Berwick @ Newton CD, 5:00
Southfield @ Winsor, 5:15
Concord High School @ Proctor, 6:30
Sat. Feb. 18, 2006:
Hanover HS @ Holderness, 1:15
BB&N @ St. Mark's, 1:30
Brewster @ Gunnery, 1:30
Northfield Mt. Hermon @ Exeter, 1:30
Lawrence @ Governor Dummer, 2:00
Thayer @ Kent’s Hill, 2:00
Cushing @ Pomfret, 2:15
Kent @ Kingswood-Oxford, 2:30
Tilton @ Vermont Academy, 2:45
Hotchkiss @ Deerfield, 3:30
St. Paul's @ Noble & Greenough, 3:30
Choate @ Taft, 4:00
Williston @ Loomis, 4:00
Proctor @ Pingree, 4:30
Tabor @ New Hampton, 4:30
Mon. Feb. 20, 2006:
N.E. Falcons @ Pomfret, 8:00
Tue. Feb. 21, 2006:
Kingswood-Oxford @ Taft, 4:30
Vermont Academy @ KUA, 4:30
2/8/06
Chessare, Gallagher Lead St. Mark's
Milton, Mass. -- Freshman forward Caroline Chessare scored the game winner and junior goaltender Megan Gallager kicked out 20 shots to lead St. Mark's to a 3-1 win over Milton Academy here today.
On the winning goal, which came at the 9:10 mark of the third period, senior Rachel Lindmark drove to the net and Chessare knocked home the rebound, giving St. Mark's a 2-1 lead.
Freshman Casey Pickett added an empty-netter with 14 seconds left for the final 3-1 margin of victory.
Early on, it looked like St. Mark's might win this one handily, as they dominated the first period, but were unable to score on Milton junior goalie Amanda Rothschild, who kept the Mustangs in the game.
Between periods, Milton woke up and came out for the second with some jam, getting a couple of good scoring opportunities early.
However, it was St. Mark's who scored first, as Lindmark knocked home a pass from the corner that seemed to deflect off a skate or stick before eluding Rothschild at the 10:12 mark. Shannon Coffey and Merly Poulin were awarded assists on the goal.
At the buzzer, Poulin was given a major and a game DQ for a hit from behind, giving Milton a four-minute power play to start the third.
Milton was unable to generate much offense, as St. Mark's killed the penalty aggressively.
However, 34 seconds after killing off the penalty, St. Mark's was whistled for another penalty. And on this one, Milton cashed in, tying the game up at 1-1 when Meredith Frechette-Moulter knocked home the rebound Hillary McNamara shot at the 5:15 mark.
Less than four minutes later St. Mark's would strike for the winning goal.
Afterward, St. Mark's head coach Marissa Halligan said, "We played really well shorthanded and capitalized on our chances. Megan played really well between the pipes."
Down the hall, Milton head coach Wendy Holden said she felt her team recovered well from a poor first period.
"By the third period, it really looked like a game. I would have liked to have seen the whole game like that. It also would have been nice to take advantage of the (four minute) power play."
2/6/06
This Week's Games
Wed. Feb. 08, 2006:
Exeter @ Kimball Union, 1:30
Kent @ Canterbury, 2:00
Millbrook @ Gunnery, 2:30
Cushing @ Lawrence, 3:00
Williston @ Choate, 3:00
Dana Hall @ Thayer, 3:10
Proctor @ Berwick, 3:15
Berkshire @ Pomfret, 3:30
St. George's @ BB&N, 3:30
Noble & Greenough @ Groton, 3:30
Wyoming Seminary @ Hill, 4:00
Hotchkiss @ Loomis, 4:00
Winsor @ Pingree, 4:00
St. Paul’s @ Middlesex, 4:00
Brewster @ Rivers, 4:10
Deerfield @ Westminster, 4:30
Holderness @ Brooks, 4:30
Tabor @ Andover, 4:30
NMH @ Kingswood-Oxford, 4:30
St. Mark's @ Milton, 5:15
Taft @ Greenwich, 5:15
Kents Hill @ New Hampton, 6:00
Fri. Feb. 10, 2006:
Thayer @ St. Mark's, 3:30
Pingree @ Newton CD, 3:45
Nichols @ Cushing, 4:00
NYA @ Hebron, 4:45
Governor Dummer @ Exeter, 4:45
Rivers @ Winsor, 5:15
Andover @ Brewster, 5:30
BB&N @ Noble & Greenough, 6:00
Lawrenceville @ Greenwich, 6:30
Sat. Feb. 11, 2006:
Nichols @ Noble & Greenough, 12:00
Greenwich @ Northfield Mt. Hermon, 1:00
Proctor @ Holderness, 1:30
Berwick @ KUA, 1:30
Lawrence @ Thayer, 1:45
St. Mark's @ Rivers, 2:00
Tabor @ Pomfret, 2:15
Deerfield @ Berkshire, 2:15
Choate @ Loomis, 2:30
GDA @ St. Paul’s, 2:30
Kingswood-Oxford @ Gunnery, 2:30
Hotchkiss @ Taft, 2:30
Middlesex @ Milton, 2:30
Brooks @ St. George's, 2:45
Hebron @ Brewster, 3:30
Lawrenceville @ Canterbury, 4:00
New Hampton @ Vermont Academy, 4:00
Exeter @ Kent's Hill, 4:30
Shady Side Academy @ Princeton DS, 5:15
Millbrook @ Kent, 7:30
Sun. Feb. 12, 2006:
Hill @ Canterbury, 11:00 am
Mon. Feb. 13, 2006:
Kents Hill @ Hebron, 4:00
Kent @ Taft, 5:00
Brooks @ Noble & Greenough, 5:00
This Week's Games
Wed. Feb. 1, 2006:
Hotchkiss @ Berkshire, 2:00
Westminster @ Pomfret, 2:30
Proctor @ Vermont Academy, 2:30
Andover @ Exeter, 2:45
Taft @ Williston-Northampton, 3:00
Brewster @ Cushing, 3:00
Thayer @ Brooks, 3:00
Loomis @ Gunnery, 3:00
St. Paul’s @ St. Mark's, 3:15
Millbrook @ Kingswood-Oxford, 3:30
Noble & Greenough @ St. George's, 4:00
Berwick @ Tilton, 4:00
New Hampton @ Southfield, 4:00
Kents Hill vs. KUA (@ Exeter), 4:15
Springfield Pics @ Deerfield, 4:30
Portsmouth Abbey @ Pingree, 4:30
NMH @ Choate, 4:30
Greenwich @ Kent, 4:30
Lawrence @ Milton, 4:30
Wyoming Seminary @ Lawrenceville, 4:30
Governor Dummer @ BB&N, 4:45
Holderness @ Hebron, 4:45
Groton @ Middlesex, 5:30
Conn. Stars @ Canterbury, 6:00
Fri. Feb. 3, 2006:
Berkshire @ Cushing, 2:00
Dana Hall @ Berwick, 4:00
NAHA @ Exeter, 4:30
Hebron @ Middlesex, 4:30
BB&N @ Pingree, 5:00
Lawrence @ Tabor, 6:30
Dover U-16 @ Proctor, 6:30
Sat. Feb. 4, 2006:
Greenwich vs. Southfield, 10:30 am (@ Middlebury College)
Rivers @ Milton, 12:00
Brooks @ Noble & Greenough, 2:00
Kimball Union @ Proctor, 2:00
Thayer @ Exeter, 2:00
Vermont Academy @ NMH, 2:30
Lawrenceville @ Hill School, 4:00
Kents Hill @ Holderness, 4:00
Winsor @ Berwick, 5:30
New Hampton @ Tilton, 6:00
Springfield Pics @ Tabor, 6:00
NCCC @ Northwood, 7:00
