3/1/08 We still have a little more updating to do on this.
Semifinal Updates
Semifinals @ Salem, NH
Avon Old Farms 6, Belmont Hill 4 (Final)
Avon Old Farms carried a 3-2 lead into the third period of its Div. I semifinal against Belmont Hill tonight -- and then found themselves clinging for their life through a wild back-and-forth period that just wouldn't let up. Finally, a Brad Peltz goal with 6:51 to play put Avon on top for good. Avon added an empty netter in the final minute and their fans, who had packed the Salem Icenter, could finally exhale.
Belmont Hill played a great game and, from start to finish, hung with Avon every step of the way. Every time it looked like the Winged Beavers, with their four-line waves of attack, were about to drive a stake into their heart, junior goaltender Michael Condon would make a tremendous save, and his teammates, not unaccustomed to Olympic-size ice, would make another charge up ice. You could see the Belmont Hill squad gaining confidence as the game moved along and, as they kept asserting themselves, Avon began to bend and, at times, crack.
In the end, though, Avon was simply too good. They were the better, deeper team. They outshot Belmont Hill 46-29, but they knew they had been in a battle, one that they could have lost.
"I couldn't be prouder of our kids," said Belmont Hill head coach Ken Martin afterward. "They came out and played with a ton of heart all day. They just did a great job. It was a great game, but we came up a little short. Avon is a great team."
"I give Belmont Hill a lot of credit," said Avon head coach John Gardner. "Condon was very tough. They played hard and gave us a hell of a run for the money. In the third period there was a lot of ebb and flow. Every time we got a big goal they answered back."
"I don't want to take anything away from Belmont Hill," Gardner added, "but we didn't execute our game plan. If we play like that tomorrow, we aren't going to win. Thank God the Wieland-Peltz-DiMare line stepped up for us."
Belmont Hill made an early statment tonight, taking a 1-0 lead when Jake Moscatel walked out of corner uncontested and wrapped it around Avon goaltender Parker Milner far side at the 5:58 mark of the first period.
Avon almost tied it up when Cam Atkinson hit the crossbar seven minutes in.
Finally, Avon did tie it up, with 3:02 left in period when Quinn Smith, from behind goal line, hit Blake Forkey in front. Forkey put it top shelf. Condon had no chance.
Avon outshot Belmont Hill, 14-9, in the first, but Avon had far more shots from prime scoring areas, and were attacking the net hard.
Avon took their first lead of the night at the 7:12 mark of the second period, on the power play, when Brad Cooper's blast from the right point found the top corner. James Chamness picked up an assist on the goal, which came with four seconds left on a relentless power play that showed Condon at the top of his game.
At the other end, Belmont Hill came right back with an attempt to tie it up again. But it went for naught as Brendan McNally's shot clanged off the crossbar.
Avon went up 3-1 when, with the Winged Beavers again applying relentless pressure, Brad Peltz took a pass and cut diagonally across the slot, beating Condon far side at the 11:39 mark.
Belmont Hill coach Ken Martin called a time out to stop the bleeding, and it may have set the tone for the rest of the game.
Belmont Hill came back, when, with Mullane and Cooper in the box for a full 1:30 of 5x3, Dawson Luke found Mike O'Donnell at the far post and O'Donnell found daylight between Milner's right pad and the post, cutting Avon's lead to 3-2. Belmont Hill went to the dressing room a goal down, and with a hot goalie to back them up.
The third period was a wild one, and the fans, who created a din throughout the final stanza, had a ball watching it, though it probably gave John Gardner a few more grey hairs.
Belmont Hill tied it up early when, after Avon was pressing and the play turned up ice, Michael Blake fed Jason Sylvia and the senior busted down the right side and fired a low hard shot past Milner into the far corner to tie the game at 3-3 a the 3:12 mark. It was a statement goal, and it amped up the game's intensity.
Avon came back... and quickly, grabbing back the lead just 43 seconds later when Peltz banged home the rebound of a Lee Moffie shot, making it 4-3 Avon at the 3:55 mark.
And then it was Belmont Hill's turn to come back, and it only took them 23 seconds as, off a faceoff in the Avon end, freshman Brandon McNally got it to fellow frosh Connor Brickley who, exhibiting a ton of poise, cut to the net, held the puck until Milner committed, then buried it to tie the game at 4-4.
Suddenly, it looked like the two teams, both of whom played OT in the quarterfinals -- in Bel Hill's case, many OTs -- might just be headed there again.
The turning point came when Belmont Hill's Nick Metcalfe hooked down Avon's pesky Mike DiMare, and Avon's vaunted power play was given another opportunity to flex their muscle. Belmont Hill had killed off most of the penalty when DiMare spotted Peltz at the far side and Peltz ripped a high shot that rocketed high into the net, hitting the twine and flying back out. It was 5-4 Avon, but there was still 6:51 to play.
And a lot happened in that span. Jake Moscatel, a force for Belmont Hill all night, stripped Cam Atkinson in the Belmont Hill end and broke in alone but couldn't finish it off. Minutes later, with the teams skating 4x4 Milner came up with a couple of big saves to preserve the lead. With players from both teams in the box, Atkinson was called for a slash that gave Belmont Hill a 4x3 power play. Condon stopped Pat Mullane on a short-handed breakaway.
Finally, with just under a minute to play Condon raced to the bench for the extra attacker, but no one stepped on the ice for Belmont Hill. It took all of six seconds for Chris Wieland to grab the puck in the Avon end and send it the length of the ice, into the vacated net, to seal the deal for the Winged Beavers.
Tomorrow, they will face St. Paul's at 3:00 pm. Avon -- and John Gardner -- will be going for championship number seven.
St. Paul's 4, South Kent 0 (Final)
St. Paul's School got goals from four different scorers and senior goaltender Andrew Peabody shut down a potent South Kent offense to lead his team to a 4-0 win and a spot in Sunday's NEPSIHA prep championship against the winner of the upcoming Avon/Belmont Hill tilt.
The game was nowhere near as one-sided as the final score would indicate. We don't have the final shots yet, but have a feeling the edge in that department went to South Kent. Peabody was totally unflappable, holding his ground well and playing with poise. He seldom needed to make spectacular saves, relying more on good positioning.
St. Paul's got goals early in each period, and then added an empty netter for the final 4-0 margin of victory. The game had a nice pace to it, with skilled players making plays using the big sheet to their advantage.
In the first, St. Paul's struck quickly as Jason Bourgea came down the right side, turned the D as he skated below the radius of the faceoff circle, and tried to push it past SKS goaltender Tyler Scott. The rebound came back out front, and was just sitting there for Ben Albertson, who was coming down the wing. Albertson tapped it into the open net to give SPS a 1-0 lead. Defenseman Mike Daly also picked up an assist on the play.
Albertson hit a post with 50 seconds left in the period.
In the second, St. Paul's again struck early in the period. A key early save by Peabody kept the game at 1-0. Off a faceoff right afterwards, John Cronin put the puck on net and the puck rebounded to Sam Courcelles, who knocked it home to make it 2-0, St. Paul's.
South Kent kept at at and had two breakaways, both by John Tague.
St. Paul's extended their lead to 3-0 at 3:11 of the third as Ben Albertson set up Trent Blossom, who snapped one home from the right faceoff circle.
With 57 seconds remaining in regulation, Cory McGrath sealed it with an empty-netter for the 4-0 final.
"Andrew Peabody had a great game," said St. Paul's head coach Tim Pratt. "And everybody played hard. I was a little worried when we missed some opportunities in the second, but I thought we were able to wear them down a little as the game went along. We went to the net hard, and I thought we used the big sheet well. I thought that first group for South Kent was very good. They were great on the power play. Being able to shut them down was very important."
*** At Tilton, NH
New Hampton 2, Roxbury Latin 1 (final, overtime). New Hampton prevailed ove Roxbury Latin, 2-1, in overtime. Nick Maggio game winner at 12:43; assist to Kyle Stewardson. Pat Dunn came up big in net. Pat Shortt scored New Hampton's first period goal. More shortly.
Kents Hill 4, Hebron 3
Trailing 3-0 after two periods, Hebron almost pulled of an improbable comeback, notching three straight goals early in the third to tie it up at 3-3 before a bang-bang goalmouth jam-in by Kents Hill senior forward David Woods put his team up, 4-3 -- to stay.
Kents Hill advances to face the winner of New Hampton/Roxbury Latin tomorrow afternoon.
Goals by Brad Richard, 42 seconds in, and Greg Haliskoe, at the buzzer, gave Kents Hill a 2-0 lead after one. A Josh Goellner goal at 2:20 of the second made it 3-0. For the rest of the second, Hebron kept Kents Hill off the board.
Hebron came out with fire in their eyes in the third. Seven seconds in, David Woods barrelled down the left side and fired one past Kents Hill goaltender Brian Fleming to make it 3-1. At 2:04 Jason Goodman made it 3-2. Chad Goodwin tied it at 3-3 with a wide angle slapper at 6:40.
Hebron had a couple good chances to tie it up over the next 3-4 minutes. But it was Kents Hill that would get the next goal. On a 3-on-2, Nick Kolb, from the left side made a goalmouth pass to Woods who jammed it just inside the right post. The net went off a millisecond after the puck crossed the line, but it was a goal, fair and square.
Div. I
St. Paul’s 4, South Kent 0
Avon Old Farms 6, Belmont Hill 4
Div. II:
Kents Hill 4, Hebron 3
New Hampton 2, Roxbury Latin 1
Sunday's Schedule:
Div. II Championship Game:
New Hampton vs. Kents Hill,12:30 pm
Div. I Championship Game:
Avon Old Farms vs. St. Paul's, 3:00 pm
3/3/08
All New England Prep School Team
2007-2008
Division I
Player of the Year
Erin Barley-Maloney, Senior forward, Taft
Forwards
Kelly Foley, Senior, Tabor Academy
Aleca Hughes, Senior, Hotchkiss School
Brooke Fernandez, Junior, Loomis Chaffee
Defense
Jenna Hobeika, Senior, Hotchkiss School
Kailey Nash, Senior, Taft School
Goalie
Kayla Lessard, Senior, Westminster School
Division II
Player of the Year
Celia Colman-McGraw, Senior forward, Kingswood-Oxford
Forwards
Vika Mykolenko, Senior, Proctor Academy
Ali Greenberg, Senior, Kents Hill School
Steph Blasnik, Senior, Gunnery School
Defense
Katherine Pujol, Senior, Greenwich Academy
Sacha Gouchie, Senior, Holderness School
Goalie
Kristen Gresko, Senior, Vermont Academy
3/1/08 Updated
Today's Semifinals: Updates from Southfield
Div. II semis:
#5 Middlesex 2, Rivers 1 (final)
1st period:
No scoring.
2nd period:
Middlesex: Anna Garbier (Haley MacKeen) 2:19
3rd period:
Rivers: Abby Landry (Caitlin Walsh) 8:08
Middlesex: Caroline Corbett (Bevin Landry) .28.3 of the 3rd.
Governors 3, Greenwich 0 (Final)
Govs: Alanna McDonough (Alex Carpenter, Kelly Lavallee) 12:47 of the 1st
Govs: Alex Carpenter (Kate Leary) 13:39 of the 3rd
Govs: Rebecca Lindmark (Alex Carpenter, Alanna McDonough) 4:58 of the 3rd
Div. I Semis:
Nobles 1, Tabor 0 (Final)
Nobles: Julianne Bishop (Kaitlin Spurling, Corey Stearns)
Hotchkiss 2, Choate 1 (Final)
Hotchkiss: Aleca Hughes (Diana Bennett) 12:49 1st
Hotchkiss: Kim Ton-That (unassisted) 4:16 3rd
Choate: Christine Valente (Kelly McDonough) .48.4 -- 6 X 5
Championship Sunday
10:30 am Division II Final:
Middlesex vs. Governors
12:30 pm Division I Final:
Nobles vs. Hotchkiss
3/2/08
Championship Sunday:
Nobles Wins Div. I Crown, 2-1, in Double Overtime
Kaitin Spurling Nets Game-winner; Named Tournament MVP
Nobles 2, Hotchkiss 1 (OT):
Hotchkiss: Alex Kinney (Aleca Hughes) @ 4:09 of the 1st.
Nobles: Denna Laing (Alexandra Piersiak Karoline Perdios)
Nobles: Kaitlin Spurling (Kelley Cooke) @ 14:19 of OT
***
Governor's Wins Div. II Title, 3-2, in Double Overtime
Kate Leary Nets Game Winner
Alexa Carpenter of Governor's Named Tournament MVP
Governors 3, Middlesex 2 (2 OT):
Middlesex: Heather Landry, @ 12:39 of the 1st
Governors: Alex Carpenter (Alanna McDonough) @ 1:15 of the 1st
Middlesex: Heather Landry (Haley MacKeen) @ 8:46 of the 2nd
Governors: Alex Carpenter (Kate Leary) @ 8:30 of the 2nd
No scoring in the first 15-minute OT
2nd OT:
Governors: Kate Leary (Haley MacKeen, Alex Carpenter) @ 10:58 of the 2nd OT.
10:30 am Division II Final:
Governor's 3, Middlesex 2 (2 OT)
12:30 pm Division I Final:
Nobles 2, Hotchkiss 1 (OT)
