11/22/08

Hatch Leads Exeter Over Rivers

Exeter, NH – PG Matt Hatch, a Massena, NY native, had a hand in Exeter’s first three goals today in a 5-1 win over Rivers.

Exeter scored a power play goal in the first. Senior Jeff Reppucci, manning the blue line alone, fired a shot that senior Tommy Larkin tipped past Rivers junior goalie Tim Corey at 6:30 of the first. Hatch got the second assist on the goal.

In the second period, Hatch knocked home the rebound of a point shot by Michael Kennedy to make it 2-0. Exeter went up 3-0 when, on a 2-on-1, Hatch converted a Dan Weiniger pass.

In the third, Rivers got on the board at the 1:48 mark when super sophs Connor  Dempsey and Cam Brown went to work – Dempsey got the goal, beating Exeter senior goalie Andrew Jankowski, who had started the third in place of Max Fenkell, who had posted two shutout periods (19/19).

Juniors Ryan Breen and James Shannon added insurance goals for Exeter in the third.

This game was a bit of a foregone conclusion early on. However, Rivers, given that they have only had two days of practice after tryouts, hung in there nicely. They were also short a line, as two forwards are making lacrosse visits and another was out with an injury. So they went with two lines and four d-men today.

"I thought we may have been a little better than people expected,” Rivers coach Brendan Fleming said. “Exeter is a very solid team with a great goaltender and it took us some time to get used to the speed, because last year we didn’t play anyone outside the league of this caliber. But I thought we did well, though we have some work to do.

Rivers boasts two very good players in the above-mentioned sophs. Brown, a left-shot center, led Rivers in scoring as a freshman last season. He’s a nifty little player, and we do mean little – try 5’0” and about 105 lbs. He’s a ’93 so he probably has a growth spurt in front of him. We can tell you that he has nice mitts, isn’t afraid of traffic, and is a lot of fun to watch. Some people might say he’s too small to project him as a  Div. I player, but the kid is a hockey player.. Ditto for Dempsey, a ’92 and, like Brown, a left-shot center. Whereas Brown is an elusive little bugger who can stickhandle in a phone booth, Dempsey, who’s around 5’6”, 150, is a more traditional type, constantly skating, and constantly looking to move the puck to the open man. He, too, is a Div. I prospect.

As for Exeter, Hatch, who centers Weiniger and Nick Kondiles, is a Div. I prospect. At 6’0”, 170 lbs. Hatch has enough size, and he can skate see the ice. He's definitely worth keeping an eye on. So too is Reppucci, who may walk on at UNH. Reppucci, a Newburyport, Mass. native, played well today, moving the puck with authority. Reppucci's defense partner, Larkin, a Colgate recruit who’s 6’4” plus, and 215 lbs., seemed out of sync. His hands weren't doing what his head was telling them too.

Avon Old Farms transfer Max Fenkell played well in goal for Exeter, stopping all 19 shots he faced.

 

Tilton School Girls Holiday Tournament

-- at Tilton, NH; Dec. 19-20, 2008:

Teams:
Tilton School
New Hampton School
Winsor  School
Berwick Academy
Kuper Academy (Montreal)
Stanstead College

Schedule:

Fri. Dec. 19, 2008:
3:30 pm – New Hampton vs. Kuper
5:15 pm -- Berwick vs. Stanstead
7:00 pm -- Tilton vs. Winsor

Sat. Dec. 20, 2008:
8:00 pm -- Kuper vs. Stanstead
9:45 pm -- Berwick vs. Tilton
11:30 pm -- Winsor vs. New Hampton

2:00 pm -- 5 v. 6
3:45 pm -- 3 v. 4
5:30 pm -- 1 v. 2 Championship

***

Canterbury Girls’ Holiday Classic

-- at New Milford, Conn; Dec. 19-21, 2008

Participating Teams:           

Kingswood –Oxford (CT)                
Rye Country Day (NY)
Canterbury (CT)                            
Vermont Academy (VT)                       
Hill School (PA)                            
Kents Hill (ME)
Northfield - Mt. Hermon (MA)  
Millbrook (NY)

Fri. Dec. 19, 2008:

Game #1  2:00 pm -- Canterbury  vs Hill      
Game #2  4:00 pm -- Kingswood  vs Rye C.D.         
Game #3  6:00 pm -- Millbrook  vs NMH  
Game #4  8:00 pm -- Vermont  vs Kents Hill

Sat. Dec. 20, 2008:  

Game # 5  9:00 am -- Loser Game 1  vs  Loser Game 2
Game #6  11:00 am -- Loser Game 3  vs Loser Game 4
Game # 7  1:00 pm -- Winner Game 1  vs Winner Game 2  (Winner to Final)
Game # 8  3:00 pm -- Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 4  (Winner to Final)
Game #9   5:00 pm --   Loser Game 5  vs Loser Game 6        7^th/8^th Place
Game #10 7:00 pm -- Winner Game  5  vs Winner Game 6  5^th/6^th Place

Sun. Dec. 21, 2008:

Game # 11   10:00 pm -- Loser Game 7  vs Loser Game 8          3^rd place game
Game #  12  12:00 pm -- Winner Game 7   vs Winner Game 8   Championship game