BELMONT, Mass. — Sure, No. 9 Nobles staged a bit of a comeback in the third period. But in the end, it was mostly all No. 8 Belmont Hill.
The Sextants got a big, ISL win, taking down their rivals, 5-2, in front of a raucous, Friday night crowd. Both schools had full student sections and made themselves heard.
Belmont Hill won the game because of its first period. Junior forward Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.) got the scoring started eight minutes into the game when he stripped a Nobles defender of the puck and put a shot through Nobles freshman goalie Justin Lee's (Newton, Mass.) legs.
With just over three minutes left in the period, sophomore David Bosco (Winchester, Mass.) ripped a shot past Lee's glove, tallying a goal on the power play to make it 2-0.
The real backbreaker for Nobles came with 15 seconds left in the first.
A Belmont Hill shot bounced off the back glass and came in front of the net. Sophomore forward Liam Boyle got it and deflected it off Lee and in, making it 3-0 Sextants.
That lead was extended to 4-0 when sophomore forward Andrew Giguere (Georgetown, Mass.) absolutely sniped a shot off the rush, beating Lee clean over his blocker. I cannot stress enough how good the shot was.
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Nobles, however, did make things close in the third period when junior forward Billy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.) potted two goals. Ultimately, Belmont Hill sophomore defenseman Brady Sloper (North Andover, Mass.) iced the game when he scored an empty-netter.
This was a game with big Elite 8 implications.
Let's dive into a handful of standouts and takeaways.
David Bosco
Belmont Hill, 2/8/2008, F, right shot, 5-11/163
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.Â
This was a great game for Bosco. His goal was off a terrific passing play with Dartmouth commit Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) on the power play. Bosco circled out of the offensive zone and upon entering again, Jones hit him with a pass and Bosco ripped a shot past Lee. Bosco's vision was prevalent throughout the game, too. He had a great play early in the second period when he had the puck deep in his own zone and hit Dartmouth commit Jake Tavares (Belmont, Mass.) up ice to jumpstart the rush. Later in the period, Bosco made a nice pass from the corner to Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.) for a one-timer. Bosco even got a shorthanded breakaway in the second period, but it was whistled dead due to the Nobles defender playing with a broken stick.
Brady Sloper
Belmont Hill, 5/21/2008, D, right shot, 6-2/198
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.Â
Sloper was active from the jump. On one of his first shifts of the game, Sloper got involved deep in the offensive zone and was effective. He showcased strong net-front defense throughout the game, never letting players get open in front and being physical with them. He was good at keeping himself a stick length away from whoever he was covering. He made a great read on his goal, as he anticipated the Nobles forward to throw it back down the wall. When he did, Sloper pounced, skated it to the neutral zone and fired in an empty-net goal.
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Liam Boyle
Belmont Hill, 2/8/2008, F, left shot, 5-9/165
Hometown: Needham, Mass.Â
Boyle was everywhere. His goal was all about his relentlessness to get to the loose puck after it bounced off the back boards. He intelligently put it off of Lee and in. He consistently hustled hard, such as when he raced back to break up a rush by Yale commit Kyle O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.). In the offensive zone, his feet were constantly moving and he was getting himself in new positions to aid in the cycle.
JJ Thibodeau
Belmont Hill, 2/20/2007, G, catches left, 6-0/176
Hometown: Waltham, Mass.Â
Nobles' best period was the third. And while the Bulldogs did find the back of the net twice, they could've a whole lot more had Thibodeau not come up so big. He robbed senior forward Ethan Cox (Westboro, Mass.) with his glove at the start of the third period. Shortly after, he denied senior forward Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.) of two chances off the rush. Earlier in the game, he robbed MacAusland on a 2-on-1, stretching out and getting a piece of the shot with his leg.
Billy MacAusland
Nobles, 8/4/2007, F, left shot, 5-10/170
Hometown: Westwood, Mass.Â
Even on an off night for Nobles, MacAusland still found ways to produce. His first goal came on a turnaround shot from the slot. Sophomore defenseman Kris Soja threw a puck on net, it got blocked and MacAusland found it and fired it past Thibodeau. His second goal came from him curling up high in the zone and firing a shot through traffic that Thibodeau never saw. MacAusland is now tied for third in the region with 54 points. He and O'Leary have been one of the most dominant duos in prep.
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Takeaways...
- This game actually could've been much closer based on Nobles' third period. O'Leary had a shorthanded breakaway and from my angle, it looked like he scored for a quick second, but the puck somehow stayed out. Right after that, a Nobles shot got tipped and hit the post. Had the Bulldogs not completely broken down in the first period, they likely at least force overtime.
- Belmont Hill's top line of Woods, Bosco and Tavares get a lot of ink, and rightfully so. But the second line of senior captain Michael Sullivan (North Andover, Mass.), Carolan and Giguere was so hard to play against. They forechecked hard, made life difficult on Nobles defensemen and were active on the cycle.
- Major props to Lee. Things looked like they were going off the rails after the first period, but the '09 freshman hung in and made some big saves in the second and third periods to give his team a fighting chance.
- With the win, Belmont Hill moved into the No. 5 spot if the Elite 8 started today and the projected Elite 8, according to USHR. Nobles still has the No. 8 spot in the Elite 8 if the tournament began today, but is the No. 1 seed in the Large School Tournament in the projected finish. The algorithm has Nobles winning its next two games, which are against Governor's Academy and Milton.
- Belmont Hill was stunned by Milton, 5-2, on Wednesday night. Its final two games are difficult matchups: Tabor and Westminster. Both teams have phenomenal goalies with Tabor having Vinnie D'Urso (Andover, Mass.) and Westminster boasting Jack Fichthorn (Darien, Conn.). Those two wins are far from locks.
