MILTON, Mass. — Tilton pressed and pressed and pressed. But in the end, Milton Academy took down the No. 10 team in the region, 3-1 on Saturday.
Only one goal was scored in the first two periods. Late in the first period, Milton sophomore defenseman Chance Bolton's shot from the point bounced off a Tilton defender and in, giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
They extended that lead midway through the third period when senior forward Kyle Greene found fellow senior Luis Valencia streaking into the slot for a goal, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
Tilton caught a break when the game's first penalty was called with 5:20 to play in regulation. The Rams immediately capitalized when senior defenseman Andrew Feldman's shot was stopped but junior Max Gagnon (Byfield, Mass.) was there to knock in the rebound, cutting Milton's lead to 2-1.
The Rams spent the final five minutes pushing for offense and getting chances, but Milton added insurance when senior forward Anthony Sergeyev (Dover, Mass.) blocked a shot and scored an empty-net goal from his own zone.
Milton improved to 5-8-0 with the win, while Tilton fell to 9-2-1.
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Let's dive into some standouts and takeaways.
Justin Garvey
Milton Academy, 3/7/2007, D, right shot, 5-11/155
Hometown: Rye, N.Y.Â
On the game's first shift, Garvey rushed the puck and later threw a shot on net, setting the tone for his day. There wasn't a shift where I didn't notice him, as he was always in or around the puck. His patience with the puck did him wonders. He never panicked no matter where he was on the ice and was always looking to make plays. There was one instance when Peter Silverman was coming at him fast and Garvey faked a pass up the boards, getting to Silverman to bite, and took it middle for a clean breakout. Another phenomenal play was midway through the second period, he feathered a perfect saucer pass around a Tilton defender to Milton sophomore defenseman Michael Shaw. Shaw went in for a scoring chance.
Carter Backus
Milton Academy, 11/13/2008, G, catches left, 5-10/150
Hometown: Cohasset, Mass.Â
Tilton's longest offensive zone sequences came at the end of the game, but Backus did his job well throughout. Early in the first period, there was a scramble in front of his net and he made the save. A similar instance happened in the second period off a passing play by Tilton forward Ty Seymour and defenseman Theodore Hannon. Backus capped off the period by coming out and challenging Tilton forward Cam Fahey (Reading, Mass.) on a 2-on-1, taking away the former Reading High standout's angles. Backus also had phenomenal rebound control throughout the day.
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Kyle Greene
Milton Academy, 11/29/2006, F, right shot, 5-10/155
Hometown: Paradise, NewfoundlandÂ
The play of the day went to Greene. Midway through the third period, Greene got the puck in the neutral zone, circled back and took his time. A teammate was at the opposing blue line banging his stick for the pass but Greene held onto it. He took the puck up ice and entered the zone, dangled two defenders and eventually found Valencia darting towards the net. Greene's outstanding, one-man effort led to the eventual game-winning goal. Greene's patience and skill complement this Milton team well.
Chance Bolton
Milton Academy, 7/9/2008, D, right shot, 5-8/159
Hometown: Hamburg, N.Y.Â
Bolton's goal was his first of the season. But it was his other shifts that really made him a standout. In one shift early in the third period, he got a pass from sophomore forward Marco Linton and kickstarted an odd-man rush. He threw the puck on net, followed his rebound and almost scored his second of the game. Later that same shift, he took smart positioning in front of his own net and intercepted a Tilton pass to the slot. On breakouts, Bolston was calm and had patience no matter the pressure on him.
Peter Silverman
Tilton, 3/20/2006, F, left shot, 5-10/160
Hometown: Winthrop, Mass.Â
While Silverman finished the day without any points, the former Winthrop High (Mass.) star was everywhere. His speed was hard to miss. I found it interesting that off the opening draw in the third period, head coach Brooks McQuade's team had Silverman line up as the left defenseman so he could have more speed going in to get the puck. Silverman had good vision on some of his puck rushes, finding linemates in and around the Milton net.
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Takeaways
- While I used patience to describe Garvey, Bolton and Greene's approaches with the puck, that's the word for Milton's team approach to puck touches. The Mustangs never panicked. They were always looking to make plays even when they were under siege in their own zone. There were even a few times where I felt myself being like, "Alright, ice it," and they didn't. They settled down and looked to make a tape-to-tape pass. And it wasn't just Milton's top guys doing this — the entire lineup appeared bought into possessing the puck no matter what. There will be times when Milton needs to up its shot volume but playing like that usually lends itself to developing smart, poised hockey players.
- It wasn't Tilton's best day offensively. The Rams got some nice chances off the rush but didn't have great, sustained attacking zone time until the final few minutes. In fairness, it wasn't a high-offense kind of day anyway.
- Stick taps to Tilton postgrad defenseman Mason Scanlon and senior forward Kayden Yeaman for making some huge blocks on point-blank Milton chances right in front of the crease. Tilton junior goalie Matt Wood (Southington, Conn.) made sure to hug those two after.
- Tilton's start to the season has been impressive. This was my first time seeing the Rams so far, so I can't speak to exactly how they've played in previous games compared to this one. While this loss may knock them out of our top 10, it doesn't diminish how good they've been to start. They're older and bigger, and 9-2-1 is still really freaking good.
- Milton is a sleeper team in the ISL. Sure, the Mustangs are now 5-8-0. But they have wins over Salisbury, St. George's and now Tilton. If they can just be a bit more consistent, they should be a postseason threat.
