BROOKLINE, Mass. — With under 1:30 to play in a tied game, the puck bouncing around the front of the Dexter Southfield net was emblematic of Holderness' Elite 8 chances.
It bounced from the stick to the pads of Dexter goalie Colin Davis (Canton, Mass.). When it finally popped out to the other side, Holderness senior Brayden Wade was there, uncovered, and it landed perfectly on his stick.
Wade shot it into the gaping cage, giving Holderness a late 5-4 lead that it never gave up, capping off a wild game and catapulting the Bulls into the Elite 8 — as of Wednesday and projected.
Up until that point, a Holderness win seemed far from certain. It was a classic, back-and-forth heavyweight fight.
Less than one minute before Wade's tally, Dexter sophomore Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.) got the puck at the top of the slot and fired a shot into the top corner past Holderness goalie Mark Bierwirth (Chelmsford, Mass.). Dexter senior Sean Leetch (Boston, Mass.) had previously cut Holderness' lead to 4-3 early in the third period.
Dexter took a 1-0 lead to the dressing room after one period thanks to a goal from Nick D'Olympio (Rockland, Mass.) but Holderness exploded for four goals when it came back out for the second period. It started less than two minutes into the middle frame when junior Viktor Samal shot a puck from behind the net that went off Davis and in. Bulls senior Jacob Duval (Andover, Mass.) fired in a shot off an offensive zone draw less than two minutes later, giving the Bulls a 2-1 lead.
The Bulls poured it on later in the period, too. Duval and Wade scored 23 seconds apart, extending the Holderness lead to 4-1.
Dexter didn't go quietly from the second period. Senior Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.) tipped in a shot from sophomore defenseman Tayvin Frongello (Hull, Mass.) to cut Holderness' lead to 4-2.
This one was an instant classic and an upset. Let's dive into the Elite 8 implications, as well as standouts and takeaways.
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Brayden Wade
Holderness, 9/5/2007, F, right shot, 5-8/175
Hometown: Commerce, Mich.Â
Wade's eventual winner was huge. The '07 read the play correctly and found some open space away from everyone at the far post and deposited the rebound. He scored Holderness' fourth goal late in the second period when he shot one in from the side of the net at 4-on-4. Right before that, he notched an assist on Duval's goal to make it 3-1. Wade played a smart game down the middle, as was evident late in the second period when he supported the play well in his own zone. He cut to the front of his own net and picked off a pass headed for a Dexter forward in the slot.
Jacob Duval
Holderness, 1/19/2006, F, left shot, 5-11/180
Hometown: Andover, Mass.Â
Duval was instrumental in swinging momentum in his team's favor. It started when he stunned Davis with a shot off an offensive zone draw, putting one over the goalie's blocker. Later in the period, he showed good poise with the puck near the top of the offensive zone at 4-on-3. But he also showed a willingness to shoot the puck, which can, surprisingly, be rare in such a situation. His shot deflected off a Dexter defender and in. Duval almost scored for the hat trick early in the third period, but just missed the open side.
Noah Survilas
Dexter Southfield, 12/27/2008, F, right shot, 5-11/170
Hometown: Winthrop, Mass.Â
Survilas' late goal looked like it put Dexter in the driver's seat. It was a terrific play made possible by some great passing by Rian Chudzinski (Needham, Mass.) and Leetch. Survilas, with mayhem in front of him, calmly settled the puck down and labeled a snipe over Bierwirth's blocker. Survilas' vision continued to impress me, as he often made intelligent area passes in transition. Midway through the second period, Survilas dangled a defender and almost scored, but Bierwirth made a terrific stop.
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Tyler Hamilton
Dexter Southfield, 12/7/2006, F, right shot, 5-11/170
Hometown: Framingham, Mass.Â
Hamilton's goal was his second-biggest play of the game. Early in the third period, with Dexter scrapping and clawing to try to tie the game, Holderness postgrad forward Connor Dozois looked like he was going to have a wide-open chance in the slot. But from out of nowhere, Hamilton read the play, hustled back and dove to knock the puck away, negating the chance. Hamilton also laid a big hit on Samal midway through the second period.
Jeremy Poirier
Holderness, 7/28/2006, D, right shot, 6-1/190
Hometown: Salem, N.H.Â
Poirier was often able to control the game when the puck was on his stick. He rushed pucks with ease, sifting through Dexter and gaining offensive zone entries. He was able to get shots through from the point and had a heavy one-timer on the power play. On Duval's 4-on-3 goal, Poirier's assist broguht his point total to 39 — good for first among all defensemen in New England.
Viktor Samal
Holderness, 5/5/2007, F, left shot, 6-0/170
Hometown: Prague, Czech RepublicÂ
Samal's goal was a smart, heads-up play. He had the puck behind the net and noticed Davis was far out of his net. Samal threw one in front that bounced off Davis and in. He almost scored late in the first period when he picked off a pass and went in on Davis, but the goalie made the save. He was active in the offensive zone, getting chances and using his feet to get to better ice. In previous viewings, I noticed him more as a perimeter player. But on Wednesday, he seemed to have no issue with the interior.
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Takeaways...
- There were two, right-shot defensemen in this game who, in my opinion, will someday commit to Division 1: Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.) and Poirier. Brosnan is still a sophomore, so he can't commit anywhere until Aug. 1. But Poirier still being uncommitted is surprising. While he's an '06, his two-way abilities are impressive and I like his confidence with the puck. He does have some Division 1 interest, but I'm surprised he doesn't have more.
- Both goalies were given tall tasks on Wednesday: Davis had to face the No. 1 offense in prep, while Bierwirth had to quell the No. 4 offense. Davis gave up five and Bierwirth four, but both made some terrific, timely saves. Bierwirth's biggest came on Chudzinski while he was on his stomach; Davis showcased a nice glove.
- Davis' blessing and curse was his aggressiveness when playing the puck. Late in the third period, he came out to play a puck that was going to be called for icing, it was whistled and the face-off was put at center ice (curse). The blessing came moments later when Duval looked to be winning a race for a puck that would've given him a shorthanded breakaway, but Davis came flying out and chipped the puck away.
- Because Holderness beat the No. 2 team in the region, the Bulls moved into the No. 7 seed of the current Elite 8 picture. For the projected tournament, the Bulls are No. 8. The USHR model does not include the Lakes Region playoffs, so this is far from official. But it's a stunning jump from the No. 3 seed in the Small School Tournament to No. 7 in the Elite 8. The win knocked Rivers into being the No. 1 seed in the Small School despite the Red Wings beating Brooks, 8-1. If the Bulls succeed in the Lakes Region playoffs later this week and (potentially) beat Kimball Union, they would likely move up even more.
- Crazily enough, Rivers ranks fifth in RPI while Holderness ranks 13th. But the Elite 8 is decided on JSPR, which factors in head-to-head results, comparing two teams' RPI (teams' winning percentage, opponents' winning percentage and opponents' opponents' winning percentage), record against mutual opponents, and record against teams under consideration, according to USHR. So, when that's all done by the algorithm, Holderness has the edge over Rivers...at least for right now.
- Dexter is still the projected No. 2 seed for the Elite 8 Tournament even with the loss. That doesn't mean there isn't cause for concern. That was Dexter's final game before the tournament and they're ice cold. Head coach Danny Donato's team went 1-3-1 in their final five games.
- If the Elite 8 began today, these two teams would play each other. The winner of No. 2 Dexter and No. 7 Holderness would be a toss-up — and that's how I feel about the entire Elite 8 field. There is no favorite. A No. 1 seed could win the whole thing just as easily as a No. 8 seed. That's what makes it fun.
