NEEDHAM, Mass. — When St. Sebastian's senior defenseman Oliver Manning (Franklin, Mass.) went to clear the puck from his own zone early in the third period, he knew he was going to get crushed. The hit reverberated down the glass, thrashing back against the large number of students pushing on it.
That puck eventually ended up on the stick of junior forward Danny Porter (Hingham, Mass.) and then senior Ty Curry (Carlisle, Mass.), who sniped a shot off the rush past Belmont Hill junior goalie Ethan Bauer (Belmont, Mass.).
It was the eventual game winner.
The play proved to be emblematic: Belmont Hill threw everything at St. Sebastian's, yet the Arrows never wavered, taking down the No. 5 Sextants, 4-2, to win both of their matchups with its rival this season.
In front of a packed arena, St. Sebastian's got the scoring going early when sophomore forward Cade Noonan (Needham, Mass.) fought down the wing and ripped one past Bauer just over three minutes into the game.
Belmont Hill responded towards the end of the period on a power play. Senior defenseman Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) hit freshman forward Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.) with a phenomenal pass. The young gun one-timed it past St. Sebastian's junior goalie Tommy Saulnier (Medfield, Mass.).
The teams traded goals in the second period. It started when sophomore forward Nicholas Hand (Dover, Mass.) scored from a weird angle. Late in the frame, senior forward Jared Hughes (Needham, Mass.) hit freshman defenseman Brendan Martin (Dedham, Mass.) with a pass high in the zone, and Martin sniped one.
After Curry's goal in the third, the Arrows' top line struck on the power play when Jack Queally (Milton, Mass.), Brendan Matthews (Westwood, Mass.) and Noonan connected for a tic-tac-toe goal, giving Noonan his second of the game.
St. Sebastian's improved to 14-7-0 with the win, getting back on track after losses to Milton Academy and Cushing. Belmont Hill fell to 14-6-4.
Let's dive into some standouts and takeaways.
Cade Noonan
St. Sebastian's, 8/21/2009, F, left shot, 5-10/183
Hometown: Needham, Mass.Â
Noonan is built for games like this. He set the tone early with a nice snipe. On his second goal, he found a soft spot in the low slot to fire another past Bauer. His dogged compete helped him win 50/50 puck battles and forecheck hard, as he finished every hit. He worked great in tandem with Queally and Matthews, finding ways to get open for Queally in transition.
Tommy Saulnier
St. Sebastian's, 2/15/2008, G, catches left, 6-0/185
Hometown: Medfield, Mass.Â
Saulnier finished the night with 32 shots and was one of the top reasons the Arrows came out with a win. Saulnier tracked pucks through traffic well and showed great rebound control. Late in the first period, Lee had a great chance off the rush that Saulnier denied. As time dwindled in the third period, Saulnier robbed Belmont Hill freshman Landon Roe (Belmont, Mass.) with his glove. Wednesday strengthened Saulnier's case for Goalie of the Year.
READ MORE:Â Our latest boys prep rankings
Jack Queally
St. Sebastian's, 7/27/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/185
Hometown: Milton, Mass.Â
Queally was fantastic at play-driving, showing no issue with going east-west and making subtle, small-area passes to his linemates to advance the play. He was poised with pucks in his own zone, too. His forechecking as the F1 caused issues with Belmont Hill breakouts and helped extend zone time. He reads plays well, doing a good job at getting above pucks and anticipating where the play is going. I continue to be impressed with Queally as a stable, do-it-all center.
Danny Porter
St. Sebastian's, 6/17/2008, F, right shot
Hometown: Hingham, Mass.Â
Porter logged two assists. He had the secondary on Martin's goal, winning a battle and aiding the cycle, getting the puck to Hughes. Porter is the perfect kind of bottom-six forward for games like these. As the ice got smaller and the intensity rose, Porter finished every. single. check. The perfect kind of antagonizer. He also did well at getting low in the zone and helping take away passing lanes.
Oliver Manning
St. Sebastian's, 1/24/2008, D, right shot
Hometown: Franklin, Mass.Â
The word for Manning was disruptor. He consistently made smart, defensive plays to shut down Belmont Hill's offense, which is why head coach Sean McCann sent him over the boards quite a bit to protect the two-goal lead late. He always stayed a stick-length away from forwards in his own end and closed well, using his stick and physicality to negate plays. On breakouts, Manning, my cousin, made smart, simple puck plays, but wasn't afraid to go for the long pass.
READ MORE:Â 26 candidates for boys prep Player of the Year
Sam Lee
Belmont Hill, 9/29/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.Â
Lee's one-timer was sweet, as he found a soft spot on the weak side and was shot-ready when Jones sifted the pass to him. Even as a wing, Lee consistently drove play. On one rush, he shifted to the outside in one move, gaining separation from the defenseman, and cut middle to get a scoring chance. He had high awareness around the net, getting inside the slot to tip a shot in tight near Saulnier's left pad on one play. Lee's hands were outstanding, too.
Evan Jones
Belmont Hill, 2/9/2007, D, left shot, 5-11/185
Hometown: Arlington, Mass.
NCAA: DartmouthÂ
Jones' pass to Lee for his goal was a thing of beauty. The former worked his way down to the left flank, faked the shot, created a passing lane and sifted the pass across to Lee. Jones skated pucks well and typically made smart, crafty breakout passes. And, per usual, he was elusive with pressure, always finding space no matter where the forechecker was coming from. I also liked his aggressiveness on penalty kills.
Nicholas Hand
Belmont Hill, 8/5//2008, F, right shot, 6-0/174
Hometown: Dover, Mass.Â
Hand scored a goal from low in the zone by chucking one on net and having it bounce off Saulnier and in. But the sophomore was a menace below the goal line in the offensive zone throughout the game. He finished hits, protected pucks and won battles. Belmont Hill is at its best when it's cycling, and Hand was a big part of it.
READ MORE: Top boys prep performers from Feb. 4-10
Takeaways
- St. Sebastian's top line of Queally, Matthews and Noonan flowed so well. The trio always seemed to know where the other two were, and they worked so well off each other. They all bring different skills and assets to the table. Queally has the two-way and play-driving abilities, Noonan can finish and brings compete and Matthews is a terrific passer.
- I was along the glass and right behind Hughes when he gathered the puck in the corner and somehow found Martin at the point through traffic. That was some X-ray vision stuff.
- Martin and freshman Sam Fishbone (Needham, Mass.) are two of the best, most elusive defensemen at the offensive blue line I've seen this winter. They're unafraid to hold on to pucks for an extra second if it means more time and space to make a play.
- U.S. National Team Development Program director of player personnel Rod Braceful was in attendance. While both teams have a slew of impressive '10 (and '11s), Lee and Queally are the two favorites (in my opinion) to get invites to Evaluation Camp. Watching them go head-to-head was great, as both forwards brought it.
- Belmont Hill sophomore forward Robert DeKleine did a nice job of getting above pucks and making St. Sebastian's breakouts difficult.
- In my four years as editor, this was the most packed I've seen Henry T. Lane Rink. The main parking lot was full. The secondary lot was full, and cars were parked all down the main road. St. Sebastian's student section wore all black while Belmont Hill wore all white. The stands were full, and almost every spot along the glass was taken. That might as well have been a playoff game. It's the best time of year.
- At the time of writing on Wednesday night, St. Sebastian's is No. 9 in JSPR, while Belmont Hill fell to No. 11. Both teams will now be in a sprint for the Elite 8. Because they're both in the ISL Keller, both have a similar schedule. The Arrows have Lawrence Academy (twice), Tabor, Governor's Academy and Thayer coming up, while the Sextants face Thayer, BB&N, Milton, Nobles, Tabor and Westminster. Those aren't easy schedules, so you won't catch me making any declarative predictions on Feb. 11 regarding where either team ends up.
