SOUTHBORO, Mass. — Dexter Southfield set the tone from the start on Friday night, scoring its first goal of the game just over one minute on on a one-timer from forward Ben Morgan (Chelmsford, Mass.).
When St. Mark's defenseman Diego Bass countered with one of his own 20 seconds later, Dexter defender Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.) took even less time to respond, scoring off a shot from the point moments later.
Dexter never seemed to lose that momentum, winning Friday night's matchup, 6-3.
Head coach Danny Donato's team got one more goal before the first period ended when forward Sean Leetch (Boston, Mass.) scored from the slot off a nice play by Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.) in the corner to make it 3-1.
Dexter freshman forward Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.) notched a power play tally to start the second period after knocking in defenseman Liam O'Keeffe's (Boston, Mass.) shot from the point to make it 4-1.
St. Mark's immediately responded, however, posting two goals in 15 seconds. The first came from forward Max Santon (Southboro, Mass.), who got a pass from Cam MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) in front of the net. MacPherson had picked up the rebound from defenseman Calvin Beard's (Southboro, Mass.) shot from the point.
Right after, defenseman Jack O'Connor got a pass from forward Finn Dolesh (Southboro, Mass.) off the rush and finished with a nice shot past Dexter goalie Colin Davis (Canton, Mass.).
That St. Mark's momentum was short-lived after Beard got a five-minute major for a cross-check up high, leading to Dexter forward Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.) entering the zone and firing a shot past goalie Alex Tarves (Marlboro, Mass.) to make it 5-3.
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The lone goal in the third period came from Dexter defenseman Cam Smith (Lincoln, R.I.) who sifted a shot through from the blue line.
Here are five takeaways from the strong matchup.
1. It sounds weird to say because it's Dexter, but Donato's team might be one of the more underrated teams in the region. While Dexter doesn't have an NHL Draft prospect like Sean Keohane (Milton, Mass.), it does have strong depth, especially up front. Having upperclassmen like Carson Nickulas (West Barnstable, Mass.), Leetch and Morgan inside the top six was helpful in forechecking hard, getting sustained offensive zone time and setting a tone on Friday. Emery returning to Dexter from the BCHL helps, too.
Donato also has a strong group of recruits and younger players in legitimate roles. Hamilton, a junior, saw a lot of time, took important draws and is on one of the power play units. Sophomore Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.) and freshman Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.) saw a good amount of 5v5 time, as well as power play minutes.
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Dexter had scoring troubles last season, but if this group can continue to produce the way it did on Friday, Donato's squad will ascend in the rankings.
2. It's early in the season, so I'm going to wait on doing official standouts. But for Dexter, Leetch was a force offensively. He drove play all night and played the game hard, making life difficult for St. Mark's defenders on the forecheck. He scored once, but had various other chances, including picking off a St. Mark's defender and hitting the post, as well as earning a breakaway midway through the third period.
O'Keeffe and Smith were the two Dexter defensemen who shined. O'Keeffe, a Holy Cross commit, isn't known for being flashy, but he made smart puck plays on Friday, leading to him getting two assists. Smith is bigger, plays physical and defended his own zone and the neutral zone well.
3. St. Mark's is a young team and it showed. Dexter was able to control the puck while also playing physical, not allowing St. Mark's to generate much offensively. Donato's team forechecked hard, forcing turnovers off of St. Mark's breakouts. It didn't help that after scoring the two goals in the second period to make it a one-goal game, the Lions followed that up with three penalties — one of which was the five-minute major to Beard. Head coach Carl Corazzini's team has also been playing without key forwards Jonathan Balzarini (Milford, Mass.) and Drew Carr (Medway, Mass.).
It's going to take St. Mark's a little bit to find its groove. The Lions have the older players — Austin Borggaard (Charlton, Mass.), Andrew Gibbons (Wakefield, R.I.), Beard and Balzarini — to help the young guns find stability at the prep level.
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4. It wasn't all bad for St. Mark's, especially when it came to younger players in key spots throughout the lineup. Freshman Cam MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) had two assists. Santos, a sophomore, scored a goal. On defense, there's potential with sophomores Jack Taylor (Framingham, Mass.) and Moussa Syedi. Taylor is a good skater and moves the puck well. At 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, he just needs some more experience shutting down bigger players. Syedi has the size — 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds — but needs to get used to the pace and making smart puck plays at the prep level. Both will come with time. It's the second game of the season.
5. I wrote after Wednesday night's St. Sebastian's-Rivers game that my feelings on either team didn't really change. This matchup was the opposite. I put Dexter in my under-the-radar teams this past week, but on the lower end of that grouping. It wouldn't shock me if at some point, Dexter finds its way into the top 10 this season. On the other hand, barring something drastic, St. Mark's probably falls out of the top 10 next week. As I wrote, the Lions are young and need to get fully healthy. Once things come together, however, they're going to be hard to leave out.
