SOUTHBORO, Mass. — With his team down a goal in the third period, St. George's defenseman Everett Baldwin (Providence, R.I.) decided it was time to take over.
The Providence commit helped his team tie the game midway through the period on the power play. Baldwin rushed through the neutral zone and into St. Mark's end, finding Yale commit Ryan Staples (Middletown, R.I.) in the slot, who ripped one past St. Mark's goalie Alex Tarves (Marlboro, Mass.).
Moments later, St. Mark's had trouble moving the puck out of its end and Baldwin pounced, stepping up and firing a shot past Tarves to give his team the lead.
St. George's never gave up that lead, taking down St. Mark's, 4-2, on Saturday. Staples added an empty-net goal with just over one minute to play.
The game, however, didn't open that way.
St. Mark's senior forward Andrew Gibbons (Wakefield, R.I.) notched two lamplighters in the first period. The first came off a rebound early in the frame, while the second happened due to a St. George's miscue and the Air Force commit was there to make the Dragons pay.
The Lions carried the play in the first period, but once the Dragons got their first goal, they controlled the rest of the game.
That goal came midway through the second period when junior forward Colin Walsh (East Greenwich, R.I.) saucered a pass over to fellow junior Danny Buckley (Warwick, R.I.) on a 2-on-1. Buckley corralled the puck and put it over Tarves.
It was a big win for St. George's. St. Mark's was riding the high of its pregame ceremony honoring Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.), Sean Farrell (Milton, Mass.), Henry Thrun (Southboro, Mass.) and Ian Moore (Concord, Mass.) who all went on to see time with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Head coach Allie Skelley's team pulled off the gutsy, come-from-behind win on the road.
St. George's improved to 12-2-1 and bolsters its case as one of the best teams in the region. Head coach Carl Corazzini's team fell to 9-5-0 after having won four of its last five games.
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Let's dive into some uncommitted prospects who stood out.
Calvin Beard
St. Mark's, 10/4/2005, D, right shot, 6-0/185Â
Along with Gibbons, Beard was the heart of St. Mark's strong first period. On Gibbons' first goal, it was Beard who shot it from the point. Beard also got the play started when he made a smart read in his own zone to intercept a pass and made an outlet pass to get the Lions going the other way. Beard's assertiveness in all three zones was prevalent throughout the game.
Danny Buckley
St. George's, 6/30/2006, C, left shot, 6-1/205Â
Buckley's goal kickstarted St. George's comeback. It was a heads-up play by the Warwick, R.I., native to drive the far post and snipe a shot over Tarves. Buckley played with a high compete level and used his size to his advantage, especially low in the offensive zone.
Max Donatelli
St. George's, 6/15/2007, LW, left shot, 5-9/155Â
Donatelli is a promising sophomore for Skelley. The Barrington, R.I., native plays with pace and showed confidence when the puck was on his stick. He has good hands, too. That was on display on a rush early in the second period. Once Donatelli gained the offensive blue line, he dangled into traffic, but got out of trouble. With his assist on Baldwin's goal, Donatelli is up to eight goals and 19 points in 15 games.
Marco Senerchia
St. George's, 7/4/2007, D, left shot, 5-8/150Â
Yes, Senerchia is on the smaller end of defensemen. But the Greenville, R.I., native has outstanding footwork, which makes up for it. Whenever Senerchia was facing pressure on Saturday, whether it was deep in his own zone or at the offensive blue line, his feet got him out of it. In St. Mark's end, Senerchia was great at creating passing and shooting lanes. He also picked his spots to drop further down in the zone well.
Jack Taylor
St. Mark's, 5/23/2007, D, left shot, 5-9/170Â
While Taylor is also an undersized defenseman, he doesn't play undersized. The Framingham, Mass., native laid multiple big hits, including one on Staples behind the St. Mark's net and another in open-ice on St. George's senior forward Bryce O'Brien. Taylor's strong skating and good stick allowed him to be effective at defending, especially off the rush.
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Colin Walsh
St. George's, 10/29/2005, RW, right shot, 6-3/205Â
St. George's had some long offensive zone sequences, and Walsh was usually a large reason why. The big right wing was hard to contain when his line was cycling the puck. On Buckley's goal, it was Walsh who made a smart play to pick up the puck in the neutral zone and make a nice saucer pass to his centerman.
Nathan Walsh
St. George's, 7/9/2006, D, left shot, 5-9/175Â
St. George's has some elusive, puck-moving defensemen and Walsh is certainly one of them. The junior made smart puck plays and was active in the offense, but he was also responsible in his own zone. He took intelligent routes to loose pucks and he defended the rush well. Walsh leads the defense with seven goals and 18 points in 15 games.
