BOSTON, Mass. — In one of the best early-season matchups in boys MIAA hockey, Catholic Memorial edged Hingham, 2-1, on Wednesday night.
It was a defensive battle from start to finish, as neither team found the scoresheet until the third period.
Roughly 4 minutes into the final frame, Catholic Memorial freshman defenseman Brian McFadden (Holbrook, Mass.) had the puck at the top of the offensive zone. He thought about shooting it, but the taps from CM sophomore forward Nick D'Olympio's (Rockland, Mass.) stick on the ice calling for the puck were too loud to ignore.
He sifted a pass to D'Olympio, who roofed a shot over Hingham sophomore goalie Mike Karo to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Catholic Memorial followed its first goal with another right after. The line of freshman Daniel Antonellis (Belmont, Mass.), senior TJ Birnbaum (Needham, Mass.) and D'Olympio had a mad scramble in the Hingham slot. Antonellis' shot was stopped, but Birnbaum scooped up the rebound and deposited it behind Karo, making it 2-0.
Hingham, however, did get back in the game. The only problem was it was too little, too late.
Sophomore forward Conal Mulkerrin scored on a 2-on-1 with 10 seconds left. The Harbormen eventually got an offensive zone draw with one second left, but couldn't pull off the miracle.
This was a defensive showdown. Both teams impressed me with their defensive cores, which we'll get to with standouts. Aside from the three goals, each squad was pretty sound at keeping shots to the outside and opposing forwards away from high-danger areas.
CM and Hingham both have new goalies, too. Karo, a sophomore '07, was strong, especially with his glove. He made two notable saves. The first came when McFadden had a wide-open look from the high slot and Karo snagged it with his glove; the second occurred when CM senior forward Connor Fryberger (Needham, Mass.) had a breakaway and, again, Karo robbed him with the glove.
Junior Ryan Littlefield was Catholic Memorial's netminder. The Abington, Mass., native wasn't tested a lot, but when he was, he was up to the challenge.
Let's dive into the standouts.
TJ Birnbaum
Catholic Memorial, Senior, F, left shot
Hometown: Needham, Mass.
Birnbaum centered head coach Larry Rooney's second line. He showcased good skill and strong speed in transition. Both of those qualities helped him drive play and dish pucks off to Antonellis and D'Olympio — his linemates. Entering the season, there were questions about CM's offense after the loss of Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.) and Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.). Birnbaum, who scored on Wednesday night, looks like an answer to those problems.
Logan Brennan
Hingham, 9/26/2006, D, right shot, 6-3/109
Brennan was Hingham's best shutdown defenseman. He defended the rush well, often negating Catholic Memorial on zone entries and keeping Knights forwards to the perimeter in his own zone. He handled the puck well, too, and was able to sift through the opposition and make smart puck plays. At the opposing blue line, he had a quick release on his shots.
Michael Corbett
Catholic Memorial, 6/17/2005, D, right shot, 6-1/170
Hometown: Belmont, Mass.
Corbett was highly effective at both ends of the ice on Wednesday. His good stick helped limit Hingham's chances off the rush. He went up against Paul Dzavik, Hingham's best forward, and did a good job of limiting him offensively. When the puck was on Corbett's stick, he made smart rushes and was able to because of his good skating.
Nick D'Olympio
Catholic Memorial, 6/8/2007, F, right shot, 5-7/134
Hometown: Rockland, Mass.
I've liked D'Olympio's game for a long time and he showed even more progress on Wednesday. The goal was a heads-up play — finding a soft spot in a good, opposing defense and capitalizing. But right before that, it was his puck-protection skills in the corner that eventually led to the goal, and that was on display all night as his line consistently had sustained offensive zone time.
Alec Dzavik
Hingham, June 2007, D, right shot, 6-1/162
What I liked most about Dzavik's game was his aggressiveness at his own blue line. He didn't give CM forwards much time to gain speed or corral passes because he was right on them, negating zone entries and forcing turnovers or dump-ins. That kind of smart defense will take him and Hingham a long way this winter.
Paul Dzavik
Hingham, 11/8/2005, F, left shot, 5-11/180
As I wrote earlier, Dzavik is the leader on offense with senior Travis Rugg sidelined. He drove play for his line and was good at offensive zone entries. He had the speed to be able to put the puck in behind CM blueliners and retrieve it. He made smart puck plays, especially low in the offensive zone. Early in the second period, he had the puck behind the CM net and with one simple play, put the puck around the defender and hit a teammate in front for a scoring chance.
Connor Fryberger
Catholic Memorial, 10/25/2005, F, right shot, 6-3/181
Hometown: Needham, Mass.
Fryberger was the most dominant player on the ice and that's not a surprise. His blend of size, skill, speed and compete gave him an advantage over everyone. While Hingham kept him quiet in the first period, Fryberger emerged in the second and third periods with long offensive zone sequences and drives to the net. He was flanked by juniors Luke Long (Braintree, Mass.) and Cameron Reed (Norwood, Mass.).
Jack Rakauskas
Hingham, 5/12/2006, D, left shot, 6-1/175
Rakauskas, a senior captain, had a number of good rushes. He's a smooth skater who kept his head up and played with confidence. That confidence carried over onto the defensive side where he would often make good step-ups to halt opposing forwards.
Colin Yandle
Catholic Memorial, eighth grade, D, right shot
Hometown: Dorchester, Mass.
Yandle is the only eighth grader on the roster and he more than earned his roster spot because Rooney regularly deployed him. He registered a secondary assist on D'Olympio's goal. Later in the period, he showed great vision when he hit Fryberger with a pass through neutral traffic for a breakaway. He also defended hard in the corners, finishing checks and using his stick well.
