ASHBURNHAM, Mass. — Dexter Southfield went into Cushing with revenge on the mind and got it.
A few days shy of nine months from when Cushing took down Dexter to win the Elite 8, Dexter went into Cushing and beat the reigning champs, 4-1.
Dexter got on the board roughly five minutes into the game when Dexter forward Owen McHale (Charlestown, Mass.) got a pass from forward JP Messuri (Arlington, Mass.) and stick-handled around Cushing goalie Mason Raycroft (Wellesley, Mass.) on the power play.
That lead was extended with 6:09 to play in the first. Dexter defenseman Cam Daley's (Medfield, Mass.) shot was tipped by forward Jack Fitzpatrick (Canton, Mass.), putting Dexter up, 2-0.
That momentum continued into the second period when Dexter tallied two inside of the 12-minute mark. The first came from forward Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.) tipping in a shot from defenseman Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.), while the second was Jake Assad (Franklin, Mass.) capitalizing on a turnover and potting one behind Raycroft.
Cushing finally got on the board when forward Cam McDonough (Milton, Mass.) tracked the puck perfectly, skated through the crease and batted it in below the crossbar. The Penguins carried some momentum into the third period, but it wasn't enough.
Dexter goalie Kyle Ready (Pembroke, Mass.) finished with 17 saves, while Raycroft had 32.
With the win, Dexter is 2-0 after taking down Phillips Andover on Nov. 19, while this was Cushing's first game of the season.
Dexter entered the game ranked No. 1; Cushing was No. 8. Naturally, there was a lot to take away from these two prep titans dueling it out.
Let's dive in. Don't worry — some standouts will be mixed in.
1. Dexter played like the best team in prep
It's one game, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. But Dexter is well-deserving of the No. 1 spot in the region (for now).
From the start, Dexter went to work using its size and physicality low in the offensive zone, which caused problems for Cushing's defensemen. Lines of Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.), McHale and Messuri, Nick D'Olympio (Rockland, Mass.), Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.) and Hamilton, and Tommy Moore (Milton, Mass.), Assad and Fitzpatrick wreaked havoc below the dots. Those three lines also did a good job of funneling pucks out to the point, creating more time and space down low.
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Dexter's forward grouping has a nice blend of size, snarl and skill, and it showed. Each line could cross the offensive zone blue line with a dump-in or a controlled zone entry and be productive either way.
Neutralizing one line is hard enough. But four good ones? That's a tall task.
2. A good thing that Cushing did
Cushing's strength is its forwards, and they have speed. One thing the Penguins did well was getting up ice quickly and getting on top of Dexter's defensemen.
Dexter has a high-end defensive core filled with smooth skaters, and Cushing did a good job of not giving them a lot of time and space to break the puck out themselves. An example: When Brosnan, a Harvard commit and legit NHL Draft prospect, was going back to get pucks, a Cushing forward was nearby trying to prevent rushes up ice.
If the Penguins lean into that, they will score more from offensive zone turnovers.
3. McHale was a force
From the start, McHale played his game — never going over the line, but certainly tempting the opponent to do so. He crashed the net hard, never seeming too worried about getting a piece of Raycroft. He was physical with Cushing's defensemen on the forecheck and in the cycle.
McHale was, as he always is, a complete pest.
His goal highlighted his strength: the netfront. The Northeastern commit used his frame to get open in front on the power play and got his stick facing Raycroft to get Messuri's pass away from the defender. He created enough time and space for a nice finish. Late in the game, he fended off a defender for a shorthanded chance.
Northeastern was smart to nab McHale the first day he became eligible to commit on Aug. 1. I know he's not on NHL Central Scouting, but if I were an NHL scout, I'd at least keep an eye on the 6-foot-2, 190-pound winger.
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4. A strong night from Raycroft
Raycroft, an '09, had a tall ask on Wednesday night in drawing Dexter, the No. 1 team in prep and his former prep school.
The Wellesley, Mass., native was tested early. And while he gave up two in the first period, he made a huge breakaway stop on D'Olympio towards the end of the frame, keeping the Penguins in it.
When Dexter scored twice before the halfway mark of the second to make it 4-0, it looked like the Penguins were in danger of being on the wrong end of a rout. But Raycroft was perfect after that, making huge saves in tight. Dexter dominated after those two goals and had several high-danger looks, but Raycroft used his athleticism and puck-tracking to make every save. He was equally as good in the third.
Cushing also has Harper Hubbard, a fellow '09, in net, so the two will likely battle for the net all winter. But a 32-save showing from Raycroft against the best team in the region is a heck of a start.
5. Jack Fitzpatrick showed well
Fitzpatrick started on the right foot when he tipped Daley's shot in, getting to the front of the net and tracking the shot to deflect. That's where Fitzpatrick should be scoring most of his goals.
But the 6-foot-5, 205-pound winger showed well on the cycle, protecting pucks and using his frame to keep defenders away. There was one sequence in the third period when he barrelled down his off wing, beating a defender and cutting in for a scoring chance.
He's a fascinating case. The '07 has the size and seems to be coming into his own. If he has a productive winter, I'd imagine junior teams will be interested.
6. Cushing is young and will need time
Cushing has two new goalies and an almost entirely new defensive core. It will take time to come together. Head coach Dan Fontas knows that.
This happens with teams full of new players. Heck, look at Cushing last season — the Penguins struggled until February and finished with the Elite 8 trophy in hand.
Still, this team is young, with three '10s on the roster and '09s in prominent spots. Ample practice and game time will lead Cushing back into the Elite 8. Increased scoring from experienced forwards will be a big reason, too.
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Leftover thoughts...
- The most noticeable '10 was Owen Frick (Holden, Mass.). The Minuteman Flames forward debuted his aggressive, power forward game well. He did take a penalty, which led to Dexter's first goal, but Frick also got under Brosnan's skin in the third period, drawing a penalty and then getting a scoring chance before the whistle later in the shift.
- Max Prudovsky (Newton, Mass.) and Carter Watson (Bridgewater, Mass.) didn't get a ton of time, but the two '11s made the most of the shifts they got. Prudovsky got hit hard in center ice on his first shift, yet didn't seem deterred, continuing to play his shifty, skilled game. He took a penalty midway through the third period, but I liked it — he hustled back on the backcheck and got under the Cushing forward in front of the net, getting called for holding. Watson was impactful on the wing. His best sequence was in the third period when he rushed for an offensive zone entry, cut across the zone and threw a shot that seemed to stun Raycroft up high. Prudovsky and Watson have high upside.
- Two Cushing players I liked were Brown commit Ben Marcolini and defenseman Gleb Kokorin. Marcolini was able to drive play down the middle and had a few of Cushing's best chances, while Kokorin was aggressive in the neutral zone with hits and using his good stick to break up plays.
