DORCHESTER, Mass. -- BC High showed it won’t give up its crown easily. The two-time defending Super 8 champion defeated Framingham, 2-1, in Thursday night’s matchup of two top contenders for this year’s title as top high school team in the state of Massachusetts.
After Framingham went up 1-0 on a Will Trischitta goal, the Eagles came back with two special teams strikes. Matt Keohane and Colin Norton scored power play goals to put BC High on the right side of the scoreboard in front of a packed house at UMass Boston’s Clark Athletic Center.
BC High fell behind 1-0 after 15 minutes in large part due to the heroic goaltending effort of Framingham senior Jake Handy who stopped all 16 shots he faced in the opening period. John Flaherty’s team was able to come back by having a deeper team and by capitalizing on a couple of Framingham penalties, including one undisciplined infraction after the whistle.
While Framingham still looks to have a top 10 team in the state, Will Ortiz’s squad lacks depth. The Flyers basically rolled just two forward lines and two defensive pairings for the entire game. That lack of depth will likely catch up to them as it did in the second half of Thursday’s big game.
While Framingham was hoping to pull the upset, the Flyers should still be proud of their effort. In addition to Trischitta and Handy, another player that stood out was junior defenseman Jared Shimelman, who has earned the respect of his teammates to wear a letter.
Scoring details
Framingham held a 1-0 lead after one period after Trischitta scored on a breakaway a little more than halfway through the opening stanza. With the Eagles pushing hard, Trischitta picked up a loose puck after a careless play by BC High in the neutral zone. He went in undeterred on BC High goaltender Dalton Neelon. He didn’t waste much time and just sent a forehand above the blocker of the opposing goalie.
The momentum began to swing in BC High’s favor after the Eagles killed a two-man advantage for Framingham during the second period. One of BC High’s top penalty killers, Keohane, was key during the prolonged shorthanded situation. Rightfully, he was rewarded later in the period.
Defensemen John Logan and Josh Milso did a nice job of moving the puck around the offensive zone. The puck came down to Keohane at the left wing circle. He wasted little time and buried a shot into the back of the net to even the score at one.
BC High took the lead for the first time in the third period. With Framingham down a man due to a penalty taken after the whistle, the Eagles went to work. Logan’s shot from the point was blocked, but it went right to the right wing circle where Norton banged it home.
Framingham pushed hard, but couldn’t find the equalizer in the final moments. BC High skated away with the 2-1 win in front of a large crowd that saw a close high school hockey game.
While they weren’t involved in the scoring, kudos to Michael Dragon, a Merrimack baseball commit, and Josh Milso, who were big and intimidating forces on the BC High blue line. Both players brought a physical element and Dragon, specially, got under the skin of a couple of Framingham’s top offensive threats.
Standout prospects
Colin Norton
BC High, 5/23/03, C, left shot, 5-10/175
Norton had the game-winning goal. He banged home a blocked shot from the right wing circle in the third period. Norton skates well and made a couple of nice plays to stickhandle and protect pucks while carrying it up ice. He also made a couple of solid plays in his own zone. I like Norton and he is trending in the right direction.
John Logan
BC High, 5/3/03, D, right shot, 5-10/170
Logan had the primary assist on both BC High goals Thursday. I’ve liked Logan since the beginning of last season and thought he took a step this fall with the Cape Cod Whalers 16-U. However, I thought he was just average during the first half of the game. In the second half, he was dominant. He moved pucks north and quarterbacked a power play. Logan’s mobility and ability to move pucks are noteworthy, especially at this level.
Will Trischitta
Framingham, 10/9/01, C, left shot, 5-10/135
Trischitta scored the lone Framingham goal of the game. He picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and went in alone for a breakaway tally. He was involved in the play and had the puck on his stick more than any other Framingham player. Another subtle thing I liked about Trischitta was his poise and leadership qualities. He calmed down a few year of his teammates and did a good job keeping things even keeled in a road game against a top team.
Jake Handy
Framingham, 4/24/02, G, catches left, 5-11/170
It’s high school hockey so shots on goal weren’t officially kept, but Handy must have made close to 40 saves during this game. He was absolutely tremendous in the first period when BC High outshot Framingham, 16-2. Handy made a couple of nice kick saves and also was in position to have a few shots just hit him.
BC High lines
C. Benson - M. Keohane - A. Carey
B. Bulger - C. Norton - M. DaSilva
C. Tsanotelis - D. Joyce - A. Burke
M. Creamer - R. Flaherty - N. Murphy
J. Logan - M. Dragon
P. Terry - J. Milso
N. Martin - N. Anderson
D. Neelon
Framingham lines
J. Ferrante - W. Trischitta - H. Balducci
B. Martel - R. Lopez - T. Duane
XF - P. Farese, C. Deletti, S. Clark
J. Shimelman - T. Chase
D. Leone - R. Watton
J. Handy
