Before they skated for their country at the Olympics, before the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame came calling, brothers Mark and Scott Fusco (Burlington, Mass.) spent a storybook season together as Harvard teammates in 1982-83.
Mark became the first defenseman to win the Hobey Baker Award. He and Scott — who’d win the Hobey three years later when he was a senior — led the Crimson to the national championship game, where they fell to Wisconsin.
Flash forward a generation, and another set of Fusco brothers separated by two years of age are trying to craft a storybook season of their own.
It’s been a superb winter so far at Dexter Southfield, which is 19-4 and is right on track for a fourth straight bid to the Stuart/Corkery (elite) tournament, where they’ve been semifinalists the past three years.
What’s unique about this group is it’s winning without the megawatt star power of the teams in recent years.
“This is the first year we haven’t had a Ryan Donato, a Jack Rathbone, a John Farinacci, that No. 1 draft pick,” said co-captain John McElaney, a senior forward committed to Division 3 Colby. “But everyone’s buying in to the system, playing for each other and doing the little things to help us win.”
Regular star power is working just fine. Dexter’s core is a group of mobile, puck-moving defensemen, a unit that includes the Fusco brothers — Mark’s sons, John and Matt — along with UMass-bound Mikey Adamson, Brendan O’Donnell, Jack Hughes and Pat Morrissey.
“Overall, I think all of our D are good enough to be on the power play and the PK,” said Adamson. “It’s a great group.”
John (Westwood, Mass.), who’ll follow in his father’s and uncle’s footsteps and play at Harvard, is a senior leader on the ice and off, a co-captain and elite skater who is excellent at making the first pass.
“John, for my money, has been the best defenseman in prep school hockey,” said Dexter coach Dan Donato (Dedham, Mass.). “He’s been unbelievable.”
Matt Fusco (Westwood, Mass.), who first cracked the Dexter lineup as an eight-grader, has made huge strides in this, his sophomore season.
“His skating has improved tremendously,” said John. “His brain has also improved a lot, knowing how to get a winger to move one way so he can go the other.”
“He’s jumped on a lot of people’s radars this winter,” said Donato.
Like their father, Mark, they were exposed to hockey at an early age. Their mom, Kristin, was a tennis player at Harvard, and Scott, their uncle, founded the Edge Sports Center and East Coast Wizards, where they played juniors.
“Obviously, my dad has been coaching me ever since I was a little kid,” said John. “So has my uncle. They gave me tips, but also encouraged me to watch hockey and pick up things on my own.
“A lot of times, my brother and I will just sit on the couch after our homework’s done and watch NHL games, the Bruins. We’ll watch how Torey Krug runs the power play or how Charlie McAvoy does things.”
The brothers share more similarities than differences. Both are right-handed shots and good skaters. Paired together, Matt will play on his off-side.
“They’re both elite skaters and compete their butts off,” said Donato. “They pass the puck really hard and can move it.
“John is a get-up-and-go, carry-the-puck-up-the-ice guy. Matty is more of a D-to-D.”
They’re key players for Dexter, but on a team that’s very good and very deep, they’re not the only ones.
Donato is relishing coaching a team with four lines of players who can do damage. Many of them will be playing Division 1 down the road, such as sophomore Bobby Landry (Harvard), junior Doug Grimes (Boston University), and seniors Ben Raymond (Colgate) and Aidan Connolly (Sacred Heart).
Junior Matt Copponi is attracting Division 1 interest. So is sophomore left wing Culin Wilson. And in a starring role is McElaney, a future Colby guy whom Donato calls “one of the top captains I’ve had in 22 years. He buys in to everything.”
Adamson feels it’s a special group: “Last year, we had a great team,” he said. “This year, chemistry-wise, we’ve come a long way with each other. We’re definitely growing in practice day in and day out. Everyone loves coming to the rink and competing with each other.”
The question mark coming into the season was in goal, with Derek Mullahy moving on to the USHL before joining the program at Harvard. But freshman Dylan Silverstein has been solid, and when he departed for the Winter Youth Olympic Games, sophomore Ryan Kazmouz stepped in and didn’t miss a beat.
Even without the superstar power of years past, this season might be as good as any for Dexter to win a championship. McElaney said the team chemistry was evident early on.
“The first couple practices, our team was jelling and the chemistry was there,” he said. “We have all types of guys who really care about each other. No one cares who scored the goal. They just care that the goal was scored.”
Players credit the atmosphere created by Donato and his assistant coaches, Brian McColgan and William Kelleher, for their success.
“All three of them have so much knowledge,” said Adamson. “We see that day in and day out. They all went to excellent schools and did very well there. It’s pretty cliche, but they know how to win and they know how to teach you things.”
“Their quote is, ‘If I’m not invited to your wedding, I haven’t done my job as coach,’ ” said John Fusco.
Following his parents’ — and uncle’s — footsteps to Harvard was a possibility Fusco said he was pursuing from a young age.
“Pretty much ever since I was a little kid I wanted to go to Harvard,” he said. “I’d go to the rink, skate with the team after the game. (My parents) didn’t care where I went. They told me it was my choice. But my lifelong dream was to play for the Crimson.”
First, though, he’ll enjoy one more season playing with his brother, and appreciating that another set of Fusco siblings are poised to do great things.
“It is pretty special,” said John. “One of the big things is we complement each other. We’re both pretty good skaters. It’s been pretty awesome. Not a lot of people have that opportunity.”
@MikeZhe603
