LOWELL, Mass. – Watertown and Marlboro won their respective semifinal games at the MIAA State Tournament on Monday night at the Tsongas Center.
In the first game, Watertown edged Middlesex League cohort Stoneham by a score of 4-3. With the win, the Raiders advance to Sunday’s Division 4 championship game at the TD Garden. Watertown will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Norwell and Sandwich.
Joining them in Boston on Sunday will be Marlboro as the Panthers won the nightcap, 3-2. Lynnfield was on the losing edge of the Division 3 semifinal. Marlboro is slated to take on the winner of Scituate and Hanover. Times for Sunday’s championship games won’t be released until all matchups are set.
Top line paces Raiders
Three of the four Watertown goals in the team’s 4-3 win were scored by the first line. Sophomore center Alec Banosian scored twice and added an assist while the line’s right wing, junior Anthony Venezia, had two assists. Senior left wing Mason Andrade had the game winning goal. The lone tally not from the first line came off the stick of second line left wing Michael Cormier, a senior.
Banosian, an `06, scored the game’s first two goals. The lefty ripped a wrist shot that found its way through the goalie’s wickets on the first strike. He gave Watertown a 2-1 lead on a quick snap shot after Venezia lost the puck in traffic. The game winning goal came when Banosian’s shot was stopped, but Andrade swooped in and buried the rebound. Venezia had two assists, but I was equally impressed with his backchecking and ability to be heavy on pucks, despite being on the smaller side.
Stoneham’s top players did all they could to help bring the Spartans to the final. Junior left wing Danny Storella had a goal and an assist while senior forwards Jack Henaghan and Kolby Horgan also found the twine.
Storella is one of my favorite players I’ve watched all winter. The `05 righty plays his off wing and uses his size and strength to play the role of a power forward. He does a good job of protecting pucks by using his length and throwing his hip out as he drives the net.
Horgan, a left wing, had a good game. He scored on a rebound of a shot from the point. In addition to that, he had the puck a lot and played to his identity. He’s big and shoots it with zip.
Chrisafideis powers Marlboro
Lynnfield took a 1-0 lead into the second period, but senior left wing Marcus Chrisafideis scored two quick goals to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. On a transitional play, Chrisafides went right to the far post and redirected a centering feed from Mark Evangelous. The other assist went to Jeremy Lacroix. Not too long after Chrisafideis buried a centering feed from Evangelous who was camped out below the goal line on a cycling sequence.
The game winner came early in the third period as Noah Lind sent a low wrist shot just inside the far post after gaining the zone down the left wing. Sam Miele gave him the pass before zone entry.
Marlboro’s top line was fun to watch all night. It is led by Chrisafideis, an `04 who previously has played AAA hockey. The small forward was the best skater on the nice in either game and had skill, a quick release, and offensive instincts. Evangelous and Lacroix are also solid players.
Tyler Scoppettuolo gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead in the first period on a two-on-one. He connected on the odd man rush feed from his younger brother, Jarret. The secondary assist went to junior defenseman Drew Damiani, whose stretch pass set up the two-on-one.
Lynnfield tried to crawl back into the game in the third period. The Pioneers cut the deficit to one when William Steadman found the back of the net on a feed from leading scorer Chase Carney. LHS had two power plays in the final five minutes of the game, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Carney is a big lefty who had a monster senior season for the Pioneers. If he plans to play hockey after this year, there should be a few prep schools and EHL programs looking to add him for 2022-23. Damiani, an `05 who also plays for the North Suburban Wings 16-U, is a puck-moving defenseman who gets a lot of shots through from the point.
