We had a bounty of good action over the weekend, coming off the holiday break.
Mount Saint Charles of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, beat St. Andrew's of Aurora, Ontario, in the final of the True Prep Cup, 3-1, on Sunday. Ethan Pearson starred in nets for the Saints, including making 23 saves -- through two periods. The tournament, in its first year, brought together teams in a tournament-style format, meaning those that kept winning kept going toward the championship while teams that lost went to the consolation bracket. Judging by most reports, the tournament was well-run and a good showcase for the talents at hand.
At the E.G. Watkins Championship held at Cushing Academy, we had another big final, with Dexter Southfield losing 5-4 to fellow Coaches Poll top-10er Lawrence. Cushing won the third-place game, 5-1 over Thayer. Elsewhere, Milton beat Pomfret, 2-1, to win the Joshua Weeks tournament at Tabor.
But none of those games contained this weekend's first star with New England connections.
Here's what you need to know about some of the best players and performances from the weekend, the first of 2020:
1. Aerin Frankel
Wisconsin 4, Northeastern 3 (OT):Â The final score for the Battle at the Burgh championship game in suburban Pittsburgh on Sunday doesn't do the accomplishment justice. In an amazing performance, Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel made 51 saves -- including 17 in the third period and six in a five-minute overtime -- as her No. 3 Huskies lost to the No. 1 Badgers. Frankel shut the door in the second on 10 power-play shots. For her efforts, Frankel, a junior, was named tournament MVP. Wisconsin (20-1-1) won the game on a power play in overtime to steal the Cinderella story from Northeastern (15-3-1).
2. Sam Colangelo
Chicago 7, Green Bay 2: Northeastern commit Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) scored three goals on three shots, adding an assist, to pace the Chicago Steel to a commanding 7-2 win over the Green Bay Gamblers in USHL play on Friday. Colangelo's performance helped overcome a rare game in which USHL leading scorer and Harvard commit Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) was held without a point.
3. Walter Zacher
Nichols 6, Culver 5 (OT):Â Sure, it was the seventh-place game, but Walter Zacher's clutch two goals and three assists for five points helped Nichols to the overtime victory at the True Prep Cup at Merrimack in North Andover, Mass. Cameron Bauer scored the winner in OT to seal the deal.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
