BROOKLINE, Mass. — Dexter Southfield scored three times in the first 7:20 of the game to easily move past Hotchkiss by a score of 5-2 in a NEPSAC Hockey Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 quarterfinal.
Playing in front of a standing-room only crowd at Thorndike Arena on the school’s campus, Dexter Southfield’s line of center Aidan Connolly, left wing Jack Dempsey and right wing Doug Grimes came up big.
Up next for Dexter Southfield is a home semifinal game against Berkshire on Saturday. The Bears, the eighth seed, upset No. 1 Lawrence, 3-2, in overtime. The other NEPSAC Hockey Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 semifinal pits Avon Old Farms and Salisbury.
Stretch pass to perfection
Dexter Southfield head coach Danny Donato and his coaching staff clearly saw a chink in Hotchkiss’ armor and exploited it in the first few minutes of the game. Dexter Southfield kept the right wing very high and was able to create a few odd man rushes that resulted in goals by doing so.
Ben Raymond scored by driving the far post on a two-on-one with Connor Blanchard to open the scoring at the 2:12 mark. Just over two minutes later, Dempsey scored from Connolly on another rush. Then, it was Connolly’s turn to find the back of the net off a feed from Dempsey.
Credit goes to Donato, who is one of the best coaches in prep school hockey. He was able to have his team prepared to jump out to a quick lead and get the home crowd into it. The Bearcats, built from the goal out, couldn’t afford to fall behind. But, that’s exactly what happened thanks to Dexter Southfield executing the game plan early.
Dexter Southfield’s depth key to success
While the aforementioned line of Connolly, Dempsey and Grimes did much of the damage yesterday, players from two other lines found the back of the net. Raymond, the third line center, got the ball rolling and first line left wing Cully Wilson scored a goal with a mixed line right after a power play had ended.
Donato can easily roll three lines and even mix in the fourth line without being concerned his team could be in trouble. On defense, Dexter Southfield has three solid pairs, led by the first pairing of John Fusco and younger brother Matt Fusco.
Salisbury and Avon Old Farms both have decent depth, but neither are as deep as Dexter Southfield. Against Berkshire on Saturday, Donato’s squad should have a comfortable edge in that department.
More than just Wilder
While much of the credit for Hotchkiss’ terrific season rightfully goes to senior goaltender and BC commit Henry Wilder, the team’s first line was impressive on Wednesday. Left wing Gavin Puskar scored the team’s first goal to cut the lead to 3-1. It was assisted by center Karsen Dorwart. Right wing Bodie Molnar’s skating shined through on a few occasions. All three players will likely find a home in Division I college hockey some point in the future.
While Dexter Southfield unquestionably deserved to win, Hotchkiss was on the receiving end of some poor puck luck. The Bearcats had a goal disallowed and a questionable Dexter Southfield goal stood. Then, there was a barrage of second period penalty calls against Hotchkiss. Still, Mike Traggio and his team did as good of a job as they could to remain composed and fight for victory until the end.
Around prep hockey
- While sometimes unheralded players can step up in big games, it usually is important for a team’s best players to be their best players in the playoffs. That was the case for Berkshire as the Bears skated to a 3-2 overtime win against top seeded Lawrence Academy. Yale commit Briggs Gammill scored twice, including the game-winner in the extra session, and added an assist. Linemate and Denver commit Aidan Thompson had a goal and an assist. Junior goaltender Jed Baliotti, who is starting to draw significant Division I attention, turned aside 46 of the 48 shots he faced.
- In what will likely be his final prep school hockey game, Lawrence Academy junior Riley Duran scored a goal and was impressive throughout, according to multiple scouts in attendance. The Woburn, Mass., native continues to solidify his chances at being selected in this June’s NHL Draft. He’ll report to the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms for the remainder of the season.
- There won’t be a fourth straight Elite 8 title for Kimball Union as the Wildcats were sent packing by archrival Salisbury by a score of 7-4. Tim Whitehead’s team jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Salisbury roared back with five goals in the second period to take a 5-4 lead. Andrew Will’s team capped off the victory with two more tallies in the third. Quinnipiac commit Jake Quillan led the way with a hat trick.
- New Hampshire commit J.P. Turner had himself a day in Avon Old Farms’ 6-3 win over Nobles. The Falmouth, Mass., native had three goals and two assists to pace the Winged Beavers. Yale commit Jason Marsella, UConn commit Tabor Heaslip and Boston College commit Paul Davey all had two points.
- In the Martin/Earl Large School Tournament, the top seeds all held serve. Cushing will host St. Sebastian’s and Loomis Chaffee will travel to Brunswick in Saturday’s two semifinals. Senior Max Dorrington had three goals and two assists for Cushing as the Penguins avenged last season’s loss in the final of the same tournament.
- The higher seeds weren’t so lucky in the Piatelli/Simmons Small School Tournament. Groton, the fourth seed, was the only home team to advance. Tilton jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Zebras rallied for six unanswered to eliminate the defending champion. Pomfret pulled the huge upset with a 4-3 win over St. Mark’s. Senior right wing Kyle Tomaso had a hat trick, ending the prep school hockey career of Lions defenseman Ian Moore, projected to be a top three round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Rivers blanked Millbrook to keep alive the prep coaching career of Shawn McEachern, who is moving on to coach the Boston Imperials 16-U. Merrimack commit Alex Jefferies had two goals and UConn commit Mark D’Agostino had three assists to pace Gunnery to a 5-2 win over New Hampton.
