MERIDEN, N.H. — The Kimball Union Academy Wildcats defeated the upstart Holderness School Bulls, 4-2, in a physical contest at Akerstrom Arena on Wednesday, needing a late empty-net goal to keep the visiting team at bay.
It was the third game between the two teams since Feb. 12, and Holderness made an early push. After jumping ahead 1-0, the Bulls were unable to hold the lead and played from behind for much of the game. Alan Thompson’s club had an outstanding season, going 20-3-3, consistently playing hard, but staying disciplined and not taking a lot of penalties. In the end, Tim Whitehead and his coaching staff leveraged their team’s experience, depth and balance to work through some early nerves and uncharacteristic mistakes to bring out a strong defensive effort when it mattered most.
The win propels KUA to the NEPSAC Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 Tournament semifinals on Saturday, where they will host the surging Salisbury Knights in a rematch of the Flood-Marr consolation game in December. That one went down to the wire with the Wildcats scoring a goal in the final 20 seconds of regulation to secure third place in the storied holiday tournament. With both clubs boasting top talent, balance and coaching, it’s setting up to be a memorable game.
In the meantime, let's look at the KUA-Holderness contest and see what we learned.
Scoring summary
Junior depth forward Thomas Raymond silenced the home crowd just 2:50 into the game when he corralled a loose puck in traffic and batted it past goaltender Dan Heroux for just his third tally of the season, but a big one.
However, KUA came back strong on the next shift. Revy Mack and Alex Keller gained the offensive zone with speed, Mack firing a shot from the left side that senior Evan Plunkett stopped, but the puck came off his pad hot and right to a streaking Alex Keller on the right side. Keller fired a shot along the ice that found the back of the net and made it 1-1 just 1:39 later.
The Wildcats added to their lead 34 seconds later when a costly turnover in the Holderness end found junior forward Mike Sullo’s stick. He ripped a rocket of the shot from the slot that beat the diminutive Plunkett up under the crossbar to make it 2-1 headed into the second period.
Intriguing ’05 right wing Kaden Freelove (Tyngsboro, Mass.) evened the score halfway through the second period when he fired a high, sizzling shot off the rush that beat Heroux cleanly from the top of the left circle.
The 2-2 score didn’t hold for long, as Jackson Kyrkostas (Windham, N.H.) got his stick on a Duncan Ramsay point shot, deflecting the puck over Plunkett’s shoulder to make it 3-2 at 12:41.
After that, the two teams battled in a 3-2 game, with both goalies trading some outstanding saves and a few hit posts until the late third period. KUA won a critical defensive zone draw with Plunkett pulled for the extra attacker, but Alex Keller won a footrace in the neutral zone and put it out of reach with his second tally of the day.
Why KUA won
KUA’s 27-2-1 record this season didn’t happen by accident. They are an older, deeper team that has the coaching and experience to overcome early hiccups and jitters.
Neither team started out particularly sharp, with turnovers on both sides impacting the flow of the game, but Whitehead, with assistants Bryant Harris and Matt Underhill, quickly righted the ship. Of particular importance was the play of the Wildcats defense, led by the top pair of Ramsay and Kareem Alazem, who both defended well and brought a calming influence that permeated throughout the lineup. They managed pucks, moved them smartly and contained what was a pretty furious Holderness attack at times. Conner Chalmers (Windham, N.H.) and Bobby Maywere also an effective duo that neutralized rushes and transitioned play the other way quickly.
KUA is a fun team to watch because of the energy you see the coaches employing on the bench. They keep their players engaged and take care of the details. That is not to say Holderness wasn’t well managed, as Thompson and assistant Joe Gaudet got a great effort out of their team. The Bulls competed hard, had their sticks in the right spots on the ice and Plunkett’s goaltending (35 saves) gave them a chance to pull off an upset. Considering this was the first time Holderness had ever made an Elite 8 tournament, it was a heck of a season.
In the end, KUA was too tough an obstacle, as they used their speed and skills to win the puck possession battle and make the most of the mistakes Holderness made. Too many attempted passes were picked off and turned into Wildcats scoring chances, and while Plunkett did everything he could to keep his team in striking distance. Plunkett was a huge part of his team’s success this season. The junior from North Carolina is a smaller goaltender who could find his way onto an NAHL roster eventually but has the talent to be a top stopper in the USPHL NCDC. He should eventually wind up in Division 3, and with his focus and battler’s mentality, will be an asset to any team he plays on.
Both clubs stayed out of the box for the most part, so it was KUA’s ability to control the flow at even strength that ultimately made the difference. They didn’t give top scorer Cooper Boulanger (Barre, Vt.) much room to operate, and while he had a couple of scoring chances, was not a major factor in the game.
Commitment watch
Several schools were in attendance, and Holderness defenseman David Brandes helped himself in this one despite the loss. He’s gotten better and better through the season, moving with a lot of agility and quickness. There were a few times he could have moved the puck faster, but he also displayed some natural hockey sense to get out of some dangerous situations. He used his feet and stick to make several notable zone entries and is the kind of player who a team can build around, even though he doesn’t have a huge frame or long reach. The North York, Ontario, native plays with pace and swagger, and should be able to leverage that into a Division 1 landing spot soon. He will play the 2022-23 season in the BCHL with the Vernon Vipers.
Key factors for KUA-Salisbury semifinal
With a pair of teams that bring a lot of similarities in terms of their makeup, experience and coaching/structure, expect a low-scoring affair at Akerstrom Saturday.
Goaltending will likely be the difference, as Salisbury’s Austin McNicholas has been playing his best hockey of the season at the right time. Heroux hasn’t been as sharp, and there were times when he was fighting the puck against Holderness. The Bulls weren’t able to establish enough sustained offensive zone possession time to test his tracking and get him moving laterally, but Salisbury will be tougher to defend.
As evidenced by their win over Dexter in their Elite 8 quarterfinal, Salisbury is a dangerous team because their special teams are effective, and they have room to improve their performance after taking an early lead.
With the two teams sure to be well prepared by the coaches, this game will likely go down to the wire and be decided by one or two critical plays.
Three stars
1. Jackson Kyrkostas
KUA, 8/19/04, RW, right shot, 5-10/165
NCAA commit: R.P.I.
He scored the winning goal but was also flying around the ice making a lot of plays. Skating on the top line with Will Blackburn and Jaiden Moriello (Saugus, Mass.), the trio had the puck a lot and generated a lot of scoring attempts. Moriello and Kyrkostas provide a lethal combination for KUA, as both bring distinctly different body types and playing styles, but know how to do one big thing: score.
2. Evan Plunkett
Holderness, 9/3/03, G, catches left, 5-9/161
Saved 35 of 38 shots and battled hard, refusing to break under the pressure of some quality scoring chances. He made one huge save on Wishart with 3:55 left in the first period, going side-to-side to deny a one-time bullet and keep the score 2-1 at an important time in the game. This one could have been upset, and he did his job, beaten on what appeared to be a double-deflection on the winning score.
3. Duncan Ramsay
KUA, 2/8/04, D, left shot, 6-5/210
NCAA commit: Vermont
Had a couple of helpers including the decisive goal, but played a strong game defensively. He was on the ice for a lot of minutes in all situations. There are times when he misses windows to activate and push the play offensively, but in a tough playoff game against a hungry foe, he did his job well.
Honorable mention:
Kareem Alazem
KUA, 4/30/04, D, right shot, 6-1/210
NCAA commit: RPI
A stabilizing force on the back end who just makes the right decisions and has embraced his identity, the senior didn’t register a single point but made multiple plays at both ends of the ice. He and Ramsay were integral in KUA establishing control, and he’s continuing to show steady improvement in his mobility and willingness to be more involved in all three zones.
Kaden Freelove
Holderness, 1/28/05, RW, right shot, 6-0/180
Improving winger is raw but starting to come on as a college hockey prospect. He looks bigger than his listed size and tied the game in the second period on an absolute scorcher. Watch for him to continue to improve the offensive production in his junior season as he gets stronger and builds on the confidence of a solid finish to the season.
