After a four-game win streak, highlighted by a 1-0 victory over Cushing Academy, pushed St. Mark’s into the top 10 of the New England Hockey Journal Prep Power Rankings, the Lions hit a bump in the road Wednesday, dropping a 5-2 contest to Rivers School.
Despite their mid-week setback at the hands of the Red Wings, the Lions are still in a good spot in the ISL's Eberhart Division, boasting an 8-2-1 league record and 15-5-2 overall.
With just over a week and five games left on the regular-season schedule, three of which are against divisional foes, Carl Corazzini’s team is looking to finish strong as it sets its sights on capturing the Eberhart crown.
“Anytime you go into a year to have an opportunity to potentially win a league championship, that's the focus,” Corazzini said.
“We can't control the Elite 8 or Small School or anything like that. We (had) Rivers, and then next week it goes St George’s, BB&N and Groton to finish out the year, so those league games are definitely the priority for us.”
With seniors Michael Fisher (Westboro, Mass.) and Dominic Murphy (Worcester, Mass.) leading the way in their respective zones, the Lions are in good hands.
Fisher, one of New England’s top prep school prospects for the 2022 NHL draft, has been on a tear all season, but especially of late. Until his streak was snapped in the defeat at Rivers, the ’03 blueliner had recorded at least a point in each game this season (44 points in 22 games), including three hat tricks in his last eight games.
“What he's done in the last month, I haven't seen it at the prep level in a while,” Corazzini said. "He’s just taking over games."
It’s been a meteoric rise for the Bay State native and Princeton commit.
“As a freshman, he was splitting time. He used to play club hockey games on the weekends because he wasn't playing much with us at all,” said Corazzini, who likened Fisher’s still-developing skill set to that of former Lion (now-Harvard defenseman and 2020 NHL third-rounder) Ian Moore (Concord, Mass).
“As a sophomore, he was our fifth defenseman. Then, he missed the COVID year, and you think you have something, but he was still awkward and uncomfortable in terms of decision-making.
"This year, even as a true senior, he’s probably the top player in New England. He's just so dominant right now.”
Murphy, who sits just behind Fisher in the scoring department — both are top-5 in prep hockey scoring — has recorded 43 points in 22 games.
“Dominic’s always been a huge part of what we've done at St. Mark's, and he's understood what his role is on the team,” Corazzini said of the Holy Cross commit. “I think the thing that he's improved on most is moving the puck and finding his open teammates. That's been really big for him.”
While the seniors have been the main drivers, an ’07 freshman, Richard Gallant, has been equally formidable, leading the team with 15 goals in 20 games.
The Concord, Mass., native is the top-scoring ’07 in prep hockey by a wide margin, pacing fellow '07 standouts like St. Sebastian’s Teddy Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) and Thayer’s Gavin Cornforth (Milton, Mass.), who boast 17 and 22 points, respectively.
“He’s got 36 points and 15 goals (in 20 games), which is amazing for anyone, right?” Corazzini said of Gallant, an Islanders HC product. “If you look at (former Lion and now-Harvard forward) Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) and where he was at this age, they are very similar players. Their hockey IQs differentiate them from anyone out there at their age level.”
In addition to Gallant, the Lions boast a strong cast of ‘05s, many of whom are still young in terms of prep hockey experience but are making notable contributions nonetheless.
Sophomore forward Andrew Gibbons (South Kingstown, R.I.) leads the way for the talented ’05 group that includes Jimmy Lyver (Grafton, Mass.) and Austin Borrgaard (Charlton, Mass.), among others.
Gibbons serves as the third piece of St. Mark’s top line following a standout fall season with the Neponset Valley River Rats 16-U.
“He's a great complement to both Richard and Murph on that first line. He does a little bit of everything,” Corazzini said.
While not as active on the scoresheet, defensemen Calvin Beard (Southborough, Mass.), Justin Pare and Maddox Lizotte (Harvard, Mass.) have been high-impact players in their right, bolstering Fisher in the ‘D’ zone in front of goaltenders Charles Watson (Camden, Maine) and Adam Costley.
“They play a lot of important minutes for us but don't get the offensive recognition,” Corazzini said of the rearguard trio. “I’m hard on defensemen, I just haven't recognized myself having to give them too much feedback on a day-to-day basis. I think 95 percent of the games that we've played this year they’ve been lights out.”
After more than a year of waiting and some continued disruptions from last season's COVID campaign, the time has almost come. Prep school hockey playoffs are on the horizon, at last.
Before they get here, however, the Lions have some businesses to attend to first.
“I think you can see, especially in the past week, an added sense of urgency and excitement level going into each game,” Corazzini said.
"They hear the message all year about not taking games for granted but now where there are only five guaranteed left, the kids are going into the game with added energy and focus."
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