TEWKSBURY, Mass. – St. John’s Prep used its size, strength and depth to wear down Austin Prep in Wednesday night’s 4-1 victory at Breakaway Ice Center.
In front of a packed house, junior Will Van Sicklin (Lynnfield, Mass.) gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes. Towards the end of the first period, he burst down the right wing and fired a low shot that evaded Austin Prep goaltender Anthony Beaulieu.
SJP took a 2-0 advantage early in the second period when sophomore Jake Vana (Boxford, Mass.) roofed a wrist shot over the goaltender’s glove. Vana came out of the left wing corner with power and snapped the shot off from the circle.
Austin Prep cut the deficit in half a few minutes later when freshman left wing Luke Pazzia (Burlington, Mass.) scored on a delayed penalty. His linemates, sophomore center Evan Regan (Acton, Mass.) and freshman right wing Jacob Duval (Andover, Mass.), picked up the assists.
The backbreaker for the Cougars came late in the second period when SJP connected on a power play. AP was able to kill off a five-on-three, but the Eagles struck with the one-man advantage after the first penalty expired. Camped out in front of the net, junior center Jimmy Ayers (Hamilton, Mass.) pushed home a feed from left wing Cole Blaeser (Boxford, Mass.).
Junior Ben McGilvry (Reading, Mass.) sealed the win with an empty-net tally in the final minute of the game. Senior goaltender Payton Palladino (Danvers, Mass.) picked up the victory. Kristian Hanson’s team improved to 4-1 while Austin Prep fell to 2-1.
Notebook
What I liked about this win for St. John’s Prep was three different lines got in on the scoring. The entire second line of McGilvry, Ayers and Van Sicklin found the back of the net. Vana, the third line right wing, had the game-winner. Cole Blaeser, from his position of first line left wing, once again made plays and had a big assist on the power play. Even without a key member of the third line, the team’s depth shined through.
Many of the SJP players who stood out in Monday’s 7-0 win over Bishop Guertin were once again notable. Van Sicklin continues to emerge as an under-the-radar player, who is having a big junior season. While Vana’s skating might not look pretty, he’s had a point in two straight games. His size and ability as a power forward is intriguing.
Austin Prep wasn’t able to get much going, but Bill Pappas’ team has quite a bit of young talent worth mentioning. I saw them against St. Mary’s at the Christie Serino Christmas Classic, but Wednesday night helped reiterate many of my feelings on the team’s young players.
The first line of Pazzia, Regan and Duval are all talented '06 forwards. Regan has the skating ability and playmaking capabilities to translate to the prep level. Duval’s size, strength and heavy shot are noteworthy. All game long he brought it physically, blocked shots, and drew a great chance on the penalty kill. Pazzia has skill and finishing touch as shown on his goal.
Two '06 defensemen caught my eye. Freshman Connor Griffin (North Reading, Mass.) has poise with the puck and made quite a few good decisions on his first touch. He’s got some agility and vision when breaking pucks out of his own zone. Playing on the first power-play unit, the righty had 1.5 points per game entering Wednesday’s contest.
I’ve talked about sophomore Josh Williams (Boxford, Mass.) a few times now. He’s got size, skating and athleticism in his corner. He plays hard and did a good job initiating clears on the penalty kill. He stepped into the rush a few times, which he did well. I think there’s quite a bit of upside for this young blueliner who shoots right.
St. John’s Prep lines
C. Blaeser - P. Blaeser - Sarni
McGilvry - Ayers - Van Sicklin
Jo. Melanson - Santosuosso - Vana
Tighe - Umlah - Graber
Kirby
Vetere - Holland
Je. Melanson - Tilas
Shyjan - Raposa
Brandano
Palladino
Austin Prep lines
Pazzia - Regan - Duval
Pineo - Daley - Thibodeau
Toohey - Ackerly - Saunders
Fone - Ardito - Hayes
McDonald - Griffin
Fabbo - Williams
Nardone - DeVito
Niehaus - Carlson
Beaulieu
