BELMONT, Mass. — The crowd at Jordan Athletic Center Wednesday night was large, which reflected the magnitude of the game — Belmont Hill and St. Mark’s, two prep heavyweights, battling it out.
Belmont Hill came away with a 4-1 win, improving to 8-4-2. The Sextants have won their last three games.
St. Mark’s fell to 10-3-0. The loss on Wednesday was its first since before the Christmas break, as the Lions arrived at Belmont Hill having won their previous four games.
After a scoreless first period, Belmont Hill got to work early in the second. Senior left wing Dane Carter (Concord, Mass.) slapped a rebound past St. Mark’s goalie Jeevan Anand (Shrewsbury, Mass.) to make it 1-0.
St. Mark’s center Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) responded roughly five minutes later when linemate Jimmy Lyver (Grafton, Mass.) battled hard for the puck behind the net and as he was going to one side, he made a drop pass to the other. Gallant was there to tap the puck in the open net to make it 1-1.
Just over a minute later, however, St. Mark’s found itself on a power play. But as it scrambled to get the puck out of its own zone, Belmont Hill center Brock Cummings caused chaos and found freshman Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.) open in front of the net. Woods had time, dangling around Anand to give Belmont Hill the lead again.
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As St. Mark’s tried to come back in the final 18 minutes, Belmont Hill struck twice — first off the stick of right wing Ronan O’Donnell (Fairfield, Conn.) and then off a sweet play from left wing Jake McManus (Winthrop, Mass.).
You know what time it is with a game like this — it’s time for some standouts. Let’s dive in.
Jake McManus
Belmont Hill, 1/3/05, LW, left shot, 5-7/161
Prior to the prep season starting, Belmont Hill head coach Brian Phinney pointed to McManus as a player who had a real opportunity to step up — and has he ever. He’s a point-per-game player and a fixture in the top six. On Wednesday, his impact was felt from start to finish. His play around St. Mark’s was impressive, as he consistently dangled through defenders to get to open space and get shots off. He scored his goal in the third period by gaining the puck behind the net, coming out front and firing one top corner. His most underrated play came in the third peiord when he hustled on the backcheck to break up a 2-on-1 between Gallant and Lyver.
JJ Thibodeau
Belmont Hill, 2/20/07, G, catches left
It’s no secret that St. Mark’s has lots of firepower up front. While Belmont Hill’s defense did a good job Wednesday night, Thibodeau was there when the Lions broke through. In the first period, he was extremely aggressive on a St. Mark’s 2-on-1 and ate up a Lyver wrist shot. Thibodeau stoned St. Mark’s center Austin Borggaard (Worcester, Mass.) on a breakaway in the middle stanza. In the third period, with St. Mark’s trying to get back in the game, he made two big saves on high-danger chances.
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Josh Doolan
Belmont Hill, 3/28/04, D, right shot
While prep hockey is tight and finding space on the ice can be a challenge, it’s not often you see massive, open-ice hits. Doolan provided a few of those Wednesday, as he was consistently a force on defense. In the second period, Gallant, while shorthanded, tried dangling through Belmont Hill’s power play. He was oh-so-close to beating everyone, until he tried to go through his legs and Doolan’s shoulder met Gallant’s chest perfectly, sending the second-year prep star flying and back to the bench. He made life difficult on St. Mark’s forwards, such as in 1-on-1s of the rush.
Brock Cummings
Belmont Hill, 3/23/05, C, left shot
Like McManus, Phinney pointed to Cummings as another player who had a real chance to step up this season. And again, like McManus, he has. He’s tied with McManus in points (14) and leads the team in assists with 13. He was his usual playmaking self Wednesday, as his work on the penalty kill led to Woods’ goal in the second period and he earned a helper on O’Donnell’s snipe off the rush. He had some really strong shifts in the offensive zone in the third period, cycling the puck and creating chances.
Maddox Lizotte
St. Mark’s, 12/18/03, D, right shot, 5-10/175
Lizotte was incredibly poised with the puck Wednesday. It was evident in the first period when, behind the net, he evaded one Belmont Hill forechecker, skated around another and hit Gallant up the middle of the ice for a partial breakaway. His first passes on the breakout were effective and he was solid in his own zone against a fired-up Belmont Hill offense.
