Nick DiNicola knew he was going to get hit.
It was the third period of last year’s MASCAC championship game, and his Fitchburg State team was cradling a 1-0 lead over UMass Dartmouth, hoping to become the first team in program history to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Before bracing for contact, DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.) sent a cross-ice saucer pass that skidded right to the stick of linemate Tyler Warila, who buried it just inside the near post.
In a Fitchburg State career that’s seen him collect 62 assists in his first three seasons, DiNicola calls that one his favorite.
“And (Warila) hammered it home,” he said. “That gave us a two-goal lead and kind of put the nail in the coffin, and helped our team win the championship. That’s why that was my favorite; winning a title is more important to me than individual numbers.”
Still, his individual numbers were impressive. And he wasn’t alone.
That helper in the MASCAC final — plus the one he added in the NCAA game a week later — let DiNicola finish atop the national standings with 36 assists — one more than Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) of the University of New England, his former teammate in juniors.
“He had a great year,” said Fleurent. “We were battling all year long and texting each other: ‘Who’s going to be No. 1?’ ”
When the dust settled on the 2017-18 season — one that saw two teams from New England (Salve Regina and Colby) reach the Frozen Four — nine players from the region finished in the top 13 nationally in assists.
Six of those players are back on the ice this winter: DiNicola, Fleurent, sophomore Zack Bross of UMass Boston (33, third), junior Ryan Bloom of UNE (28, tied for sixth), senior Ryan Stevens of Plymouth State (27, tied for ninth) and UMB sophomore defenseman Nick Albano (Beverly, Mass.), who finished with 27 during an All-American season.
Call them “The Playmakers.”
The six guys are hardly clones, ranging from the 5-foot-7, 165-pound DiNicola to the rangy, 6-foot-3 Stevens to the bruising, 200-pound Bross.
What they share is an ability, through ice vision, hockey sense, skill or strength, to make goals happen.
“I was always a pass-first kind of player,” said DiNicola. “Growing up, I tried to be solid in all aspects of my game but really do one thing that can set myself apart from people. It’s always fun having your teammates score goals and being a part of the play.”
Bross grew up in St. Louis, but he knew from age 12 he wanted to play college hockey in Boston. During a trip to the city for a youth tournament, he also got to take in a game at Boston College and do some sightseeing.
As he got older, passing was never the first part of his game people noticed. The physicality was. Playing juniors for the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL four years ago, he led the team with 400 hits in 60 games.
“I’ve always liked to play a physical game,” said the UMass Boston sophomore. “I feel I control the puck well and can draw some guys to me. … People have always told me my strength is being able to protect the puck.”
UMB coach Pete Belisle (Manville, R.I.), who likes his wingers big, wasted no time in throwing Bross on a line with Colin Larkin, who’d go on to win the Joe Concannon Award as the best American-born Division 2/3 player in New England; and Nolan Redler (Winchester, Mass.), who’d finish with 24 goals.
“I was never really expecting to be a first-line guy,” said Bross. “It was a nice experience. Larkin is definitely one of the best players I’ve played with. When somebody finishes like that, it makes setting up plays easier.”
Belisle said he intends to keep the Bross-Redler partnership together this year, and would like to see Bross develop more of a “shoot-first” mentality.
“Bross is so strong on the puck,” said Belisle. “He plays a real tough 200-foot game. He’s kind of an old-fashioned player who finishes every check. He loosens stuff up so well and he can make plays.”
If Bross had Boston on his radar early, Stevens fully intended to stay in the Southwest. A Texas native, he played two seasons in the NAHL and one in the USHL, and landed with the new Division 1 program at Arizona State. But it wasn’t a good fit, on or off the ice, as he managed just six points in 27 games.
“He was kind of falling out of love with hockey. It wasn’t fun for him,” said Plymouth State coach Craig Russell (Northfield, Vt.). “He came here and was kind of reborn.”
Growing up, Stevens had developed a friendship with Quinn Carroll (Amherst, N.H.), who had cracked the Plymouth State lineup as a freshman (this year he’s been named a captain). Carroll mentioned his situation to Russell, who was familiar with Stevens’ game, and a transfer ensued.
He immediately added scoring punch to the lineup as a sophomore, tallying 20 goals. Last year he scored 10 goals and set up 27 for a team that ranked eighth in Division 3 with 4.23 goals a game.
“He’s a guy who was doing different things on the ice than we were used to,” said Russell.
Both UMass Boston and Plymouth State — two of the highest-scoring teams in the country — are seeking returns to the NCAA tournament after years away. And they have the guys to set them up for success.
Some of Fleurent’s favorite hockey memories are playing games in his family’s basement in Biddeford, Maine, with his older brother, Trevor, and their friends in town.
The best of the regulars was Brian Dumoulin, now a two-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman with the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose 6-foot-4 frame and long reach are often where passes go to die.
“Playing with him in my basement was definitely crucial to my hockey-playing abilities,” said Fleurent. “His stick was all over the place and I needed to get passes through. That’s what a lot of people say — I get passes through sticks.”
The 5-foot-9 Fleurent will finish his career as the most decorated player in UNE history. He won the Concannon Award as a junior and, entering his senior year, has 47 goals and 86 assists (for 133 points) to his name.
“He’s a very smart player,” said UNE coach Kevin Swallow (Peru, Maine). “He sees the ice well and he’s very slippery. Then you combine his skill level with his work ethic, and you get a very special player.”
A self-described “hometown boy,” Fleurent stayed local for juniors with the Portland Junior Pirates and then college. He’s refined his game over the years but always has had a nose for goals, either his own or his linemates.
“When I was younger I scored a lot,” he said. “As I grew into hockey, I realized I kind of needed to change my game a lot to be successful at that level. … I like being unselfish and setting things up.”
After falling to Nichols in the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship game, the Nor’easters received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the first in program history, and ended their season with a first-round loss to Colby.
Almost all of their players return this season, including three guys who garnered All-American honors — Fleurent (16-35-51), Bloom (19-28-47) and defenseman Ryan Burr. Teamed up again, Fleurent and Bloom figure to give opposing defenses fits.
“One guy that definitely comes to mind is Brady Fleurent,” said DiNicola, asked about playmakers he admires. “He’s kind of a similar-style player, a little bigger than me. He’s had a great college career and he’s a fun player to watch.”
For Fitchburg State, the end of the season came in a tight, 3-1 loss to Nichols in the first round of the NCAA tournament, a game that was capped by an empty-net goal.
A week later, not completely done with hockey, DiNicola took in the quarterfinal game between Nichols and Salve Regina in North Kingstown, R.I. He watched Salve win another close one and eventually get all the way to the national championship game, losing to St. Norbert (Wis.), 3-2 in overtime.
“It was super-close the rest of the tournament,” he said. “From what I saw, I thought Nichols played a little bit better (than Salve). Seeing that it was that close, now we know how close we are.”
After supplanting MASCAC top dogs Plymouth State and Salem State last winter, the Falcons have just about everybody back for another run. The optimism starts with one of the best lines in New England — DiNicola skating with sophomore Sascha Figi (21-19-40) and Warila (14-16-30), who are both past Rookies of the Year in the MASCAC.
“Sascha loves to shoot the puck,” said DiNicola. “He’s a European guy who loves to score goals. With him, I was very comfortable making the plays I did last year.”
DiNicola’s route to Fitchburg was a winding one. At 16, he committed to Yale, but that didn’t stick. After a postgrad year at South Kent and some junior seasons where he felt he didn’t play to his potential, he took a look at Fitchburg, liked the campus and the cost, and made his choice.
“I was hoping to go Division 1, but I didn’t realize how good Division 3 really was until I sat down with my coaches.”
As a freshman, he was third on the team with seven goals and 24 points. He continued producing as a sophomore then enjoyed a breakout season last year.
“I think he wasn’t getting as much ice time in juniors as he deserved,” said longtime Fitchburg State coach Dean Fuller. “He’s just really blossomed. His vision on the ice and his passing has got to be tops in Division 3. He’s an unselfish kid; he really should shoot more.”
Seeing the ice. Creating space. Getting passes through sticks. Trusting linemates. Every great playmaker has a little something different in his toolbox, but what they share is a love for making scoring plays happen.
They’re the playmakers.
“In general, you’ve got to have the vision and hockey sense to be a good playmaker,” said Swallow. “A lot of players can go out in a slow drill and skate and stickhandle, but to do it at game speed is something else.”
