BROOKLINE, Mass. — Dexter Southfield scored three unanswered goals in the third period to come from behind and defeat Pope Francis by a score of 4-2 on Friday night at Thorndike Rink.
With the score tied 1-1 heading into the third period, Ryan Shaw gave Pope Francis its second lead of the game. However, it was short lived, as the home team answered with goals from Connor Blanchard, Vincent Gould and Joe Hurton.
Brandon Spaulding had given Pope Francis a 1-0 lead in the first period before Dexter Southfield’s Donovan O’Neill evened the score with a power-play tally. It was a fairly even game, despite Dexter Southfield holding a large advantage in terms of depth of talent.
Friday night’s game was the second meeting between the two teams this season. Dexter Southfield won the first game, 3-0, in December. The two teams will square off again next Friday, but in West Springfield at the Olympia.
Give Pope Francis a lot of credit for hanging close with Dexter Southfield. Dan Donato’s team has a dozen or so players who will play college hockey, compared to Pope Francis, which likely will have just two or three.
Scoring summary
1-0 PF: Ryan Leonard recovered a puck along the wall on the left side in his own zone. He took a stride or two before hitting Spaulding at the far blue line with a beauty of a pass. Spaulding had snuck behind the Dexter Southfield defense and went in all alone. He finished with a nice shot up high to give the Cardinals the first lead of the game.
1-1 DXSF: While on the power play, Merrimack commit Matt Copponi controlled possession below the goal line. He fed it out front for O’Neill, who was camped out on the goal mouth. O’Neill buried it, as he has on quite a few occasions this winter. I have to give O’Neill more credit, as he plays a heavy game and keeps producing.
2-1 PF: Leonard won a left-wing circle draw in the attacking zone. The puck got back to the right point, where Jack Turowsky fired a shot toward the net. It was blocked, but Shaw was in the right place at the right time. He spun around and fired a wrist shot into the back of the net.
2-2 DXSF: After a failed transition play down at the other end, Blanchard broke it out and skated down the left wing wall. He cut in toward the net and sent a backhand that somehow slipped through Pope Francis goaltender Ben Zaranek.
3-2 DXSF: On the ensuing center ice draw with the same line out, Blanchard pushed the puck ahead. Gould came in from his position on the right wing, picked the puck up and split the defenders. He finished with a backhand to give Dexter Southfield its first lead of the game. Blanchard, a Colby commit, had a very good game.
4-2 DXSF: Hurton snapped off a wrist while skating down the left wing on zone entry to give his team some breathing room.
Prospect of the game
There was little doubt as to who the best player on the ice was Friday night. Leonard, Pope Francis’ sophomore center, put on an absolute show with the puck on his stick. In addition to his two assists, Leonard created a lot of chances for his team. He hit the post and had a couple of other near misses from grade-A scoring areas. I was really impressed with how well he protected pucks and how he saw the ice on Friday night. Leonard, an ’05 from Amherst, Mass., has been a lethal goal scorer numerous times over the past couple of seasons. This game, especially the first period, might have been the best I ever saw him play.
Dexter Southfield lines
O’Neill - Copponi - Hughes
Wilson - Vote - Badger
Sutherland - Landry - Larkin
Hurton - Blanchard - Gould
Naumann
Keohane - Fusco
Alexander - Morrissey
Kamke - Lanza
O’Keeffe - Mullahy
Mickanin
Pope Francis lines
Spaulding - Leonard - Shaw
Burke - Phaneuf - Jacob Iby
Moltenbrey - Josh Iby - O’Leary
Hanscom - Kennedy
Russ - Turowsky
Hemenway - Rougeot
Zaranek
