MIDDLETON, Mass. — St. John’s Shrewsbury downed St. John’s Prep, 2-1, in a Catholic Conference matchup at the Essex Sports Center on Thursday afternoon.
Sophomore center Damon Myers and junior left wing Will Arsenault were the goal scorers for the visiting Pioneers. The lone Prep goal came off the stick of senior right wing Drew Fietze.
The star of the game was St. John’s Shrewsbury senior goaltender Ryan Dailida. He made 37 saves, including several quality stops on point-blank chances from St. John’s Prep. With the victory, St. John’s Shrewsbury improved to 2-1. The hosts fell to 0-1-1 with the loss.
It was a fun game to watch, with the outcome in doubt until the final seconds with SJP’s goaltender out of the net for the extra attacker. It was my first time seeing both teams this season. Both the Pioneers and Eagles have some promising young prospects and a few seniors who could play a postgraduate year at a prep school or in the EHL next season.
Scoring summary
1-0 SJS: Damon Myers gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead with 14:18 left in the first half. His low, hard wrist shot whistled past the Eagles’ goaltender. The assist went to Jacob Mrva, whose persistent forecheck forced a turnover by the Prep left wing.
1-1 SJP: On a broken play, Drew Fietze evened the score at one. He backhanded a shot home from just outside the crease. A shot from the point hit a few bodies before laying on the goal mouth for Fietze.
2-1 SJS: An egregious turnover by the St. John’s Prep defense put the puck right on the tape of Arsenault. He deposited the puck into the net to give St. John’s Shrewsbury the lead for good.
Prospect notes
Damon Myers
St. John’s Shrewsbury, 3/28/05, C, left shot, 6-0/160
Myers looks to have gained another inch or two, even since the fall season where he played for the River Rats 15-U. The Worcester, Mass., native scored the first goal of the game, blowing a low wrist shot past the goaltender. Myers has the length, skill and skating ability to score goals and make some plays. I’d like to see him play more between the dots and become even harder. If he does that, especially as he fills out his frame, he could become an even more dangerous offensive threat.
Christian Rosa
St. John’s Prep, 12/1/05, C, right shot, 5-9/145
Rosa was the center on his team’s third line, according to the line chart. At least on Thursday, there was no doubt that it was the top line. The majority of SJP’s sustained attacking zone pressure came with Rosa’s line on the ice. Rosa is a very good skater who uses his edges and can scoot. The Lynnfield, Mass., native plays with pace and did a good job moving without the puck to get open looks. Rosa, who played well for the North Shore Wings 15-U this fall, stood out in this one.
Will Brophy
St. John’s Shrewsbury, 10/26/04, D, right shot, 6-4/190
Brophy was a player who first stood out in his team’s state tournament run last February and March. He’s a big defenseman whose skating is above average, especially for his size. He’s rangy and covers a lot of ground out there. His stick isn’t going to wow anyone, but he looked more confident and jumped into the rush a couple of times. On one instance, he carried the puck end to end before hitting the post with a backhander. He showed a couple of flashes of a physical presence in front of his own net. I’d still like to see him be a little meaner given his size. Overall, there’s certainly some upside with this big sophomore defenseman.
Jake Vana
St. John’s Prep, 9/1/05, RW, right shot, 5-11/185
Vana has a choppy stride, but he has a big impact below the dots. Playing right wing on Rosa’s line, there were countless times where he had the puck on his stick and controlled possession on the cycle. He was heavy on pucks and didn’t shy away from physical contact.
Owen Atkinson
St. John’s Prep, 1/1/03, LW, left shot, 5-10/165
Atkinson was on the roster last year but didn’t stand out to me. I noticed him a few times in this game, due to his skating ability. He used his speed to blow down the left wing, creating a couple of chances on the rush. If he’s interested, he looks like he’d be a solid PG candidate for at least a few prep schools.
Ryan Dailida
St. John’s Shrewsbury, 1/1/03, G, catches left, 5-11/150
Dailida is a little undersized, but he was up to the task on Thursday afternoon. I was standing in the corner above his net for the entire game with teams not switching ends, due to playing halves. He did a good job covering up potential rebounds and competing to see pucks through traffic. The one goal he gave up was on a weird play. He made a few saves that could be described as game changing on Thursday.
St. John’s Prep lines
Atkinson - DiNapoli - McKenelley
Sarni - P. Blaeser - Fietze
C. Blaeser - Rosa - Vana
Joe Melanson - Ayers - Van Sicklin
Vetere - Raposa
Holland - Shyjan
Bishop - Jeff Melanson
Smith
St. John’s Shrewsbury lines
Parente - Myers - Edgren
Richard - McLellan - Mrva
Arsenault - Spiegelman - Marois
Beauregard - xx - Jennings
Dowd - Albert
Brown - Brophy
Bellaud - MacLeod
Dailida
