WOBURN, Mass. — In Massachusetts high school action, senior right wing Jonathan Surrette had a hat trick to lead Woburn to a 5-2 win over Arlington on Wednesday afternoon at Ned O’Brien Rink.
Surrette scored the first, third and fifth goals while senior center Michael Santullo lit the lamp twice for the Tanners. Senior defenseman Dom Laiosa and sophomore right wing were the goal scorers for the Spy Ponders.
It was the second consecutive victory for Woburn over Arlington to start the season. The Tanners are improved and have some solid senior leadership. The Spy Ponders have a couple of very good freshmen but are young and inexperienced after losing Brendan Jones, Anthony Messuri, Ryan Davies and Nate Brennan, among others, to graduation.
Due to Middlesex League rules, the game was played with no spectators. Hopefully, the league will come to its senses soon so these players can have some semblance of normalcy with parents and some friends in the crowd.
Despite the lack of atmosphere inside O’Brien Rink, the players on each team brought plenty of intensity. Each team played hard, delivered physical play, and brought the passion to the game that you’d expect of teams coached by Jim Duran and John Messuri.
Scoring summary
1-0 Woburn - Surrette scored on a low wrist shot as he entered the zone down the right wing. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone after a nice chip off the wall from Mikey Arsenault on a breakout play.
2-0 Woburn - Santullo scored on another transitional play as he caught a puck in the neutral zone, dropped it down to himself, and went in on net. Connor Welch was credited with the assist.
1-2 Arlington - Laiosa finished off a good shift where the Spy Ponders put significant pressure on the Tanners’ end. He beat the goaltender short side, blocker side, from the left-wing circle. Matt Alessi had the assist.
3-1 Woburn - Surrette struck on the power play for his second of the game. It was a similar shot from his first goal, but it was an attacking-zone sequence. Santullo and Jackson Powers had the helpers.
4-1 Woburn - Santullo scored again, beating the goaltender on the blocker side with a shot from the slot. He received a pass from Aiden Robinson on a transitional play that started with a block by the latter. Credit goes to Robinson, who made a block and got an assist shortly after a poor play led to an icing.
2-4 Arlington - Russell scored on the power play and with the goaltender pulled. The tally came just after a two-man advantage had expired. He cut in on net from the right-wing corner before lifting a backhander past the Woburn goaltender.
5-2 Woburn - Surrette sealed the victory for Woburn on the next shift. He sniped a shot from the left-wing circle after receiving a pass from Powers, who was driving down the middle of the ice.
Five standout prospects
Jonathan Surrette
Woburn, 8/6/03, RW, right shot, 5-11/175
Surrette is a goal scorer who finds the net a lot at the high school level. He shoots it hard and with accuracy. In addition, he’s strong and hard to knock off pucks. His first two goals were good, but his third was an absolute rocket and lasered for the corner of the net. Surrette did this work today while playing without one of his usual linemates, Lance Anderson, who was sidelined. A senior captain, Surrette should be coveted by prep schools for a PG year or by NCDC teams.
Jackson Powers
Woburn, 4/30/05, C, left shot, 5-9/140
Powers is the team’s first-line center and plays in all situations. He runs the point on the power play and kills penalties. He’s smart and on the right side of the puck. Powers forced turnovers and made a couple of nice passes. He’s young, but if he can improve his consistency, he’ll become an even stronger prospect.
Jack Sadowski
Arlington, 7/29/06, C, left shot, 5-9/145
Sadowski might have had an assist on the second goal, but otherwise was held off the scoresheet on Wednesday. Regardless, he stood out as the best Division 1 prospect in this game. He’s a smart, 200-foot forward who was on the ice a lot and around the puck a good amount. I think he’ll get even better as he builds strength in his lower body, which should help his foot speed.
Brett Stone
Woburn, 2/1/05, LW, left shot, 5-8/140
Stone is on the smaller side, but he hunts pucks and plays with an edge. He played for the Junior Eagles ’05 team growing up and is a solid player.
Mikey Arsenault
Woburn, 1/1/03, D, left shot, 5-10/180
Arsenault had a very good game, picking up an assist and stepping into the play a few times. He had a couple of near misses while trying to jump into the offense. He’s a rugged defenseman who was strong on pucks. Arsenault, a junior, is a player who prep schools will want to know for a possible PG year in 2022-23.
Woburn lines
Stone - Powers - Surrette
Baccari - M. Santullo - Robinson
Scalesse - Fishlin - D. Santullo
Wackrow - McComiskey - Librizzo
Arsenault - Leuizzi
Laprade - Clark
Welch - Parece
Moriarty
Arlington lines
Alessi - Malatesta - Russell
Fecteau - Sadowski - Gilbert
Conneely - Martinez - Snyder
Broughton - Yunes - Wright
O’Connor
Bradlee - Laiosa
Flynn - Sotiropoulos
Dunning
Davies
Hayes
