It was finally the hosts’ year in the Kevin Mutch Christmas Tournament again.
St. Sebastian’s toppled its holiday guests for the first time since 2018, shaking off a slow start to the season by scoring a combined 17 goals against Northfield Mount Hermon, Winchendon and Rivers. Last week’s performance, including a 5-3, championship-clinching win over Rivers, ended a three-year title run from Brunswick.
“Hopefully it’s a springboard as we move forward and get into our ISL schedule, which is a grind,” St. Sebastian’s coach Sean McCann said. “I think it’s about understanding how to play as a group and being able to feed off each other. I’m hoping this will be a step in the right direction for us to play a consistent, aggressive type of hockey.”
A shortage of talent was never a question for the Arrows, but scoring proved to be in the early going as the team started to find itself with one eighth grader, four freshmen and four sophomores on the roster.
Sebs totaled just seven goals during a 1-3-0 start, but shutting out Brooks 4-0 in the game before the Mutch Tournament — on the strength of 22 saves from All-ISL returning junior Tommy Saulnier (Medfield, Mass.) — started the team’s current four-game win streak.
“We can score, we can defend, but our biggest strength, by far, is our goalie,” said senior captain Brendan Matthews (Westwood, Mass.). “This year, when Tommy’s at his best, not only does he give us a chance, but I think we win most of the games.”
The offense did need to come, and it has. The Arrows continued to break out offensively when the weekend got underway, beginning with sophomore Cade Noonan (Needham, Mass.) posting a hat trick and an assist in the opening 9-1 win over Northfield Mount Hermon.
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“When we got into the tournament, they started to click and guys who were frustrated before were now getting nice goals or the lucky bounces (that they weren’t in the few games before),” McCann said. “Those are the things that seem to happen when you keep creating opportunities. … It was great for us. I think we started to come together a little bit more as a team.”
The tournament featured a true team effort. Fourteen players recorded points and nine scored goals, while Saulnier stopped 72 of the 77 shots he faced across the three games.
That type of effort was especially impressive, considering the team was without several players due to injury or illness, including another of the team’s senior captains, Charlie Delay (Hingham, Mass.).
“Some of the younger guys have taken a big step, and the seniors as well,” said Matthews, whose five points included a goal and an assist in the title game. “We had a lot of 2010s and '09s on the team last year, but even the upperclassmen, we were all new (on varsity). Prep is never an easy game, but I wasn’t worried (when we weren’t scoring early) because I knew we’ve been experienced.”
In the championship, Noonan added another goal and an assist to finish the tournament with seven points, while Sam Fishbone (Needham, Mass.) — a freshman defenseman in his second varsity season — led the team with three assists. Junior Danny Porter (Hingham, Mass.) and senior blueliner Ollie Manning (Franklin, Mass.) also scored in that game.
After taking on a regular role as a freshman, Noonan has emerged as the team’s top scorer with 12 points through the first eight games this season. He is playing on a top line most recently with classmate Jack Queally (Milton, Mass.) at center and Matthews on the other wing.
Queally has a team-high seven goals, including the eventual game-winner in the finale.
“I thought that line really clicked,” McCann said. “Cade has been creating a ton of opportunities, and then suddenly they started to go in all at once. That was great to see for him. He works his tail off, brings a lot of speed to our team. And the other two create opportunities for him. Jack is a very smart player with a tremendous amount of skill…and Brendan has really good vision.”
McCann and the Arrows expect that trio to continue to produce as the ISL grind kicks into high gear once the calendar turns to 2026. First on the docket is the St. Sebastian’s/Nobles New Year’s Showcase this weekend.
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Building confidence will be paramount.
“I think their development overall is what’s the most important thing,” McCann said. “Seeing them grow, learn from their mistakes and kind of understand how to play better as a unit out there is what you want and that will translate to success down the road.”
