ATTLEBORO, Mass. — The 2021 Beast Series playoffs took place over the weekend at a handful of area rinks, including New England Sports Village, Foxboro Sports Center, Rodman Arena and Adelard Arena.
The Long Island Gulls took home the banner for winning the Beast Series at the 18-U Platinum division. Mark Lotito’s team downed New Jersey Rockets in the quarterfinals, South Kent Selects Academy in the semifinals, and Bishop Kearney Selects in the finals. Antonio Arcaroli scored the game-winner in overtime to give the Gulls the championship by a score of 3-2.
The field consisted of seven of the top 20 teams in the country and another squad just outside that measuring stick. The Beast Series Playoffs was well scouted by college coaches, NHL scouts, USA Hockey personnel, and junior scouts.
Manfre stakes claim to MVP
While there wasn’t an official award given to the top playoff performer by the league, Long Island Gulls forward Jake Manfre would have taken home such an honor. The Kings Park, N.Y., native is a big power forward who can play center or left wing. I didn’t get to see the championship game as I was watching other games, but Manfre was the best player for the Gulls. He had a goal and an assist on the weekend. Committed to Princeton, the '04 is able to drive the net, protect pucks, get time and spice for linemates, and shoot it hard.
Lago, a Brown commit, was the team’s best defenseman. The Miami, Fla., native is a mobile, offensive-minded defenseman who was good in shootouts. Forwards Arcaroli and Eric Kaczynski were involved in a lot of the offense. Goaltender Matt MacArthur picked up all three wins for the Gulls.
Uncommitted '04s shine
A lot of NHL scouts were at Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal between South Kent Selects Academy and Neponset Valley River Rats, due to two players from the latter being on NHL Central Scouting’s Preliminary Players to Watch List. South Kent Selects Academy won the game, 4-2.
Selects Academy goaltender Jacob Fowler and River Rats defenseman Jordin Palmer (Auburn, N.H.) both showed why I consider them to be two of the best-uncommitted '04s from or playing in New England. Fowler made a couple of key saves, has good size, moves well, and is technically sound. Palmer is a throwback who plays hard, physically, and is tough to beat.
Palmer and teammate, center Jack Brandt of Tabor, are the two River Rats players on the NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List. Not on NHL Central Scouting’s radar, a few other uncommitted '04s who I thought had nice weekends during my viewings were Selects Academy forward Alex Bryson, Selects Academy defenseman Jakub Jerman, River Rats center Charlie Gollob, Bishop Kearney forward Charlie Major and Buffalo Regals defenseman Liam Chapman.
Bringing the sandpaper
When watching games at a showcase like this, it’s sometimes easy to get mesmerized by the high-end skill of some of the talented players on the ice. However, there were a couple of players I watched over the course of the two days that stood out for another reason.
Yale Junior Bulldogs right wing Max Resnick, a Florida Alliance product in his second school year at Kent, is a hard worker who helped his team get to the semifinals. He keeps his feet moving, blocks shots, hunts pucks and is relentless each shift. While Resnick stood out the most for this reason on Steve Novodor and Shawn Conner’s team, Kent teammate Geno McEnery is another hard-nosed, heavy forward. Both players are 2003s.
For the River Rats, Berkshire senior Cal Osterberger has turned some heads this fall. He’s heavy on pucks and strong on his skates. He fights through traffic and wins a lot of puck battles. The Boise, Idaho, native is good on the penalty kill and is reliable in all three zones. His skating is underrated and he scored a goal and added an assist in the game versus Selects Academy.
