RANDOLPH, Mass. — Milton High School rallied from two separate two-goal deficits to earn a 3-3 tie with Braintree on Wednesday afternoon at Zapustas Ice Arena.
Charlie DiMartino scored twice and Nolan Leonard also found the back of the net for Braintree. Eoin Faherty, Owen Radley and Luke Calcagno were the goal scorers for Milton.
Braintree was the better team, outshooting Milton by a more than two-to-one ratio, by my unofficial count. But the Wamps were doomed by a couple of sloppy puck touches that proved costly, fluky goals and questionable officiating. Braintree scored a fourth goal on an odd-man rush, but the referee who was out of position blew the play dead.
Despite a few untimely mistakes, Braintree played to its identity. The Wamps hunted pucks and forced turnovers on the forecheck. Braintree has three forward lines that can skate well and a solid top defensive pairing. Despite the tie that might have felt like a loss, Braintree seemed like it had the potential to be a top-10 team in Division 1 south. Dave Fasano’s team won its first two games by a combined score of 13-0.
Milton certainly was outmatched, but credit goes out to the Wildcats for not quitting and capitalizing on Braintree’s errors. Chris Watson’s club got scoring contributions from a couple of unlikely skaters, and goaltender Ryan Dexter stood tall.
Scoring summary
1-0 BHS: Leonard got the scoring started by finishing off a two-on-one rush. Skating into the zone on the right wing, Scott Lagos passed the puck over to Leonard, who was driving toward the far post on the left side. Some secondary assists are more valuable than others. Credit here goes to Owen Flynn, whose tenacious backcheck forced a turnover in the neutral zone. If it weren’t for his hustle getting back and being heavy on pucks, this goal wouldn’t have happened.
2-0 BHS: On another transition play, Braintree extended its lead to two. Trailing the initial rush, DiMartino buried a feed from defenseman Brendan Keegan, who was skating left to right behind the net.
1-2 MHS: The Wildcats cut the lead in half with a goal on a netfront scramble. There were a lot of bodies in front of the net, but the goal was credited to Faherty. Defenseman Charlie Hoey initially was credited with the goal by the referees.
3-1 BHS: DiMartino scored his second of the night by cleaning up a loose puck in front of the net. Keegan took a shot on net from the left point. Nick Fasano redirected the puck, but it was stopped by Dexter. DiMartino swooped in and slid the puck into the net.
2-3 MHS: On a broken play in transition, Milton cut Braintree’s lead to one. Radley scored from Shea Donovan and Calcagno.
3-3 MHS: Calcagno tied the game up on a real fluky goal. A Braintree forward failed to clear the puck when he got a chance to do so at the blue line. As it often does when that happens, bad things were in store for Braintree. The puck eventually fluttered into the back of the net off the stick of Calcagno from a nearly impossible angle. The assist went to Jimmy Fallon.
Player notes
While this game likely didn’t have any future Division 1 college hockey prospects, there were a handful of good players who could find their way to Division 2 or Division 3.
The most promising player on the ice Wednesday was Nolan Leonard, an ’04 sophomore. He scored the game’s first goal, was quick and crafty, and made some plays. His linemates, Lagos and Flynn, both did some nice things. As mentioned above, Flynn’s backcheck played a pivotal role on the first. Lagos had a couple of flashes, especially early. He made a few nice passes in the early going.
The third line had a nice night with DiMartino, a sophomore, scoring twice. Junior Garrett Coughlin was the center with Fasano on the right wing. Both DiMartino and Fasano are good young players who should continue to get better as they progress through their high school careers.
The first line was somewhat quiet. I’ve liked senior Brady Leslie in the past. He skates well and was around the puck a decent amount. While the fourth line didn’t get a lot of ice time five-on-five, it was the duo of Jack Woods and Jack Woods on the penalty kill.
Keegan, who had two assists, probably was my most pleasant surprise. I knew a little bit about the top forwards, but Keegan impressed me throughout. He had a good stick, jumped into the rush, got shots on net, and logged a ton of ice time. I liked the jam he played with as he broke up a few plays.
For Milton, the player who stood out to me the most was Fallon, an ’05 lefty. He made a good amount of plays, skated well, and shot the puck with some zip. One heavy wrist shot from the high slot caught Braintree goaltender Ben Sullivan right on the mask. Fallon played the point on the power play and is someone who prep school coaches might want to keep an eye out for in the future.
Braintree lines
Duane - Leslie - Partosan
Lagos - Leonard - Flynn
DiMartino - Coughlin - Fasano
Woods - Woods - McLaughlin
Derrane - Keegan
Norton - Ridge
Donovan - Keegan
Sullivan
Milton lines
Fallon - McHugh - Walsh
Vaughan - MacNeil - Lesser
Radley - Donovan - Carew
Faherty - O’Neil
Hoey - Robinson
McDonnell - Calcagno
Long - Canale
Dexter
