BROOKLINE, Mass. — In a highly anticipated season debut, Dexter took down Cushing, 2-0, on Wednesday afternoon.
The game between the two top 10 teams was one of three on the docket Wednesday that had intrigue to NHL scouts. Attendance was split mostly between Dexter to see John Farinacci and St. Sebastian’s to see Jayden Struble on the Arrows and Cade Webber on Rivers. A lot of big-time NHLPA agents were also at Dexter to take in the game.
Overall, it was a great atmosphere with the arena filled with parents, fans, students, coaches, scouts and agents. Harvard commit Derek Mullahy picked up the shutout in net for Dexter, while freshman Culin Wilson and Farinacci notched the goals.
After a scoreless first frame, Dexter’s third line got the scoring started at the 2:14 mark of the second period. Freshman Vincent Gould won a puck battle behind the goal line and fed it out front to Wilson, who took a few strides before sneaking a backhander past an outstretched Joe Sharib, the Cushing goaltender who's committed to Union.
For the first two periods, the line of Wilson on the left wing, Jack Dempsey in the middle and Gould on the right wing was the best for Dexter. Wilson has some skill and can make some plays. Dempsey provides some muscle and was good on draws. While Gould’s skating still needs to improve, he does a particularly job winning puck battles below the dots as he did on the first goal.
Farinacci added an insurance tally with 3:17 left in the game. He finished off a two-on-one after receiving a centering feed from Northeastern commit Chase McInnis, who was streaking down the right wing.
Cushing wasn’t able to muster much in the way of offense. The Penguins’ best chance of the afternoon came on a two-on-zero rush after Dexter’s defense had misread the play in the neutral zone. Nick Cafarelli fed Connor Wood for a quality look, but Mullahy got a stick on the shot after moving from post-to-post.
The Penguins have a lot of fresh faces, so it might take some time to gel. Either way, Steve Jacobs’ team should be in contention for a spot in the Elite 8 when late February rolls around.
While the Cushing offense was partially to blame for its failure to generate much in terms of scoring opportunities, credit goes out to Dexter’s very strong, talented and deep blue-line corps. UMass Lowell commit Ben Meehan and sophomore Patrick Morrissey were the standouts.
Player Notes
John Farinacci
#9 Dexter, Sr., 2/14/01, C, Right Shot, 5-11.25/185
NCAA Commit: Harvard
With about a dozen NHL scouts in the building, it wasn’t the best viewing for Farinacci. Expectations are high for the Chatham, N.J., native, but he wasn’t consistently a threat like he is in some games. He had two particularly good shifts. The first came in the second period, when he made two really nice passes into the middle of the ice from the left side. The second resulted in such a good scoring chance that a Cushing defenseman had to take a penalty to nullify it. In the third, he scored a goal going to the far post off a centering feed from Chase McInnis. There were a few other flashes, but he’s capable of playing better.
Derek Mullahy
#35 Dexter, Sr., 3/20/01, G, Catches Left, 6-0/178N
NCAA Commit: Harvard
Mullahy faced no more than a dozen shots in the entire game, but only two of those were high-quality chances. As mentioned above, he made that huge stick save going post-to-post on a two-on-zero rush in the first period. In the third period, he made a really good save to show off his quick reflexes and puck-tracking ability when a shot from the right point was redirected.
Patrick Morrissey
#12 Dexter, So., 1/7/03, D, Right Shot, 5-10.5/158
This was a really good game for the Canton, Mass., native. He showed great poise and decision-making throughout the game. There was a penalty kill late in the first period where he calmly collected a puck and waited for the right lane to open for a clearing attempt down to the other end. He has the feet to side-step oncoming forecheckers and his head is always up, which allows him to make good first touches. He made a couple of nice retrievals in the third period to keep the puck out of harms way with his team up a goal. The undisputed top ’03 defenseman in Massachusetts, Morrissey will only get better as he continues to fill out his frame.
Ben Meehan
Dexter #14, Jr., D, Left Shot, 6-0/163
NCAA Commit: UMass Lowell
Meehan had a really good game playing alongside Morrissey. He’s not flashy at all, but he’s smart and reliable. He’ll make quick, precise decisions with the puck and has good body positioning, which makes it easy for him to intercept pucks in passing and shooting lanes. He also made a couple of nice breakups while defending on the rush.
Jackson Dorrington
#16 Cushing, Fr., 4/13/04, D, Left Shot, 5-10/140
Dorrington was really good playing in his first prep school game. He’s confident, poised and skilled with the puck on his stick. The North Andover, Mass., native more than held his own on against older competition. He stepped up to make a pinch in the first period and ended up knocking down a Dexter player in the process. Big things are ahead for Dorrington.
Cushing Lines
21 P. Borella - 14 N. Cafarelli - 13 C. Wood
12 M. Dorrington - 22 M. Bogdanovich - 11 J. Hewitt
18 J. Noone - 20 S. Zarcone - 5 J. Banks
9 J. Murphy - 7 B. Norcross - 10 A. Cafarelli
19 P. Keegan - 26 B. Montgomery
17 B. O’Donnell - 3 B. Zona
8 L. Gustafsson - 2 C. Sealey
XD 16 J. Dorrington
29 J. Sharib
Dexter Lines
24 C. McInnis - 9 J. Farinacci - 25 J. McElaney
18 B. Raymond - 23 A. Connolly - 11 C. Blanchard
26 C. Wilson - 2 J. Dempsey - 15 V. Gould
19 W. Gierkink - 10 T. Grealy - 17 D. Grimes
14 B. Meehan - 12 P. Morrissey
4 B. Pearl - 6 M. Adamson
21 K. McKay - 22 J. Hughes
35 D. Mullahy
