BELMONT, Mass. — Belmont Hill took a while to get going, but the home team eventually found its mojo en route to a 4-1 win over Governor’s in an ISL Keller matchup on Wednesday at the Jordan Athletic Center.
For the first period and a half, the game remained scoreless, thanks to solid goaltending from Belmont Hill sophomore Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.) and Governor’s junior Max Lacroix. The scoring started off a hail mary shot from the left wing wall by Belmont Hill senior Shane Kelly (Natick, Mass.). Assists went to Brock Cummings and Mason Daignault (North Providence, R.I.).
With just under two minutes left in the second period, the best player on the ice was given unimpeded access to the net. It turned out poorly for Governor’s. Coming onto the ice from a line change, Belmont Hill junior right wing and Northeastern commit James Fisher (Wilmington, Mass.) slipped behind the Governor’s defense. He skated in alone on Lacroix and snapped the puck off and just under the crossbar.
Governor’s cut the deficit in half before the end of the second period when senior right wing Noah Bird (Andover, Mass.) scored on an odd-man rush. After receiving a stretch pass from senior defenseman Colin Elliott (Andover, Mass.), Bird gained the zone on the right side. He looked off Cam Russo (Middleton, Mass.) and fired one that beat Scopa on the short side.
That was as close as Governor’s would get as Belmont Hill scored two insurance goals in the third period. Junior Dane Carter (Concord, Mass.) scored a nifty backhander off a beauty of a feed from Daniel Markham (Winchester, Mass.) to give the home team the 3-1 lead. The cherry on top was when Drew Blackwell (Haverhill, Mass.) was camped out front and redirected a point shot from Harvard commit Matthew Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.). Fisher had the secondary assist on the final tally of the game.
This was my third time seeing Belmont Hill in just over a week. Once again, Fisher and Scopa performed well. Fisher didn’t have as good of a game as he did against Nobles on Saturday, but he recorded two more points. Fisher still had the puck a lot and seemingly drove possession and chances for his team.
It’s hard to tell without seeing the video, but Scopa might have wanted the goal allowed back, but he made the necessary saves to help his team to victory. As I’ve said in each of the other viewings, his rebound control was good.
As expected, freshman Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) had his ups and downs as a youngster at the prep level. His skating and skill are elite and he made some really nice plays to set up linemates today. He’ll get better in this regard as he gains strength and physical maturity, but his coaches will likely talk to him about simplifying, being harder, and just getting pucks deep on the play that led up to the lone Governor’s goal. Obviously, that’s nitpicking, but Stiga is the type of player with high expectations. He’s a lock to make USA Hockey’s NTDP.
As was the case in the first two viewings, senior Will Killoran (Charlestown, Mass.) provided plenty of physical play from the backend. He’s not the best skater, but he does an excellent job at shutting down opposing teams’ chances. One perfect example was in the second period when he closed in on a Governor’s forward coming down the left wing and rode him right into the boards.
The entire Belmont Hill defense does a good job of being tough to play against. Senior Jack Bosco (Winchester, Mass.) delivered a couple of big hits today and freshman Lindan Verville hasn’t backed down from anyone in any of the first three viewings. Getting back to Bosco, he hit the post, made a nice look to the backdoor and played solid defense. He probably needs a year of junior hockey in between, but a NESCAC school should give him a chance. He’s getting better and will do whatever it takes to get to that level.
Belmont Hill doesn’t have a ton of depth, but it has the goaltending and lethal scoring threats to make a run at an Elite 8 appearance. Junior right wing Ronan O’Donnell (Fairfield, Conn.) has been missing from all the games and scrimmages so far. Hopefully, he’ll return to the lineup soon as he’ll be another big-time goal scorer for Brian Phinney’s team.
This was my first time seeing Governor’s this winter. Brian McGuirk’s team doesn’t have the talent or depth to compete with the big boys of the ISL. The first line is solid with senior captain Ian Olenik (Windham, N.H.) centering Bird and Russo. Olenik is a good skater who should be recruited heavily by Division 3 programs.
Governor’s was missing the team’s best defenseman in junior Jack Farrell (Wilmington, Mass.). One defenseman who I want to see more of is junior Aleksy Bandu, an athletic lefty from Montreal, Quebec. Lacroix, a product of the Colorado Thunderbirds, has just average size, but he made some big saves tonight as Belmont Hill peppered his net.
Belmont Hill lines
Blackwell - Reilly - Fisher
Carter - Markham - Stiga
Kelly - Cummings - Daignault
Schmidek - xx - Monahan
Killoran - Biotti
Bosco - Goguen
Doolan - Verville
Scopa
Governor’s lines
Russo - Olenik - Bird
Ranadli - K. Elliott - C. Huard
Brooks - Marchese - T. Huard
Keefe - xx - Moriarty
Fortin - Sturm
Bandu - C. Elliott
Thies
Lacroix
