Better endings were certainly envisioned by Arlington and Pope Francis than being awarded co-champs of the MIAA Division 1A Super 8 after the coronavirus forced the cancellation of the final.
However, both teams have a lot to be proud of. Arlington went undefeated in the Super 8 en route to winning the winner’s bracket. It was the second title for the Spy Ponders in four years after also winning in 2017.
“I’ve been coaching these kids for 10 years,” said Arlington head coach John Messuri, whose son, Anthony Messuri, was one of 13 seniors on the team. "They’re my adopted kids. It made it harder when things ended the way they did. I was so tight with this group of kids."
The younger Messuri, committed to Northeastern, was one of the best players in high school hockey. Centering the team’s top line and quarterbacking the first power-play unit, Messuri’s presence was felt in nearly every game.
“Anthony is mentally tough,” said his coach and father. "He deals with a lot of stuff. He puts his head down and works at it. He’s creative and competitive. He has a huge passion for the game."
Left wing Brendan Jones was a linemate and fellow senior. The Holy Cross baseball commit was overlooked at times, but his speed and playmaking ability shouldn’t have gone unnoticed.
“Jones was critical,” said Coach Messuri. "He exceeded all expectations. He was terrific. He’s a great 200-foot player and did whatever it took to fit into our system."
Defenseman Ryan Davies and goaltender Nate Brennan were two other seniors who shined throughout the season and playoff run.
“Davies was one of our more key guys. He became one of the best defensemen in the state. He’s talking to multiple prep schools and junior teams. He wants to play college hockey. Brennan is in at Babson, but will take a year to play junior hockey,” the coach said.
Arlington certainly has one of the most storied hockey traditions of any public school in the state. A true hockey town, the Spy Ponders will be back before long, despite losing this year’s terrific senior class.
“You have to think it goes all the way back to the ponds,” said Messuri, when asked about Arlington’s success on the ice. “The tradition in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s … there are still a lot of families who played at the high school. It’s a tight community. It’s carried on year after year. It’s in the blood.
“Two years out, I think we’ll be right in this thing again.”
For Pope Francis, the championship game could have been what finally got the Cardinals over the hump. Brian Foley’s team had advanced to three straight Super 8 finals, losing all three in overtime.
“It was a great season for us,” said Foley. "Losing 12 guys, not a lot of people thought we’d get to the final game. Our young guys came on and our seniors provided leadership. We got better every month. We were looking forward to it. It would have been a really good hockey game."
One of those freshmen was Ryan Leonard, who was the best prospect of any player in Massachusetts high school hockey this winter.
“Four freshmen played regular shifts. Early on, they all had growing pains. He started a little slow, but he got a lot better by January,” said Foley, who also coached Ryan’s older brother, John Leonard, who led college hockey in scoring this season at UMass.
While older brother was putting up 27 at the NCAA level, Ryan scored 28 goals in MIAA play.
“Ryan is a gifted goal scorer,” said Foley. "He loves to shoot the puck. I figured he’d score a lot of goals for us. He’s not a small freshman. He’s thick and strong. He’s going to be bigger than his brother. He can play physically and he’s not intimidated by anyone."
John, who just finished his junior year with the Minutemen, signed this offseason with the San Jose Sharks, the team that drafted him in the 2018 NHL draft. Foley sees plenty of similarities, but believes the younger Leonard could one day exceed the lofty standards set by his older brother.
“They’re very similar," Foley said. "They look a lot alike from the other side. Ryan is a righty. John is a lefty. They come off the off wing similarly. They both have great releases. Ryan is a little heavier and bigger."
While Leonard was Pope Francis’ superstar, it wasn’t a one-man show that led the program to what would have been a fourth straight appearance at TD Garden.
Senior defensemen Matt Pelletier and Logan Dapprich and junior center Brandon Spaulding wore letters and provided a tremendous amount of leadership for a team looking to rebuild.
“On ‘D,’ Dapprich had an unreal year. He was one of the top defensemen in the state. (Sophomore) Jack Kennedy and him played a lot of minutes and were really good,” said Foley.
Junior Ben Zaranek was the last line of defense. As most coaches will tell you, good goaltending and defense along with being solid down the middle will lead to wins. That was the case with Pope Francis, a team with three reliable centers.
Spaulding, a speedster, centered the top line with Leonard at right wing and another freshman, Ryan Shaw, at left wing. Juniors Evan Phaneuf and Jake Iby centered the second and third lines, respectively.
“The key to this year’s team was we had more balance. We played four lines most of the regular season. Our top three lines were really solid. Spaulding, Phaneuf and Iby were leaders on their line,” said Foley, whose team undoubtedly will enter 2020-21 as the favorite to win the Super 8.
@JeffCoxSports
