Belmont Hill – A Wednesday match-up with the visiting team looking to keep their momentum going and the home team looking to step things up after a weekend loss. Due to a five minute major power play Governor’s had the early scoring opportunities but once the penalty was over Belmont Hill played heavy hockey for the rest of the first period and through the second. In the third period Governor’s brought the heat but an unfortunate string of penalties ended an thoughts of a comeback victory on the road.
Belmont Hill
Marco Beshere #10 (F, R, 5’9″, 150, Belmont Hill, 06/09/2005) – Beshere is an honest, hardworking, right-shot forward who played with a bounce in his step. During the forecheck, we liked routes and how he used his stick to knock sauce passes from the air. While cycling, he was strong on the puck and used a quick stutter step combined with a cross-under to create space for himself off of contact. His passes were hard and flat and hit his teammates in stride. Early in the first period, he made a beautiful backhand pass from below the offensive goal line that his linemate was able to one-time for a grade ‘A’ opportunity. Defensively, he tracked well and communicated with his defensemen, which allowed his defensemen to force plays in the neutral zone. Beshere carried himself like winning was the only thing that mattered. Grade: B
Grayson Cohen #8 (D, R, 6’2″, 187, Belmont Hill, 10/18/2006) – Cohen is a powerful right-shot defender who is used in all situations. He showed the skating ability to carry the puck out of trouble and the strength to drive through opponents when they attempted to hit him. He is balanced and has very strong edges. He played in straight lines while killing penalties and was willing to block shots. Cohen quarterbacked the top power play unit from the top of the umbrella. He showed a hard, quick stick one-timer, and he got his snap shots through to the net. Grade: B
Stephen Fabiano #4 (D, R, 5’10”, 170, Belmont Hill, 04/23/2006) – Fabiano is a thick, strong, highly competitive right-shot defender who looked to initiate body contact whenever possible. At this point, he still has a bit of an ‘A-frame’ skating base, but his strides are powerful. In the defensive zone, he pinned his opponents to the wall and oftentimes just out-muscled them for the puck. He used his inside edges to drive his opponents from the shooting lanes while keeping their sticks in the air. Offensively, he kept things simple and went with his first option, and we liked how he used indirect passes into space rather than forcing pucks up the strong side wall. Late in the game, he got caught below the offensive goal line while Belmont Hill was up with a one-goal lead. As he gains experience, we would expect a better decision, but overall, he was sound and disciplined. Grade: B-
Andrew Giguere #6 (C, R, 5’11”, 160, Belmont Hill, 01/31/2008) – Giguere is an ’08 who earned more and more ice time as the game went on. He was strong through contact, and although early in the game, there were a few times when the older players on the other team knocked him off stride, he turned into a bull as the game progressed. In the second period, he had the primary assist on a two-on-one after he sucked the defenseman over toward him and then gave a perfect pass into the slot for the goal. He played primarily center, but in the third period, he moved to playing third-line wing and looked very detailed. His skating is a true asset. Grade: B
Stephen Kilcoyne #3 (D, R, 6’0″, 185, Belmont Hill, 05/25/2005) – Injured Grade: N/A
Jin Lee #21 (F, L, 5’9″, 165, Belmont Hill, 07/09/2007) – Down the stretch, Lee was excellent at killing penalties, and it seemed like he won every draw. Defensively, he was detailed smart and simply outwaited his opponents into forcing passes that he could intercept. Lee took smart angles to loose pucks and won 50/50 battles like he was playing against younger players. His puck anticipation was excellent. Grade: B
Jake Tavares #17 (F, R, 6’0″, 175, Belmont Hill, 01/27/2007) – Tavares was noticeable on every shift. Yes, he scored two goals, but his impact was more than that. In the offensive zone, he was consistently planted at the top of the crease, taking the opposing goalie’s eyes away, and when a rebound was directed to the corner, he showed nice anticipation and quickness to win the 50/50 loose puck. Once the puck was on his stick, he showed the strength to use his body to shield it from opposing bodies and a powerful cross under to roll off his opponent into open ice. Defensively, his head was on a swivel, and we liked the awareness he showed as the weakside winger in the defensive zone to not get caught puck-watching when his defenseman crashed into the backdoor. This was a very impactful effort for Tavares. Grade: A
Jason Thibodeau #31 (G, L, 5’11”, 160, Belmont Hill, 02/07/2007) – Thibodeau was poised and confident. Belmont Hill took a five-minute major on the second shift of the game, and Thibodeau was without question their best penalty killer as he read set plays early and anticipated one-timers coming from the dot-lane to his right. Overall, he recognized when his teammates were tired or running around in their defensive and needed a whistle. He controlled the tempo of the game. On screened point shots, he kept his eyes on the puck without going too low or too high. He showed balance and strength through contact and held his ground, waiting for the puck carrier. One goal against came on a screen, and the other came off of a crazy bounce from below the goal line that ended up in the slot, and the scorer fired a rolling puck that knuckled about six inches down and to the left on its way to the net. Thibodeau was a deciding factor in the victory. Grade: A-
Andrew Waugh #9 (F, R, 5’11”, 185, Belmont Hill, 03/31/2006) – Waugh is quick, fast, and strong through contact. He used his skating to be a very disruptive F1 on the forecheck, and on the same shift, he showed the conditioning to be the F1 on the backcheck. In the defensive zone, he maintained net-side positioning and won loose pucks that led directly to clean zone exits. Offensively, his speed forced his opponents to back off the defensive blueline, and we liked how he looked to attack the crease whether he had the puck or his teammates did. Below the offensive goal line, Waugh spun off contact and used his feet to attack the net. Grade: B
Pat Woods #22 (LW, L, 6’0″, 168, Belmont Hill, 07/05/2007) – This was Woods’s second game back after missing the split season with a lower-body injury. His stride looked fluid, strong, and long. As the game progressed, he looked more confident skating through contact and bringing the puck to the valuable middle ice. He also showed an improved curl and release snapshot. Side note after the game we loved seeing him in the weight room working on his lower body strength and power doing squats. Grade: B
Governor’s Academy
Ian Crowley #7 (D, L, 6’1″, 185, Governor’s Academy, 02/06/2006) – Crowley is a smooth-skating left-shot defender with a deep knee, balanced skating, and an explosive first step. We loved how, during neutral zone offensive transition, he immediately looked to attack by using his skating abilities to catch his opponent’s forwards going the wrong direction. He showed a soft first touch on both his forehand and backhand, and he picked pucks off the wall without needing to slow down or break stride. Defensively, his gaps were tight, and he showed lateral quickness when pinching line rushes off at his defensive blueline. Grade: B+
Robbie Daley #20 (RW, R, 5’11”, 171, Governor’s Academy, 10/7/2007) – Daley was noticeable from the moment he stepped onto the ice for warmups as he was flying around at top speed, crossing over hard out of the corners and ripping the puck up under the crossbar. Once the puck was dropped it was more of the same. Offensively he moved the puck when he was supposed to, meaning he did not wait to try to make the extra move. Instead he snapped hard flat passes to his teammate’s stick and then he either bulldozed his way over his opponent or athletically jumped around them to get back into the play. Once in the offensive zone he showed a knack for getting lost in Belmont Hill’s coverage and ending up alone in the high slot. A play like this was exactly how he scored his goal. On the play the puck seemed to be heading around the wall but Daley read there was confusion in the net front coverage and slid into the high slot where he received a rolling puck and fired a sweeping knuckle puck that was very difficult for the opposing goalie to get a read on. He was an impactful F1 in both the neutral zone forecheck and offensive zone forecheck. We liked how he finished his checks and then consistently beat his man off contact into the valuable middle ice. Daley made it very difficult to not notice him on every shift. Grade: A-
Nolan Nassar #8 (D, R, 6’0″, 171, Governor’s Academy, 04/08/2008) – Nassar is calm, cool, and collected 2008, he was used in all situations, from the top power play unit to being on the top penalty kill unit. Defensively, he won wall battles and cleared shooting lanes by driving his legs through his inside edges. He sorted out the cycle quickly, calling out potential picks or skating directly through them. Offensively, he worked to be an outlet for his partner. We loved how he did not blindly follow his pass up the wall; instead, he chose to remain an outlet below the puck or work through the dot lane to receive a pass in stride. Grade: B+
Michael Ranaldi #6 (F, L, 5’11”, 185, Governor’s Academy, 08/02/2005) – Ranaldi is as strong as a bull. On just about every shift, he knocked whoever was in front of him off their stride and most likely knocked them off their feet. Offensively, he showed the same power and used his strength to drive wide and then lower his shoulder to carry the puck to the net. He also showed a quick wide dribble and elusiveness that allowed him to make opponents miss in open ice. Defensively, he won 50/50 puck battles by knocking his man off his stride by taking their strong side hip away and then used his quick, strong hands to pop his opponent’s stick and then start transition. Ranaldi maintained shooting lanes and was willing to get big low to block shots. Grade: B+
Cam Russo #9 (F, R, 6’1″, 190, Governor’s Academy, 01/03/2005, Brown) – Offensively, Russo is smooth as silk and very deceptive. It seemed like on just about every shift, he sucked an opponent to him and then passed the puck through their feet or under their triangle. He was the one-timer on the power play, and his shot was hard. On line rushes, he attacked the middle ice and looked to kick it wide to his teammates in the dot lane. We liked how, after passes, he did not admire his pass; instead, he moved his feet to be a return passing option. There were a few times when he did try to pick the far corner from outside the dot lane where he missed the net, and the shot ended up wrapping out of the offensive zone, but we feel goal-scorers need to shoot to score, and Russo is a goal scorer. Grade: B
Spencer Thornborough #11 (LW, L, 6’0″, 175, Governor’s Academy, 06/22/2008) – Thornborough is an emerging power forward in prep hockey with high-end straight-line speed and a very high compete. He is strong through contact while driving his legs right through his opponent and into the open ice. During offensive zone point shots, he timed his flash screens perfectly or planted his inside edges into the ice, which, combined with his balance, made him very difficult to move. Defensively, he backchecked to the crease and used his speed to get his stick on Royal Road passing attempts to the weakside dot-lane. Thornborough showed a willingness to block shots, and after blocking the shot, he skated directly through the shooter. His compete was noticeable on every shift. Grade: B
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling
