ESPN Boston's MIAA Boys' Hockey All-State Team

March, 23, 2012

 

By ESPNBoston.com

First Team:
F – Brendan Collier, Sr., Malden Catholic
The two-time ESPN Boston All-Stater closed out his senior season with a second straight Super 8 title and claimed our Mr. Hockey Award. The Charlestown native and Boston University commit scored 26 goals with assists for 65 points, a figure which led all Division 1 scorers. Collier, who also plays golf and lacrosse at MC, plans on playing a year of juniors next year before joining the Terriers.

F – Ryan Fitzgerald, Jr., Malden Catholic
The Lancers’ top-line pivot makes his second All-State team appearance, his first on the First Team. The North Reading native and Boston College commit again eclipsed the 50-point plateau (31-21-52), despite missing the first couple weeks of the season with a shoulder injury, and helped the Lancers to their second straight Super 8 title.

F – Sam Kurker, Sr., St. John’s Prep
When looking up the term power forward, the Eagles senior winger and captain fit the mold. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward finished second in Div. 1 with 27 goals and sixth in scoring with 52 points. The Boston University commit has also seen time with U.S. National Team Development Program and skated with the U-18 select team at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament during the summer.

D – Colin MacGillivray, Jr., Malden Catholic
The Lancers blue-liner is made in the mold of an old school rugged defenseman. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Peabody native played on MC’s top pairing through the season while posting three goals and 10 assists for 10 points for the repeat Super 8 champions.

D – Nikko Markham, Sr., St. Mary’s (Lynn)
The Catholic Central Conference Most Valuable Player and Spartans captain finished a sound career by leading St. Mary’s to a No. 2 seed in the Super 8. The Salem native was among the top point-scoring blue-liners in the state with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points.

G – Peter Cronin, Jr., BC High
For the second straight season, the Eagles went as their netminder went, and Cronin led BC High to its first Super 8 finals appearance since 2007. Playing in each of the Eagles’ 25 games, the Norwell resident posted a 2.00 goals against average and a 91.7 save percentage.

2nd Team:
F – Kevin Emmerling, Sr., St. John’s (Shrewsbury)
Perhaps the most skilled skater in the state, the Pioneers’ center provided a dynamic offensive punch to their Super 8 run. The Whitinsville native finished third in Division 1 scoring with 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points. Emmerling is exploring his options for next year and hopes to play college hockey.

F – Conal Lynch, Sr., Boston Latin
Lynch also showed that Charlestown is again a hotbed of hockey, carrying the Wolfpack to a DCL/MVC Div. 2 championship. Lynch finished second in Division 2 in scoring with 35 goals and 18 assists for 53 points. The Wolfpack captain is weighing his options in pursuing prep or junior hockey next year.

F – Matt Sullivan, Sr., BC High
The senior captain was a true two-way center with a high hockey IQ. The Duxbury resident anchored the Eagles’ top line, scoring 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points and lifting BC High to its first Super 8 final appearance since 2007. He is pursuing prep and junior hockey opportunities for next season.

D – Casey Fitzgerald, Fr., Malden Catholic
The younger brother of Ryan, Casey catapulted himself onto the scene in his first year, filling the role of a puck-moving defenseman previously held by former All-Stater Conor Evangelista. The North Reading resident and Boston College commit tallied two goals and 15 assists for 17 points in his first year.

D – Peter Sikalis, Sr., Acton-Boxborough
The Colonials’ captain was the impetus behind their run to the D1 North semifinals. Sikalis had eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points while eating up boatloads of ice time for head coach Bob Lavin. The imposing 6-foot-3 defenseman is exploring his hockey options for next year.

G – David Letarte, Sr., St. John’s Prep
The captain has been the Eagles’ backbone during the last three seasons, leading Prep back to the Super 8 once again. Letarte had a 2.08 goals against average and a 91.3 save percentage in 18 games played. He is currently mulling over college and junior hockey offers for next year.

“Best of the Rest”
Nick Bertoni, F, Franklin
Tom Besinger, F, BC High
Tommy Bishop, F, Chelmsford
Matt Brazel, F, Hingham
Trevor Cimino, F, Burlington
Frank Crinella, F, Springfield Cathedral
Paul Curran, F, Milton
Vin D’Amato, F, St. John’s (Shrewsbury)
Jarrod Fitzpatrick, F, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
James Gordon, F, Hingham
Danny Holland, F, Woburn
Mike Iovanna, F, Malden Catholic
Connor Irving, F, Beverly
Mike Kelleher, F, Central Catholic
Chris Leblanc, F, Winthrop
Bobby Mullins, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Ara Nazarian, F, Malden Catholic
Andrew Newis, F, Natick
Jack O’Hear, F, Catholic Memorial
Cam O’Neill, F, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Jake O'Rourke, F, Medway
Cam Owens, F, Wilmington
Brian Pinho, F, St. John’s Prep
Dalton Rolli, F, Wilmington
Joe Strangie, F, Danvers
D.J. Walsh, F, Needham
Bryan Carter, D, Hudson
Connor Fenton, D, Braintree
Brian Furey, D, BC High
Pat Houghton, D, Westford Academy
Steve Mattos, D, Burlington
Nick Pandalena, D, St. John’s Prep
Jake Secatore, D, Woburn
Brendan White, D, Malden Catholic
Joe Cerulo, G, Wakefield
Jordan Davis, G, Norwood
Mike Donadio, G, Franklin
Bailey MacBurnie, G, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Connor Murray, G, Needham
Connor Roddy, G, Medfield
Shane Starrett, G, Catholic Memorial
Steven Waites, G, Winthrop
Kyle Williams, G, Central Catholic

March 7

Springfield Cathedral's Peter Crinella (4) attempts to score on St. Mary's goalie Bailey MacBurnie (1) during their game at Merrimack College on Wednesday. (Item Photo / Angela Owens)

 

St. Mary's boys hockey tops Springfield Cathedral in shootout By Matthew Roy / For The Item NORTH ANDOVER — With its season on the line Wednesday night, the St. Mary's boys hockey team was in a shootout for the second time in as many games at Lawler Arena. This time, however, the Spartans had to win against Springfield Cathedral to keep any hope of reaching the Division 1A semifinals going.

With the teams tied at 1-1 in the best-of-five shootout, the Spartans called on senior captain Brendan Mageary, and he beat John Liquori stick side to give St. Mary's the 3-2 win over the Panthers.

Click here for a photo gallery.

St. Mary's now has a chance to advance to the semifinals if it can beat St. John's Prep in the final round robin game on Sunday. But for this night, St. Mary's was able to shake off a less than stellar game.

"This is a funny game," St. Mary's coach Mark Lee said after earning his 350th victory. "We played great on Sunday and lose in a shootout. Then (Wednesday) we didn't play well at all and win. But I'm proud of how the guys kept battling."

For Mageary, who has been around the program since being a waterboy at the age of seven, seeing his team come through despite not having its best game was huge.

"We had to come out and play hard," Mageary said. "But everyone in the locker room dug deep and kept fighting."

The Spartans had a 34-26 shots advantage and two power plays in overtime but couldn't seal the deal.

In the shootout, Bobby Mullins gave St. Mary's a 1-0 lead before Panther forward Matt Foley made a sweet stop move to slide the puck through the legs of Bailey MacBurnie.

St. Mary's took the lead back when Jarrod Fitzpatrick tucked a shot past Liquori. But Frank Crinella's water-bottle shot in the fifth round tied it and shifted all the pressure to Mageary.

The senior was deliberate and made a quick fake to the right before snapping a shot stick side to end the drama.

"Brendan has been a part of this program for such a long time and for him to score that goal is such a great story," Lee said.

Things started well for St. Mary's as Cam O'Neill and Mullins scored three minutes apart to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead 5:35 in. But Peter Crinella's goal off a face-off two minutes later cut the lead to 2-1.

Cathedral then survived a 5-on-3 late in the period and used it to change the momentum.

"We didn't have our 'A' or 'B' game and that's a credit to Springfield," Lee said. "They are a really good team and it's always a battle when we play them."

The Panthers tied the game midway through the second when Cullen Geary tipped home Frank Crinella's point shot on a power play at 6:08 as they began to control the play.

Liquori and MacBurnie, however, would shut things down from there as neither team could score over the final 23 minutes of regulation and then through the 12-minute overtime session.

Lynn Item

Spartan boys earn No. 2 spot in Super 8 By Matthew Roy / For The Item
The St. Mary's boys hockey team now can rightfully say it is among the aristocracy of Division 1 hockey in Massachusetts after the Spartans earned the No. 2 seed in the Division 1A tournament that begins on Monday.

"These kids have worked so hard and we're excited about it," St. Mary's coach Mark Lee said. "We know that we can compete with everybody here and this is well earned by this team."

The Spartans go into the tournament with the best record of any team at 18-1-3 and will be in a pool with No. 3 seed St. John's Prep; No. 6 Springfield Cathedral and the winner of tonight's play-in game between No. 7 Burlington and No. 10 Central Catholic.

St. Mary's opens on Sunday (TBA) with a game against the Burlington-Central winner. The Spartans play again the following Wednesday against Springfield, whom the Spartans beat 3-2 earlier this season, and close pool play on March 11 with a long-anticipated meeting with the Prep.

"To be seeded second shows the respect the committee has for us," Lee said. "We played Springfield and it was a battle and now getting to play St. John's on the big stage is even more exciting."

The other side of the bracket is just as loaded as top-seeded Malden Catholic looks to defend its championship. The Lancers will have No. 4 Hingham, a champion in its own right two years ago in the Super 8, and BC High along with either St. John's (Shrewsbury) or Needham.

All eight teams will be in action on Sunday at Merrimack College's Lawlor Arena when the tournament's pool play round kicks off. The finals are on March 18 at TD Garden.
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Analysis: the Super 8 Skinny

ESPN by Scott Barboza: WE ARE SPARTA
We touched on it a bit last year, but Saturday only underscored the fact that St. Mary's of Lynn has become an official Massachusetts hockey powerhouse (the boys' team that is).

The Spartans (18-1-3) took the No. 2 seed, to no surprise, behind Malden Catholic, on Saturday. Last year, St. Mary's made its first Super appearance with a play-in game, which they went on to lose in dramatic fashion.

Now head coach Mark Lee can rest easy until his team opens up pool play.

SUPER 8

Super 8 hockey tournament seedings

February, 25, 2012

By Scott Barboza

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- Saturday morning, the Division 1A (Super 8) hockey tournament committee met and has released the field for this year's tournament.

The teams, in order of power seeding, are listed below. We'll have analysis to follow on the blog:

1. Malden Catholic (15-1-4)
2. St. Mary's of Lynn (18-1-3)
3. St. John's Prep (13-5-2)
4. Hingham (16-4-2)
5. BC High (10-5-5)
6. Springfield Cathedral (10-6-6)
7. Burlington (14-1-6)
8. Needham (16-4-1)
9. St. John's of Shrewsbury (15-4-3)
10. Central Catholic (12-3-5)

PLAY-IN GAMES
No. 8 Needham vs. No. 9 St. John's (Shrewsbury): 5:45 p.m., Lawler Arena, Merrimack College
No. 7 Burlington vs. No. 10 Central Catholic: 8:15 p.m., Lawler

Feb 23

Home > Sports

Bobby Mullins and St. Mary's finished the regular season with a win over Weymouth at Connery Rink on Wednesday. (Item File Photo)

 

St. Mary's boys hockey routs Weymouth By Matthew Roy / For The Item LYNN — The St. Mary's boys hockey team put a bow on the best regular season in program history on Wednesday night at Connery Rink as 15 different Spartans got on the scoresheet en route to a commanding 10-2 win over Weymouth on senior night.

"It's been a dream season for us," St. Mary's coach Mark Lee said. "But it wasn't by accident. Every one of these kids has given everything they have and it shows that hard work does pay off."

The Spartans will now wait to see their fate at the Super 8 selection meeting on Saturday morning but all indications have placed St. Mary's as a possible No. 2 seed behind Malden Catholic after completing the season on a 21-game unbeaten streak and 18-1-3 overall record.

"I am so proud of all these guys," Lee said. "They couldn't have accomplished this without a total team effort."

Win No. 18 was never in doubt after a dominant first-period effort as Bobby Mullins, Connor Parent, Tommy Braswell and Nikko Markham scored to make it 4-0 Spartans in less than nine minutes.

The second period would be much of the same as St. Mary's held a 15-3 shots on net advantage over the Wildcats and increased their lead to 6-0 on tallies from Brendan Mageary and Cam O'Neill.

The onslaught continued in the third as defenseman Andrew DiMaiti scored the game's prettiest goal with an end-to-end rush with the Spartans shorthanded to make it 7-0 before the Wildcats got on the board.

Mageary answered 31 seconds later before Parent completed a hat trick with two goals in 13 seconds midway through the period. Jack Leehan capped the scoring for Weymouth with 2:38 left as the Spartans finished up with no losses since opening night versus Malden Catholic.

"Playing MC in that first game gave us a lot of confidence. We skated with them for three periods and it showed everyone in that room they could play with the best in the state," Lee said. "And they've built on that from then on."

Boston Herald blog

February 14th, 2012
Boys hockey goaltending leaders
Posted by Jim Clark at 1:25 pm

Statewide boys hockey goaltending leaders, through games of Feb. 11 (min. 7 GP). Stats are compiled from reports by teams and league representatives, with additional information from masshshockey.com:

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	GAMES	GOALS	GAA
1	Jason Robes	Groton-Dunstable	9.66	6	0.62
2	Connor Murray	Needham	18	17	0.94
3	Jack Niemoller	Groton-Dunstable	8.33	9	1.08
4	Connor Roddy	Medfield	14.7	17	1.16
5	Bailey MacBurnie	St. Mary’s	17.8	24	1.34