Fici brothers make Belmont a force
Marauders aiming for Liberty Div. title
The last time we saw Ben Fici in a Belmont uniform, his pulsating postseason heroics were propelling the Marauders to the program’s first MIAA Division 1 North sectional title.
In Belmont’s season-opening 3-0 win over Lexington on Jan. 2, the senior wasn’t even the most prolific Fici on the ice, as he was upstaged by a hat trick from younger brother Cam Fici in the sophomore’s debut.
Not that Ben minded ceding the spotlight to his sibling.
“Seeing him get that third goal was something special for our family,” said Ben Fici.
The Fici brothers had never played on a team together until joining forces last summer on the Belmont midget squad that won a state title. After Cam spent his freshman year at Belmont Hill, the brothers are now reunited on the Marauders’ top line, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Middlesex League’s Liberty Division.
At first, Belmont coach Fred Allard, who coached Cam in youth hockey, was hesitant to pair the brothers on the same unit, but quickly saw how well they meshed, with the cerebral Cam at center and the more aggressive Ben at right wing, joined by sophomore Shay Donahue on the left side.
“We have two different playing styles and normally when you have a line coming into high school you are going to need to gather chemistry,” said Ben. “My line last year we had played together for two years prior so our chemistry was kind of there, which was really nice, but this year coming in it has already clicked. We feed off each other and our third linemate brings it all together.”
What the older Fici was able to do last March during Belmont’s tourney journey was simply incredible as he scored four goals in the four victories, all of them onegoal wins, before the pandemic cut the postseason short and the Marauders were forced to share the Div. 1 state title with Walpole.
“Every playoff game we have been in he has had an impact,” said Allard. “He’s a super-intense kid when it comes to game time whether it’s a scrimmage or the North championship. He pushes himself pretty hard. The run last year was remarkable.”
But it wasn’t the volume of goals that was so impressive, it was the timing of them. Particularly his two dramatic game-winners — one in the 1-0 overtime nail-biter against St. Mary’s (L) in the sectional semis and another with 1:25 left in the 3-2 triumph over St. John’s (S) in the sectional final.
“It’s a feeling like no other,” said Ben Fici of the goals. “The one against St. John’s, I kind of blacked out on. I had to watch it again to see how I scored.
“During the games, it was really stressful, but also the best time of my life playing with those guys. We had a bond like no other team I’ve played on. During the weekends, we’d find some ice to skate on, go play on, whenever we could. It was just a really tight knit group.”
Ben is a four-year player for the Marauders, scoring 10 goals and one assist as a freshman on the second line. Last year, the Herald AllScholastic selection led the team with 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points — at 67 for his career entering the season the shortened campaign will likely rob him of a shot at the 100-point milestone — numbers that reflect the progression in his game.
“It’s indicative of how he has really become a complete player in the last two and half years,” said Allard. “Great leader, great kid, great family.”
The Ficis are far from the only brothers suiting up for Belmont this winter. In fact, the Marauders have four sets of siblings.
Senior Thomas Grace is one of the team’s top defensemen, along with classmate Henry Stonehouse, and is joined on the blue line by sophomore brother Peter Grace. Another senior-sophomore pairing is goalie William Melanson and defenseman Henry Melanson, while Belmont twin forwards Michael and Matthew Pomer are freshmen and both are expected to contribute immediately.
And speaking of duos, Allard has one in net that is making decisions difficult as senior Ben Banks and sophomore Ryan Griffin, like Cam Fici a transfer from Belmont Hill, are pushing each other for time, combining for the shutout in the opener.
Belmont is scheduled to play a 10-game regular season schedule, facing each of its Liberty Division rivals twice. With Super 8 cochamps Arlington taking a massive graduation hit, the division crown should be up for grabs, and Allard believes his team has as good a chance as any to claim it, which will certainly be a focus without the opportunity to defend their sectional title.
“High school kids want to play for something,” said Allard. “They play for the love of the game, but they are playing for the love of the game when they are playing toward something. Our goal is to be near or at the top of the league at the end, and if there is a conference tournament that would be great.”
Changing places
While Belmont should be well-stocked on the blue line, it did lose defensemen Nolan Duffy to Williston Northampton, part of the annual migration of top MIAA talent to prep schools.
No team was hit harder than BC High, which lost two of its three returning Catholic Conference All-Stars to Nobles in John Logan and Colin Norton, and also had promising goalie Tom Kiesewetter, who played his way into a starting role as a freshman, defect to Thayer Academy. Of course, the Eagles lost a trio of stars to Thayer last winter and still managed to cop the No. 2 seed in the Super 8, so it’s a program that knows how to reload.
Among the other more noteworthy transfers are a pair of Herald All-Scholastics as Grayson Badger has moved across town from Brookline to Dexter Southfield and Davis Kinne has left St. Mary’s for Berwick Academy. Gavin Havens has joined Duffy at Williston after spending last year at Catholic Memorial and Andover’s
Tommy Tavenner has departed for Pingree.
One of the most significant losses comes on the girls’ side as Herald Dream Team defenseman Olivia Maffeo, who lit it up for 33 goals as a freshman at Canton, has stayed a Bulldog but changed colors for Nobles,
where she is joined by AllScholastic Sophia Levering of Westwood.
In addition, twins Angela and Lucia DiGirolamo are at Selects Academy in Rochester, New York, after being named All-Scholastics at Woburn as freshmen and fellow All-Scholastic Monique Lyons has landed at Williston after a prolific eighthgrade campaign at Austin Prep.