U18 team grinds its way to title
Saints overcome pool-play loss to return USA Hockey Nationals
Saints overcome loss to return to USA Hockey Nationals
WOONSOCKET — The Academy U18 team had a choice to make with 11 minutes left against Mid-Fairfield in their final pool-play game of the New England District tournament on Saturday night.
Trailing the undermanned Jr. Rangers by a goal, the Saints could’ve either pack it in and finally end a difficult season that’s been full of practices, pauses and eight-hour bus trips to Pennsylvania to play games. Or, the Saints could find a way to win the game and remain in contention for their second straight district title.
Princeton commit Jayden Sison scored on a rebound to tie the game and then the Saints scored two more goals in the final six minutes to secure a spot in Sunday’s semifinal round.
Mount avenged an earlier loss to South Kent in the semifinals and then rode the play of standouts Nate Benoit, Owen McLaughlin and goalie Tommy Heaney to overcome the Maine Nordiques, 3-1, in the final Sunday night in Hudson, N.H.
“This was the epitome of a grind and I think we’re better for that and I said that to the guys before the final,” U18 coach Matt Plante said. “Maine rolled through the round robin and won 8-2 in their semifinal, so we were battle tested going into that final. Winning this tournament will never get old, but this has been a hard year and a hard last 13 months for our team, our program and me personally. Winning that and having an opportunity to play in the national tournament puts validation on the grind we went through.”
“It’s awesome to win that and not leave anything up in the air for Nationals and secure that spot and know we’re going,” said Benoit, a North Dakota commit. “I’m really excited about what we accomplished and the boys are buzzing with the way we won.”
Mount’s U18 squad will join its U16 team in suburban St. Louis later this month for USA Hockey Nationals after the U16 team went undefeated in its five district games. The U14 team and the 15U team travel to suburban Dallas for their national tournaments. The U14 team defeated Mid-Fairfield, 6-3, in Sunday’s final, while the 15U team lost its title game in a shootout, but received one of five at-large bids to the 16-team tournament.
For Plante and fellow co-director Devin Rask, last weekend’s performance in New Hampshire was a significant achievement for a program in its second year of on-ice existence.
“This is a testament to our coaching staff, but more a testament to our kids,” Plante said. “We have great character kids throughout all four teams in our program and that’s why this happened. There’s good leadership with our coaches, but this is on the kids. They could’ve mailed it in this week after we came back from our fourth pause of the year two weeks before the tournament. You worry about that, but they showed so much character over the weekend.”
After routing Connecticut Elite in their first game of the tournament Friday night, the fourth-ranked Saints spent the next four games battling for their tournament lives. The Saints dropped a 3-2 decision to Northeast Pack rival South Kent in their first game of the day, which turned Saturday night’s game against Mid-Fairfield into a must-win.
The Saints jumped out to a two-goal lead, but the Jr. Rangers, who only skated two lines in a 60-minute game, answered with three straight goals to build a one-goal lead in the third period. Sison tied the game and then Saints scored two more to earn a rematch with South Kent Sunday morning.
Trevor Kruczek and Long Island University commit Sixten Jennersjo scored in a 2-1 win to setup a showdown with the No. 7 Nordiques, who scored at least four goals in their first four games. Thanks to the play of Heaney and the defensive core – led by Benoit, Jake Howard and Tommy DelFarno – the Saints survived the first period scoreless.
“We knew they had a potent offense and we knew we had to grind defensively and be opportunistic when we had our chances,” Plante said. “That’s kind of how the game played out. We didn’t change anything, but we just emphasized being simple with our game and having good puck management. I told the guys I wanted them to work so hard on the ice that they felt like they wanted to vomit when they came to the bench.”
DelFarno, a Lincoln native and former La Salle standout, created the opening goal when his work in the defensive zone allowed Sison to break out and find McLaughlin. The Penn State commit finished a breakaway opportunity with less than a minute left in the middle period. Mount junior Zach Aben scored just 1:47 into the final period after a good work from Howard before the Nordiques answered with a goal. McLaughlin scored an empty-net goal in the final minute to secure the win.
Jennersjo (21-25-46) and McLaughlin (12-34-46) lead the team in scoring, while Benoit has 28 points from the blue line in 28 games.
Heaney won three games over the weekend and enters Nationals with a 1.76 goals against average and a save percentage of .915.
Mount’s best players delivered in the win, but what stood out to Plante was the play of an unheralded defensive corps that features just one college commit in Benoit.
“Our best players were our best players, but our defense as a whole was outstanding in the semifinals and finals,” Plante said. “Matt McQuaid was a beast in the semifinals and finals. Logan Dapprich kept it simpler and executed well in big situations. Jake Howard and Tommy DelFarno were incredible all weekend. The focus and determination that Tommy was playing with was clear when you looked into his eyes. He was excellent all weekend.”