ESPN

The United States Hockey League held its entry draft tonight and there was plenty of New England flavor to the proceedings.

Here's the rundown of those selected by overall selection:

2. Muskegon - Adam Gilmour, RW, Hanover, Mass., Noble and Greenough.

7. Sioux City - Cam Brown, C, Natick, Mass., New Hampshire Junior Monarchs.

10. Waterloo - Chris Calnan, RW, Norwell, Mass., Noble and Greenough.

23. Omaha - Alex Rauter, RW, Morristown, NJ, Choate Rosemary Hall.

29. Indiana - Brian Morgan, C, Windham, N.H., New Hampshire Junior Monarchs.

32. Muskegon - Ben Foster, LW, Darien, Conn., Choate Rosemary Hall.

37. Cedar Rapids - Gavin Bayreuther, D, Canaan, Mass., Holderness.

41. Dubuque - Trevor Fidler, C, Watertown, Mass., Dexter.

73. Lincoln - Ross Olsson, RW, Billerica, Mass., Williston-Northampton.

77. Muskegon - Doyle Somerby, D, Marblehead, Mass., Kimball Union.

89. Indiana - Cam Askew, C, South Boston, Mass., St. Sebastian's.

123. Des Moines - Josh Couturier, D, Newbury, Mass., Boston Junior Bruins.

131. Dubuque - Noah Hanifin, D, Norwood, Mass., St. Sebastian's.

134. Indiana - Sam Kurker, RW, Reading, Mass., St. John's Prep.

222. Cedar Rapids - Jason Kalinowski, RW, Stamford, Conn., Salisbury.

225. Green Bay - Joe Young, G, Hanson, Mass., Boston Advantage Major Midget.

231. Sioux City - Nick Roberto, F, Wakefield, Mass., Kimball Union.

242. Muskegon, Corey Ronan, F, Franklin, Mass., St. Sebastian's.

245. Tri-City - Devin Tringale, LW, Medford, Mass., Lawrence Academy.

250. Waterloo - Ryan Cloonan, LW, East Longmeadow, Mass., Boston Advantage Major Midget.

254. Muskegon - William Messa, C, Lawrence Academy.

314. Indiana - Laythe Jadallah, RW, The Gunnery.

NEEDHAM, Mass -- St. Sebastian’s led from start to finish and executed in all facets of the game as they defeated Middlesex 8-2 in an Independent School League match-up on Wednesday afternoon.

“Middlesex is a good team and they came in here undefeated,” St. Sebastian’s head coach Shaun Stanton said. “We had possession early and that was key for us. We also got some big goals from our midfielders early.”

St. Seb’s (9-1) got on the board first as senior midfielder Jack Connolly found the back of the net on a nice individual effort to score the game’s first goal two minutes into the contest.

The St. Seb’s midfield unit of Connolly (3 goals, 1 assist), Aidan Balboni (2 G) and Notre Dame commit Dalton MacAfee (2 A) would account for five of the team’s eight goals, highlighted by Connolly’s second tally of the game. The Dartmouth commit scored with 11.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter as he beat his man to the left and found the back of the net to give the Arrows a 3-0 lead after one quarter of play.

St. Seb’s remained in control throughout the first half as they dominated the ball and used timely offense and lockdown defense to take a 6-0 lead to the half.

Middlesex defenseman and face-off specialist Sam Tweed did a good job all day for Middlesex in the face-off circle but the St. Seb’s defense and midfield play eliminated any lengthy possessions for the Zebras on the day.

St. Seb’s got two goals from attack Gordon Donnelly, who played well on the crease for the Arrows, and a lone score from attack Sam Washburne.

Middlesex received their offense from midfielders Toby Porter (1 G, 1 A) and Sam Muse who both found the back of the net in the third quarter.

GOALTENDING AND DEFENSE RULE THE DAY
St. Seb’s senior goalie and Bentley commit Jarrod Dillon had a strong game in the cage for the Arrows as he made numerous big saves that led to St. Sebastian’s break outs and long possessions.

“Jarrod played great today,” Stanton said. “That is probably the best game that he has ever played for us. Hopefully it is not the best game he will ever play, as we have the rest of the season to go, but he did a great job for us today.”

The St. Seb’s long poles also shined on the afternoon as they dictated the tempo of the game and created problems for the patient Middlesex offense. Along with long-stick midfielder Stephen Brown, the underclassmen close defensive unit of Notre Dame commit Pat Healy, Brian O’Malley and Connor Strachan shut the Middlesex attack out on the afternoon.

“Whether we are playing 3-3 zone or man-to-man we just naturally extend out and force offenses to go north to south,” Stanton explained. “This keeps them from getting to the cage so it makes it a lot easier for us. They also did a great job of forcing turnovers today.”

THE ROAD AHEAD
St. Sebastian’s has now won nine games in a row after a season-opening 5-4 loss to Phillips Exeter. The schedule does not get any easier for the Arrows as they take on Rivers, Milton Academy, and undefeated Governor’s Academy (10-0) in their next three contests.

Stanton highlighted the Gov’s game as “the big one."

Middlesex fell to 7-1 on the season and hosts Groton on Saturday. Groton is led by junior midfielder and Princeton commit Adam Hardej.

Groton is 6-4 on the season and boasts a wins over Roxbury Latin and Thayer on their resume.

GROTON, Mass. -- It was the baseball equivalent of two heavyweight boxers squaring off, with the winner being decided after the bout was over.

Lawrence Academy’s Max Tishman and St. Sebastian’s John Nicklas each took the hill for their teams Wednesday, with Nicklas and the Arrows coming away with the 3-0 victory.

Each pitcher made quick work of his opponent’s lineup through the first three innings. It was not until the fourth until St. Sebastian’s manufactured it’s first run of the game.

After Tishman struck out Andrew Vandini to begin the inning, he walked Peter Cimini after an seven-pitch at-bat. The next batter up, Justin Bellinger, hit a rocket to left that was hit so hard it rolled underneath the wall for a ground rule double, which put runners on second and third with one out.

Tishman kept battling however, and got Alex Venditti to ground out to him for the second out of the inning and keep the runners from scoring.

Ryan Wolfsberg singled home Cimini on the first pitch of his at-bat, which proved to be all his team needed.

Nicklas was dominant on the other side for St. Sebastian’s. He went seven innings, threw 121 pitches, had 13 strikeouts, while allowing only three hits and five walks.

“There were two great pitchers and competitive hitters on both sides,” said St. Sebastian’s coach Mike Schell. “I knew it was going to be a situation where we’d just need to win every pitch and make the pitchers work. John’s stuff is great, but his competitiveness is even better. We were expecting this kind of a game to come down to the last swing.”

Nicklas’ biggest scare came in the fifth inning. After walking Sean Mullaney with one out in the inning, Brady Burns came up and hit a rocket that barely stayed inside the left field foul line. The ball rolled past the foul pole and was initially called a triple on the field. However, the ground rules called for any ball that rolls past the wall to be considered a ground rule double.

Therefore, instead of the tying run crossing the plate for Lawrence Academy, Mullaney had to return to third. This put runners on second and third with one out.

The next batter up, Nick Day, struck out swinging. Marcus Backlin grounded out to third, ending any hope Lawrence Academy had of scoring that inning.

Nicklas came back out for the last two innings and appeared to only get stronger. He struck out four of the last six batters he faced, giving him and his team the complete game shutout.

Tishman was replaced on the mound by Kevin Wnukowski for the final inning. St. Sebastian’s tacked on two more runs in the final frame, and came away with the 3-0 victory.

Friendly Foes: This game carried a friendly rivalry, beyond any animosity the teams had for each other. Away from the field, Nicklas and Tishman have known each other and played against each other for years.

The scouts came out to watch Tishman, even going so far as to gather on the small hill overlooking the throwing area where Tishman threw his pregame bullpen session.

When Tishman was done throwing, the scouts left to take their place behind the backstop, leaving Nicklas to throw his bullpen in peace.

Did Nicklas feel any extra emotion leading up to this game, or feel the need to match Tishman in any way because of the attention his starts bring?

“Honestly, no, because I’ve always been better than Tish,” he began. “I’ve played four or five years with him now, we’ve played summer ball. We’re literally brothers. It’s just recently that he’s got to be a little better than me, as a lefty.”

Just kidding.

“No, we’ve always considered ourselves equal, in my opinion. I kind of figured it was just another day. It was a little nerve-wracking going against one of my best friends, but it was definitely fun.”

Did he feel slighted at all by the scouts, seeing as they payed much less attention to his work on the bullpen than his friend’s?

“Absolutely. I did notice that, actually made a mental note of that,” he said. “I just kind of shook it off and knew I was going to try my best to go out and be the competitive guy that I am and just go for the win.”

Battling a Complete Game: Nicklas went into the final inning having thrown 109 pitches, and ended the game having thrown a total of 121, an almost unheard of amount of pitches this early in the spring season. He didn’t want to come out of the game however, and even assured his coach keeping him in was a good idea.

“I just told him, I said, ‘This is my game, I really want to finish this,” he said. “He said, ‘Alright, but I’m giving you a maximum of 15-20 pitches. I got right about there.”

The NHL Central Scouting service released its final rankings of North American skaters and goaltenders ahead of the NHL Draft on Monday.

Here's the list of skaters with local ties who made the cut:

(The full list can be found here)

27 Cristoval "Boo" Nieves, Kent School, 6' 2.75" 184, C
36 Sam Kurker, St. John's Prep, 6' 1.5" 198, RW
54 Brian Hart, Phillips Exeter, 6' 2.0" 216, RW
69 Chris Calnan, Noble & Greenough, 6' 1.75" 188, RW
76 Danny O'Regan, St. Sebastian's, 5' 8.75" 162, C
77 Jimmy Vesey, South Shore Kings (North Reading, Mass.), EJHL, 6' 1.0" 200, LW
79 Devin Tringale, Lawrence Academy, 5'11.5" 186, LW
88 Frank Vatrano, USA U-18 (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) 5' 10.0" 218 ,C
99 Doyle Somerby, Kimball Union, 6' 4.5" 232, D
101 Adam Gilmour, Noble & Greenough, 6' 2.25" 193, RW
103 Alexander Gonye, Deerfield Academy, 6'0.5" 166, LW
108 Matthew Beattie, Phillips Exeter, 6' 3.0" 173, LW
127 Nicholas Bligh, South Shore Kings (Milton, Mass.), EJHL, 5' 11.5" 175, C
132 John Stevens, Salisbury, 6' 1.25" 175, C
134 Cam Darcy, USA U-18 (South Boston), 6' 189, C/RW
143 Brendan Collier, Malden Catholic, 5' 9.0" 168, LW
145 Kevin Duane, Brunswick, 6' 4.0" 219, RW
166 Alex Rauter, Choate-Rosemary Hall, 6' 0.0" 174, LW
177 Matthew Grzelcyk, USA U-18 (Charlestown, Mass.), 5' 9.0" 171, D
208 Tim Boyle, Noble & Greenough, 6' 1.75" 185, D
210 Zachary Pryzbek, Salisbury, 6' 2.75" 199, LW

Goaltenders:

31 Joseph Young, Boston Advantage AAA (Hanover, Mass.), 6' 1.5" 162
33 Dawson Sprigings, The Gunnery, 5' 11.25" 206

Last season at this time, we identified eight players from Massachusetts that would go on to get selected in June's Major League Baseball Entry Draft. Of the eight listed, six were taken, including Lawrence Academy's Tyler Beede 21st overall to the Blue Jays. Winnisquam (N.H.) righthander Jordan Cotealso went in the third round to the Yankees.

By all measures, it was one of the most loaded draft classes for pitching prospects in years. This season the Bay State comes back to Earth a little bit, but it is once again a unique class. BB&N outfielder Rhett Wiseman and Lexington first baseman Chris Shaw are considered the most draft-ready prospects, something you don't see often around these parts. Typically, pitching dominates the draft classes in New England, due to their projectability from a lack of live action in the offseason.

Further complicating things this year will be the new regulations on signing draft picks under the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement, which includes a tax penalty on teams exceeding the designated salary slot recommendations for the sum of their picks in the first 10 rounds. Last year, that would have made teams more reluctant to draft prospects such as Lincoln-Sudbury's Adam Ravenelle (Vanderbilt) and St. John's Prep's Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame) -- two pitchers with first five-round potential who made their intentions to pursue college baseball well-known, and subsequently dropped all the way to day three.

With that in mind, I went over the prospects with an American League scout earlier this week, and he identified five players in Massachusetts who could possibly see their named called in June.

Rhett Wiseman, OF, BB&N
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 195 lbs.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Hometown: Mansfield, Mass.
College: Vanderbilt
2011 Stats: .447, 12 doubles, 5 triples, 11 home runs, 29/29 stolen bases.
Scout’s Take: “Rhett is one of those outfielders who you look at and try to figure out if he can continue to progress as a Centerfielder, or if eventually you have to move him to Left because of his arm strength. The way his speed plays, you could probably keep him in center until he proves he can't handle it. Then the bat comes into play – is he a power guy or is he more of a speed guy who can make his power play? His power was on display in the bigger events last summer, but he’s also shown a propensity to strike out quite a bit against top-tier pitching. Obviously the power is going to be there as he gets older, but putting the ball in play and allowing his speed to show itself more consistently will be a big piece for him. Ultimately, I think he's a gap to gap guy who will be able to hit HR's as he learns to stay within himself and take what he is given. He’s shown the ability to play at a really high level, but it’s going to be a matter of whether people are willing to buy into his swing. He tends to get a little stiff on his front side; if he can smooth that out and show development and the ability to go the other way a little bit, he's going to put himself into the mix. It's a tough sign because of his commitment to Vanderbilt and the new CBA rules, but I can see someone taking a chance on that.”
Projection: First five rounds.

Chris Shaw, 1B, Lexington
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 230 lbs.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Hometown: Lexington, Mass.
College: Boston College
2011 Stats: .484, 10 doubles, 8 home runs, 27 runs; 25 IP, 49 K, 7 BB, 8 hits, 5-0, 0.00 ERA
Scout’s Take: “He’s an interesting one. You go and look at him, and he’s got that typical look of a power guy, goes about 6-3, 6-4 ,225, 235ish. Supposedly he’s put more weight on over the winter and got stronger. Obviously, he can hit for power, the question is whether he can hit consistently for contact against upper-echelon pitchers. His swing is really smooth from the left-side and he generates some nice loft and backspin. The only issue is he tends to lose his rhythm in the box a little bit when the velocity picks up and the swings and misses can add up. That’s definitely correctable as he sees more of it at the next level and learns to make adjustments on a consistent basis. He’s really intent on going to BC, so you have to really believe in his bat if someone's going to make a run at signing him, but he has a chance to go pretty high if he shows a willingness to sign.”
Projection: First 15 rounds.

Max Tishman, LHP, Lawrence Academy
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hometown: Wellesley, Mass.
College: Wake Forest
2011 Stats: 32.2 IP, 45 K, 8 BB, 8 runs, 5-0, 1.70 ERA
Scout’s Take: “He’s a loose-arm lefty with a chance to throw three pitches for strikes, and he’s still very projectable. He put on 25 or 30 pounds over the winter, we’ll see how that plays in his development. He’s got a little bit of an unorthodox delivery with a quick-tempo delivery and a high leg kick, but that creates some deception for him and he’s shown the ability to repeat it, so I think you leave that alone. He flew under the radar last year, pitching at 165 pounds, but his velocity climbed from 86-87 to the 88-90 range by the end of summer. He put on that weight over the winter, and supposedly his velocity has climbed into the 88-91 range coming into this season, so who knows as weather warms up where he’ll go. He’s in the same boat as Jordan Cote was last year [Yankees third-round pick from Sanbornton, N.H.], where people might be climbing onto the bandwagon as the season goes on. Nice three-pitch mix there with a fastball to both sides of the plate and a slider and changeup to complement that. He works really fast out there and has shown a propensity to pitch down in the zone. He could be really interesting if his velocity holds in that 88-92 range, because there aren't many high school lefties, who can mix three pitches of that quality.”
Projection: First 15 rounds.

Matt Tulley, RHP, Lowell
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Lowell, Mass.
College: Virginia Tech
2011 stats: 42 IP, 68 K, 7-0, 0.82 ERA; .280, 17 RBI
Scout’s Take: “He came onto the scene a little bit at some of the high profile events last summer like Area Code Games. He’s similar to Barrett O’Neill [Ashland resident and Virginia freshman], where there’s not a ton of projectability but his velocity is in the 88-91 range with some downward angle on his fastball and he's shown the ability to compete in the strike zone. He surprised a lot of guys at the Area Code tournament, putting his fastball by people, and complementing that by getting swings and misses with his cutter. Most people view him as a college guy right now, but that could change. His velocity climbed over the winter, and he’s got a chance at the 91-92 range as well. You never know with a player like that, if someone views him as being signable, a team might make a run at him in the middle rounds
Projection: Fringe/late rounds.

John Nicklas, RHP, St. Sebastian’s
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 180 lbs.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hometown: Foxborough, Mass.
College: Boston College
Scout’s Take: “Another competitor out of the ISL who’s a pretty polished three-pitch, four-pitch guy. His fastball is consistently in the 87-89 range, with a cutter, curve, and changeup; he attacks with all four of those pitches. He doesn’t necessarily have the projectable body you're looking for out of the high school ranks, but he’s got a quick arm and really competes well. He’s similar to John Gorman [former Catholic Memorial ace and BC freshman] or John Leonard from BC last year, just kind of a bulldog out there. His curve is a little bit more of a tighter two-plane breaking ball without a ton of depth and he throws it pretty firm. A lot of his pitches come in hard, and there’s not a ton of separation. That’s something he’ll want to improve upon. Very good high school pitcher, who I expect to have a lot of success in college as well.”
Projection: Fringe/late rounds.

SALEM, N.H. -- If coach Kevin Potter was nervous before his Lawrence Academy boys' hockey team took the ice Sunday, he didn't show it while chatting in the media room before the puck dropped.

Potter's players didn't skate like the moment was too much for them to handle, either.

Harvard-bound forward Devin Tringale buried the eventual game-winning goal 18 seconds before the second intermission, classmate Nate Heilbron protected the lead to perfection in a pulsating third period, and the fourth-seeded Spartans knocked off No. 2 seed Noble & Greenough, 3-2, to capture the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association tournament championship.

“We're a veteran team. I said, 'Let's not worry about Nobles. Let's worry about how we play,” said Potter, whose program, like Nobles, sought its first title in the high-stakes Stuart/Corkery tourney at the Icenter. “Except for the second period against Belmont Hill, out of the nine periods, we played our game. We dictated.”

LA also capitalized on Nobles' costly defensive breakdowns.

Perfect example: a span of 2 minutes, 25 seconds late in the second period. That's when LA struck twice to turn a one-goal deficit into the lead Heilbron was charged with protecting.

“That was huge. We always talk about the last 2 minutes of every period being important,” Potter said. “To get those two big goals there … that was big time.”

First-line wingers Tyler Whitney and Tringale fueled the surge watched by a full house, including more than 50 coaches from the college and professional ranks.

Whitney's one-timer from the back side was set up by Tringale's decision to hold the puck low in the left-wing circle. Conor Maher (30 saves) was forced to hold his position near the right post.

Tringale slipped the pass to his linemate for the open look. Tie game with 2:43 until the break.

Courtesy of the to-be Crimson skater, the contest didn't stay tied for long. Tringale teamed with Whitney and William Messa to generate the go-ahead goal with 18 seconds on the clock.

“Messa kept the puck in on the forecheck,” LA's 6-foot 1-inch, 195-pound winger said. “He made a nice pass to Ty Whitney, who made a really nice dish to me. It was just me and the goalie, and I went 5-hole.”

Tringale's tally capped a tremendous swing in momentum. Nobles answered the game's first goal, a first-period marker by Matthew Baldino, with two scores.

Cal Burke capitalized on LA's lone mistake of the opening stanza: a defensive zone turnover.

Will Sleeper gave Nobles its only lead barely 3 minutes after the first break. Heilbron's kick-save generated a rebound that Sleeper stuffed home.

Midway through the period, Colin White had a quality chance to dig LA a deeper hole. He used his body and a burst of speed to gain a step on Robert Klein. But Heilbron's left leg denied a low shot from the right-wing circle.

The save sparked LA, which increased its intensity in the offensive zone. It led to the two-goal flurry that altered momentum.

“We didn't have a very good last three-and-a-half minutes in the second period, obviously,” Nobles coach Brian Day said. “That was the difference in the game.”

Heilbron (28 saves) was a difference-maker, too.

Outshot through two periods, 26-14, the Bulldogs fired 16 of the third period's 23 total shots. Several attempts were within feet of LA's stopper, who wasn't fooled once.

“They put a lot of pressure on us. They threw a lot of pucks to the net. They gave us everything they had,” Heilbron said. “But my team and I, we stuck in there. We played our hearts out.”

Of the many near-markers Nobles launched, none came closer to lighting the lamp than PJ Falvey's blast from the left point. Falvey fired into heavy traffic, and a tremendous screen from teammate Max Franklin.

Heilbron, somehow, never lost sight of the puck. He gloved it, with Franklin towering over him.

In the end, though, no team this season is towering over Lawrence Academy.

“It's crazy,” Tringale said of the post-game scene inside and outside LA's locker room. “We got the coach with the bucket of water.

“We're all on top of the world right now. On top of New England.”

BERKSHIRE 4, ST. SEBASTIAN'S 3 (OT)
Brendan McGovern made the most of his open-net opportunity in the second sudden-death minute of the Martin/Earl tournament. It netted top-seeded Berkshire the large-school championship.

McGovern made St. Sebastian's goaltender Gordon Donnelly pay for an aggressive decision. Donnelly left the crease with an all-out dive to poke-check a rebound toward the right boards. But the puck stayed in the slot, and the forward from Centerport, N.Y., fired a strike.

Fifty-one seconds earlier, Donnelly (38 saves) made a dazzling glove save to keep second-seeded St. Sebastian's in the fight. Charlie Corcoran split two defenders and, with an open look at the net, snapped off a wrister from the low left-wing circle.

Berkshire built a 2-0 lead, courtesy of first- and second-period goals by Gus Harms and Greg Smart. But St. Sebastian's closed the second period sandwiching markers around a tally by Berkshire's Corey Wisnowski.

Those bookend goals, from Tommy Kelley and Danny O'Regan, pulled St. Sebastian's within 3-2.

David Loughborough delivered the equalizer at the 6:59 mark of the third period. He beat Patrick Feeley (27 saves) with a power-play goal.

KIMBALL UNION 3, HOLDERNESS 2 (OT)
Nick Roberto ended the Piatelli/Simmons tournament, lifting top-seeded KUA to the small school championship with 1:27 left in overtime.

Casey Miller forced a critical turnover along the boards and sent Roberto up ice, who beat Holderness goaltender Andy Monroe (40 saves) for the championship-clincher.

Both Monroe and KUA netminder Ryan Lund (28 saves) made several timely stops after third-seeded Holderness tied the final at 2-apiece. Gavin Bayreuther recorded the equalizer with a power-play blast from the blue line at the 9:43 mark of the third period.

Early in the third frame, KUA's Niko Rufo charged in from the right-wing side to snap a 1-1 deadlock.

Nick Renzi staked Holderness to its only lead, burying a second-period rebound at the 9:01 mark. The lead lasted less than 4 minutes as Jonathan Charbonneau connected on a breakout chance to knot the score.

Stuart/Corkery tournament championship
Lawrence Academy 3, Noble & Greenough 2

Lawrence 1-2-0 – 3

Nobles 1-1-0 – 2

First: L – Matthew Baldino (William Messa) 13:45; N – Cal Burke (Andrew Doane) 16:10

Second: N – Will Sleeper (Max Franklin, Doane) 3:08; L – Tyler Whitney (Devin Tringale, George Hunkele) 15:17; L – Tringale (Whitney, Messa) 17:42

Saves: L – Nate Heilbron 28; N – Conor Maher 30

Martin/Earl tournament championship
Berkshire 4, St. Sebastian's 3 (OT)

St. Sebastian's 0-2-1-0 – 3

Berkshire 1-2-0-1 – 4

First: B – Gus Harms (Kevin Rooney, Brian Brown) 15:28

Second: B – Greg Smart (Charlie Corcoran, Brown) 5:24; S – Tommy Kelley (Corey Ronan, Danny O'Regan) 5:52; B – Corey Wisnowski (Brown, Smart) 8:42; S – O'Regan (David Loughborough) 11:47

Third: S – David Loughborough (Stephen Brown, Cam Askew) 6:59 ppg

Overtime: B – Brendan McGovern (Rooney) 1:25

Saves: S – Gordon Donnelly 38; B – Patrick Feeley 27

Piatelli/Simmons tournament championship
Kimball Union Academy 3, Holderness 2 (OT)

Holderness 0-1-1-0 – 2

KUA 0-1-1-1 – 3

Second: H – Nick Renzi (Bailey Walsh, Gordon Borek) 9:01; K – Jonathan Charbonneau (John Macleod) 12:28

Third: K – Niko Rufo (Macleod, Charbonneau) 1:44; H – Gavin Bayreuther (William Kendrick, Matthew Thomas) 9:43 ppg

Overtime: K – Nick Roberto (Casey Miller, Rufo) 16:33

Saves: H – Andy Monroe 40; K – Ryan Lund 28

ESPNHS kicks off its baseball season coverage by unveiling its preseason All-State Teams for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. A number of stars litter its Massachusetts squad, including BB&N's Rhett Wiseman, Lowell's Matt Tulley, Lexington's Chris Shaw and Braintree's Pat Delano.

You can find the entire list, which includes "Other Top Players" by clicking here. Below is ESPNHS' All-State Team for Massachusetts:

POSITION PLAYERS

Anthony Capuano, St. John's Prep, OF, Senior
Led SJP in hits, runs and stolen bases last year.

Jarrod Casey, Milford, OF/LHP, Senior
Batted .530 and posted an 8-1 record on the mound.

Dan Cellucci, Lincoln-Sudbury, SS, Senior
Posted a .536 BA and scored 44 runs for Division 1 state champs.

Chris McCarthy, Everett, C, Senior
Hit .585 and drove in 28 runs as a junior.

Bob Melley, BC High, C, Senior
Productive backstop has signed with UConn.

Matt O'Neil, East Longmeadow, SS/RHP, Senior
Batted .447 with 15 stolen bases last year, committed to UConn.

Christopher Shaw, Lexington, 1B/RHP, Senior
Boston College recruit hit eight home runs last year.

Ryan Summers, Westfield, C, Junior
Hit six home runs and drove in 27 last year; headed to Louisville.

Matt Tulley, Lowell, SS/RHP, Senior
Has signed to play at Virginia Tech.

Rhett Wiseman, BB&N, OF, Senior
Vanderbilt recruit hit .447 with 11 HRs and 29 SBs last year.


PITCHERS

Austin DeCarr, Xaverian, RHP/SS, Junior
Strong-armed athlete also took snaps as a quarterback in the fall.

Patrick Delano, Braintree, RHP, Senior
Big power pitcher is headed to Vanderbilt.

Tyler Dowd, Springfield Central, RHP/OF, Senior
Should be among state leaders in K's this spring.

Mike Krupczak, Springfield Cathedral, RHP, Senior
Went 7-0 with a 1.85 ERA last year.

Ryan McDonald, Acton-Boxboro, LHP, Junior
Posted a 0.90 ERA last year, striking out 71 batters over 55 innings.

Steve Moyers, East Longmeadow, LHP/OF, senior
Went 8-1 last year while posting a 0.44 ERA; career record of 23-2.

John Nicklas, St. Sebastian's, RHP, Senior
Has signed to play at Boston College.

Pat Ruotolo, Peabody, RHP, Junior
Struck out 102 batters last year, including three games of 15-plus K's.

Max Tishman, Lawrence Academy, LHP, Senior
Polished left-hander has signed with Wake Forest.

Troy Whitty, Dexter, RHP, Senior
Transferred from Oliver Ames, where he posted a 0.90 ERA last year.

MALDEN, Mass. -- For the second time in as many tries, No. 6 Catholic Memorial held a late third-period lead, only to settle for a tie.

Thomas Stanton provided the Knights with a 2-1 lead with less than three minutes remaining in Wednesday night’s Catholic Conference matchup with No. 1 Malden Catholic. And, while CM netminder Shane Starrett consistently stood on his head, stopping 41 Lancer shots, MC junior winger Mike Iovanna’s deflection of a point shot resulted in a 2-2 tie.

Remaining undefeated in Catholic Conference play at 6-0-2, MC wrapped up another regular season league title.

On the other hand, for CM (6-6-2, 2-3-2), it remains a struggle for points.

“I’ve said that in the last couple of weeks we’ve needed to steal a point here and there,” Knights head coach Bill Hanson said. “And we stole a point.”

The Knights now need six points in their final five games to qualify for the state tournament.

Aside from paring a point from the state’s top team, CM might have gained more in its play.

“Tonight definitely helps our confidence,” said Stanton, a senior assistant captain. “They’re a good team. We can play with them, we proved that. I think we just need to prove it to ourselves that we can play with teams like that.”

MC (11-1-3) was off to another quick start with Ryan Fitzgerald tapping in a one-timer off of Brendan Collier’s cross-ice feed at 2:57 of the first.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net until CM caught a dose of puck luck with senior captain Liam Coughlin banking in a puck off an MC defender’s skate with under nine minutes remaining in the third.

Stanton provided what look to be the game-winner before Iovanna got a piece of Brendan White’s shot from the point with 1:43 to play.

“[Starrett] made some good saves and it was tough to get it by him,” said Collier, the Lancers’ senior captain. “They hung around, and you can’t let good teams hang around. They’re scrapping for their lives right now.”

ADJUSTING ON THE FLY
CM was successful clogging up passing lanes and sagging down low, defensively, with a boatload of blocked shots to show for it. While Starrett saw plenty of rubber tossed his way, the Knights rolled with the Lancers’ punches and turned in perhaps their best defensive effort of the season outside of their early win over St. Sebastian’s.

“I thought we adjusted very well in the third period,” Hanson said. “We said, hey, we’ve got a chance to win a hockey game here. We backed off on the forecheck, we weren’t that aggressive. We locked on their wings, locked on them in the offensive zone and the defensive zone, hoping that we’d get a turnover.”

MOMENT FOR PAUSE
Emerging unscathed from Wednesday’s game, MC earned an undefeated conference record for the second time in as many years.

It was a feat that wasn’t lost on Collier.

“It’s a great league, it’s probably the best in high school hockey,” he said. “To be undefeated, it’s just an honor. It just shows how good of a squad we have and how hard we work. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night."

St. John's Prep senior forward Sam Kurker leads the list of locals on the NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings of North American skaters.

Kurker, who has 10 goals for 14 points through seven games with the Eagles, was ranked 41st on the list released Wednesday morning.

Kent School center Cristoval Nieves was the highest ranked player with New England roots, ranked 31st.

Here's the complete list of New England skaters making the grade:

31 Cristoval Nieves, Kent School, 6' 2.75" 184, C
41 Sam Kurker, St. John's Prep, 6' 1.5" 198, RW
60 Brian Hart, Philips Exeter, 6' 2.0" 216, RW
94 Chris Calnan, Noble & Greenough, 6' 1.75" 188, RW
98 Devin Tringale, Lawrence Academy, 5' 11.75" 195, LW
103 Cam Darcy, U.S. U-18, 6' 0.0" 189, C/RW
112 Danny O'Regan, St. Sebastian's, 5' 8.75" 162, C
118 Frank Vatrano, U.S. U-18 (Longmeadow, Mass.), 5' 10.0" 218, C
127 Doyle Somerby, Kimball Union, 6' 5.0" 220, D
131 Brendan Collier, Malden Catholic, 5' 9.0" 168, LW
145 Adam Gilmour, Noble & Greenough 6' 2.5" 194, RW
170 John Stevens, Salisbury, 6' 1.25" 175, C
172 Alex Rauter, Choate-Rosemary Hall, 6' 0.25" 175, LW
180 Zachary Pryzbek, Salisbury, 6' 3.0" 196. LW
194 Alexander Gonye, Deerfield Academy, 6' 0.25" 162, LW
201 Bron Loiselle, Northfield-Mt. Hermon, 6' 0.25" 173, C
202 Tyler Wood, Noble & Greenough, 6' 2.5" 189 D
206 Brendan Silk, U.S. U-18 (Wakefield, Mass.), 6' 2.75" 191, RW

Goaltenders:

24 Joe Young, Boston Advantage AAA (Hanover, Mass.), 6' 1.5" 160
31 Dawson Sprigings, The Gunnery,, 5' 11.0" 190

BOSTON -- After watching his team take a hard-fought 2-1 win over ISL rival St. Sebastian’s, first-year Belmont Hill head coach Jeremiah McCarthy had the lights of Fenway Park shut off during his postgame comments.

“That means we did it right,” the former Harvard star said.

There was plenty for which the Hillies bench boss to be pleased in his team’s performance as the nightcap to four ISL games at Frozen Fenway on Wednesday.

The Hillies (8-3-1) took the Arrows out of their offensive pace early on, slowing St. Seb’s movement out of their own end. They were opportunistic in their chances, including Mike Najjar’s game-winning, power-play goal in the second period. And, for everything else, there was senior goaltender David Cunningham and his 27 saves.

McCarthy believes it all starts up top though.

“Really, the key for our team is the third forward, making a defensive commitment, trying not to be out-rushed,” he said.

Belmont Hill kept the Arrows (7-4-1) from darting through the neutral zone with a third man high, pressuring St. Seb’s blue-liners into turnovers.

The Hillies maintained a shots advantage throughout and struck first on Mike Leary’s put back on the second rebound off a breakaway shot by Stephan Brennan. After the Arrows faired to clear out the rebound attempt, Leary found himself with nothing but net in front of him, as Arrows goaltender Gordon Donnelly (30 saves) was out of position after making the previous two saves.

St. Seb’s struck back just before the first intermission. Sophomore forward Corey Ronan (son of former NHL-er Ed Ronan) let off a laserbeam of a wristshot, tucking one beneath the crossbar and beating Cunningham stickside with 28.4 seconds remaining.

Belmont Hill got the go-ahead tally on the man-advantage in the second.

Najjar worked the puck free along the boards and fed a pass to the high slot where defenseman Terry Goguen was waiting. After sliding between the circles, Goguen let off a high shot. After Najjar mucked his way to the top of the crease, he was able to get a stick on Goguen’s shot and tip home the game-winner.

“We haven’t been running it that well,” Hajjar said of the Hillies’ power play. “We got it back to the point … Somehow, it went in.”

PURE OUTDOOR HOCKEY
Cunningham was strong in nets for the Hillies, but it was the toque fashioned on top of his goaltenders mask that stole the show.

Perhaps a nod to Jose Theodore in the original Heritage Classic?

Not really.

“I was walking down the hall last week, and a kid had this hat on,” Cunningham said. “I couldn’t believe it because it had my number on it.”

Cunningham asked his classmate if he could borrow it for the game. With the help of his grandmother’s stitching, the Hillies netminder had an extra layer of protection against the freezing tempurature.

It made his return to Fenway Park all that much more special.

“I was the backup [last time], so I didn’t get a chance to play,” said Cunningham, who was a sophomore when Belmont Hill last played Fenway in 2010. “This means a lot to me. My whole family was here, so I meant a lot to them, too.”

CARRYING THE TORCH
McCarthy, a Hillies alum, is in his first season at the helm of the program, after Ken Martin’s retirement from coaching.

Filling the shoes of a legend with over 700 wins to his name is no small task, but McCarthy learned personally from the best in his time skating with the Hillies. For that matter, his J.V. hockey coach (in 1992) was another Hillies legend, Kevin Fleming, who recently retired from his post as Hillies’ head football coach.

Clearly, McCarthy has a lot of support to lean on.

“Coach Martin’s a very special part of it,” McCarthy said. “To have him as an advisor, as a mentor, as I learn the craft of coaching is incredibly special.”

The Massachusetts High School Football Coaches' Association unveiled its annual "Super 26" All-State Team today. Those honored will be presented this spring at Lantana's Restaurant, in Randolph.

Below are the selections. Italicized names indicate they were also a selection to ESPN Boston's MIAA All-State Team.

OFFENSE

Quarterback
Jonathan DiBiaso, Everett
Cam McLevedge, Weymouth
Matt Montalto, Dennis-Yarmouth

Receivers
Armani Reeves, Catholic Memorial
Don Webber, Duxbury

Offensive Line
Brendan Melanson, St. John’s (Shrewsbury)
Dan McCourt, Pembroke
Jameson McShea, BC High
Andrew VanderWilden, Concord-Carlisle
Chad Woodfine, Chicopee

Running Back
Sacoy Malone, Springfield Central
Quinton Perkins, Fitchburg
Melquawn Pickney, Springfield Putnam

DEFENSE

Defensive Line/Linebacker
Henry Bumpus, Concord-Carlisle
Nick DiChiara, BB&N
Tim Joy, Chelmsford
Vondell Langston, Everett
Max Randall, Duxbury
Zack Schafer, Mansfield
Nick Schlatz, Bridgewater-Raynham
Will Twyman, Lincoln-Sudbury
Camren Williams, Catholic Memorial

Secondary
Todd Collier, St. Mary’s (Lynn)
Jack Connolly, St. Sebastian’s
Joe Epps, Bourne
Charles Ruffin, King Philip

ALLSTON, Mass. – Showing great discipline in their defensive system, No. 4 Catholic Memorial beat ISL rival and fellow hockey powerhouse St. Sebastian’s, 2-1, Wednesday night at Harvard University’s Bright Hockey Center.

The Knights got 29 saves from junior goaltender Shane Starrett, but it was the efforts of the defensemen in front of the lanky goalie and the back check of CM’s forwards that helped ground the high-flying Arrows’ attack in the teams’ annual Kevin Mutch Cup game.

“Those five guys, they played terrific,” CM head coach Bill Hanson said of his blue-liners. “They played well because they knew they had support coming back from the forwards. They moved the puck well, they were opportunistic and our goaltender is our goaltender.”

Starrett was particularly strong in the second period, when St. Seb’s out-shot the Knights, 14-5.

Despite not putting a shot on goal through the first half of the period, the Knights took the advantage on the scoreboard, scoring two second-period goals.

John Malewicz found the back of the net on CM’s second shot of the period with 6:13 remaining. A little more than a minute later, senior captain and defenseman Jared Beckwith followed with the Knights’ second tally. Winger Beau Starrett took an assist on the play in addition to setting a screen in front of Arrows netminder Gordon Donnelly.

ADJUSTING ON THE FLY
Both teams exhibited supreme speed throughout. So it was the Arrows’ transition game that had Hanson worried during the first intermission.

“We had to make an adjustment,” Hanson said. “We concentrated on not letting them get chances in transition.”

In addition to limiting St. Seb’s chance coming through the neutral zone, the Knights sagged their forwards down low on defense, limiting the Arrows’ chances in close and keeping shots to the periphery.

“When you collapse all five guys down low, it makes it harder to those second and third chances,” St. Seb’s coach Sean McCann said. “We were focused more of creating offense off the rush by taking speed wide and then driving to the net hard.

“I think we’ve got to be able to create two ways, on the rush and in the offensive zone, whether it’s looking for a guy on the short side or getting shots on net. We have to get a little more traffic in front of the goaltender.”

ARROWS HAVE POINT
St. Seb’s has plenty of offensive firepower, and they’re young to boot. With eighth-grader Cameron Askew and ninth-grade defenseman Noah Hanifin garnering many headlines (both have already given commitments to Northeastern and BC, respectively), the Arrows will be a tough opponent in the Keller Division for years to come.

“We’re not the type of school that’s going to bring in juniors and senior to load up the team,” McCann said. “We’re a school that tries to bring in younger kids in, through the seventh, eighth and ninth grades and really develop them. That’s not going to change.

“But, when you have a good number of players returning from last season, and coming off a pretty successful season like last year, you expect those kids to mature and do better.”

The Arrows had several last-minute chances to tie the game. After a CM penalty with a little more than a minute to play in the third, the teams skated 4-on-4; St. Seb’s had an one-man advantage with Donnelly pulled from the net.

Although the Arrows were unable to finish and scrounge up the equalizer, there were a few things to take away:

1. Askew is the real deal: An exceptional rush, while splitting two CM defensemen during the second period was a rare lapse in the Knights’ otherwise solid night. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder came flying through the neutral zone, puck on a string, dangled and let off a back-hander that Starrett turned away. Along with his goal later in the period, Askew showed why he’s such a hot commodity at such a young age.
2. So is Danny O’Regan: While the youngsters grab more of the attention, let’s not forget about the senior captain, who’s scheduled to join a deep local class headed to Comm Ave. and join BU hockey in 2013. There was no better example of the hockey IQ he possesses than during a crucial point of the third period. With time winding down, O’Regan skated to a loose puck along the half wing boards. Then using his body, he shielded the puck from two on-coming CM defenders, creating a mismatch, before shoveling a nice saucer pass along the blue line for a shot from the point. It’s all those little things that help make good hockey teams and hockey players.

GOOD CAUSE
The Kevin Mutch Cup was awarded during a postgame ceremony. The annual matchup, which is dedicated in the memory of the former St. Seb’s and BU standout who was killed in 1992, is hosted by Mutch’s alma mater. The proceeds from the game are donated to Dana Farber.

“We always look forward to playing a team like CM, especially with their long and rich tradition there, like St. Sebastian’s does as well, it creates a great event that both teams look forward to,” McCann said. “It always means a lot going into this game and you could see it by the intensity of the game tonight.”

For all of you who will not be able to make it out to Harvard's Bright Arena tonight for the Mutch Cup game between No. 4 Catholic Memorial and ISL powerhouse St. Sebastian's, don't fret.

The game will be streaming live, starting at 7 p.m. tonight on www.studio12sports.com, so be sure to check out the action and then kick it back to the blog for recap and interviews following the game on ESPN Boston.

A pair of St. Sebastian's football standouts gave their commitments to a pair of local colleges for next season.

Senior receiver and defensive back Kendall Dardy-Jones will head to Assumption, after being named to the ESPN Boston Prep Football All-State team, while senior lineman Patrick McLaughlin announced last week that he will play at Williams.

Last season, Dardy-Jones had 47 catches for one touchdown and one interception for the Arrows. McLaughlin finished the campaign with 22 tackles, along with three sacks and one interception.

We've updated the prep school Top 5 poll for Week 6, and while there's no changes at the top there's a bit of a shuffle elsewhere.

Belmont Hill and Governor's Academy retain the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, but St. Sebastian's has pulled into the No. 3 spot.

You can check out the full poll here.