Savio's outlook is tough
Lowell, Scituate build on success
Zambonis are smoothing the ice. Equipment men are sharpening skates and assorting pads. Lines are being assembled, and the rust is being chipped away. Ready or not, hockey is ready to face off again in Division 3 rinks. Let the pucks be dropped.
Savio Prep's saving grace comes from the neighborhoods of Charlestown, East Boston, and South Boston. All three locales are represented in the Spartans' top line with senior cocaptain Andrew McCormick from East Boston at center, cocaptain John Collins from Charlestown at left wing, and Ryan McLoughlin from South Boston attacking from the right wing. Collins and McCormick were Catholic Central All-Stars last winter.
''We get those tough city kids every year who want to make sure that the tradition set by the previous classes is lived up to," coach Joe Ciccarello said.
Ciccarello's top line, though, has played together and developed a chemistry that could be the formula for success.
''We graduated 13 last year and 12 the year before that, so there is some turnover here. We'll be relying on that top line to carry us until the younger guys get their feet set," Ciccarello said. ''There are some inexperienced varsity players, but they have played together on JV so they have been playing, just not at this level."
Savio lost to Lowell in the Division 3 North final, 1-0. A 16-6-3 final mark was impressive but left the Spartans with room for improvement.
The situation developing at Scituate is one of youth surviving a trial by fire. With 13 players gone from last year's team that went 16-5-2 and reached the Division 3 South championship game only to lose, 4-3, to Bishop Stang on a goal with five seconds left, coach Mike Breen has been assimilating his youth to game circumstances right from the start.
''Usually we would break them in with some basics and get things going that way, but we decided to throw it all at them right away," Breen said. ''There's enough hockey knowledge with these kids that they have been able to handle it. They are well beyond their years."
Last week, the Sailors scrimmaged Cape Cod Tech and showcased the scoring ability of 6-foot-6-inch freshman Ben Lincoln, who had two goals.
Stopping pucks for Scituate will be junior goalkeeper Bob Dylan, whose all-star play last year set him apart as a leader.
The mantra for Lowell and coach Bill Donahue? Score more.
''We have been working with our forwards diligently to make sure that we are capitalizing on opportunities to put the puck in the net," Donahue said.
Leading that group of forwards will be seniors Trevor Hogan and Jimmy McKennedy.
Additionally, Lowell has 10 other seniors, five of whom have played together over the course of their careers.
In net, Globe All-Scholastic Stephen DiDomenico returns to take on all comers. DiDomenico was co-player of the year in the DCL-MVC Division 3 and had seven shutouts and a 1.66 GAA. One of his shutouts was a 1-0 gem over Savio in the North final.
Timothy Drew -- Bishop Stang's first and only coach -- returns to the bench for his 13th winter. His squad, which won the South sectional last year before losing to Marlboro in the state final, will be looking to returning Eastern Athletic Conference All-Star Jeff Borges to add to his 64 points from last year. The senior center will be joined by fellow seniors Matt Bach and A.J. Mederious.
Rounding out the main contenders, Bourne, which finished 17-2-5 but graduated four South Coast Conference All-Stars, and Bishop Feehan (12-6-2 last year) remain strong and will be competing for top seeds in the tournament; Holliston, with Tri-Valley League Coach of the Year Peter Torilli, had a strong season, finishing at 18-2-3; Dracut, which finished 17-5, was another strong team from the Merrimack Valley but must replace the steady defense of co-MVC Player of the Year Brian Frederick. 