The four higher seeds in each Best-of-Three quarterfinal series all emerged victorious and head to this weekend’s Semifinal Round.
(1) Bishop Hendricken sweeps (8) Barrington 2-0.
Hendricken cruised into the semifinals with a pair of shutout wins over Barrington. All of Hendrcken’s goals during Game 1 came in the second period, with Nick Regine, Griffin Crain and Nate Marshall all potting goals. Barrington goalie Dominic Bruzzi did all he could, making 37 saves in the loss. Brayden Nebus made 26 saves for the shutout.
In Game 2, the result was never in doubt as BH waltzed to a 9-0 win. Marshall and Crain (2) made it 3-0 after one. Marshall, Crain, Stephen Nardelli and Regine added tallies in the second and Marshall and Aiden Pennachini closed things out with goals in the third.
(4) Warwick co-op sweeps (5) Burrillville 2-0.
Warwick set up a semifinal date with Hendricken thanks to 3-1 and 2-1 wins over Burrillville. In Game 1, Steve Rodrigues gave the Broncos an early 1-0 lead, but Richie Cavanaugh tied things up at 1-1. In the second, Ryan Barlow and Cavanaugh both scored for the 3-1 lead and Braxton Bragg did the rest, making 31 saves in net for the win. Mike Floyd made 29 saves in the losing effort.
In Game 2, Warwick’s Brady Martin and Burrillville’s Nick Carey traded goals in the first. In the second, Cooper Grossguth scored what stood as the game-winning and series-clinching goal. Bragg made 22 saves while Floyd had 27.
Hendricken and Warwick meet at 12 noon on March 12. The winner will head to the D1 state title game on March 18.
(3) Cumberland beats (6) Prout 2-1.
One of the two three-game series in the postseason, Cumberland prevailed with a 4-0 victory in Game 3 on Monday night. Sean Taylor and Christian Oliveria made it 2-0 after one before Sam Lopes added one in the second. Troy Senn closed the scoring in the third while Jared Johnson made 21 saves to send the Clippers to the semis.
In Game 1, Prout won a wild one 6-4. Prout led 2-0 after one on two goals from Derek Gesmondi. Jaime Robbins got Cumberland on the board early in the second, but Gesmondi potted a hat trick goal and Jacob Cox added one for a 4-1 lead heading to the third. In the third, Robbins, Jacob Lopes and Sam Lopes all scored for Cumberland to tie the game at 4-4, but Gesmondi potted a fourth and Tyler Simo added an empty netter. With their backs against the wall, Cumberland forced the third and final game with a 5-2 win. Senn and Oliveria scored in the first, but Mark Roberts and Riley Smith made it a 2-2 game after two. Senn (2) and Sean Taylor took over in the third.
(2) LaSalle sweeps (7) Mt. St. Charles 2-0.
This was the most lopsided series of the weekend. The Rams showed why they’ve been a dominant force all season long, winning 9-2 and 6-3. Game 1 was never close as LaSalle jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one on goals by Cam Tasca, Boden Tomka and Matt Baxter. Andrew Bradley added one in the second, then kicked off a wild third period with a goal. Colden Lawrence scored twice in the final frame for Mount, but Paul Boghosian, Tomka, Baxter and Seamus Murphy all scored.
In Game 2, Riley Brown made it 1-0 Rams after one. Brayden Slack scored for Mount in the second to make it 1-1, but Ronan Peterson gave LaSalle a one-goal lead heading to the third. Tasca scored early, but Antonio Lombari and Max Rusov scored for Mount to keep things interesting before Tomka, Vincent Healey and Peterson closed things out. Caleb Jawharjian made 21 saves in the clincher.
LaSalle and Cumberland will meet at 2:30 on March 12 in the other D1 semifinal.
