Coach Tim Foley can’t say enough good things about sophomore Liam Guilderson. The first two words Foley used to describe him were “skilled and fast.”
Guilderson used his elite speed and puck skills to net a hat trick, propelling Belmont to a 6-0 win over Bishop Feehan at Ryan Arena in the first round of the Division 1 state tournament.
“He’s a player that has the old school creativity with new school skills,” Foley said postgame.
The Marauders jumped in front just 35 seconds into the first period as Guilderson buried his first of the game from the slot.
Unfortunately for the Shamrocks, their best look of the opening frame led directly to Guilderson’s second tally of the period.
Junior Christopher Morrison rang the right post from the slot, but Belmont jumped out in transition, speeding through the neutral zone. Guilderson picked out the top corner of the net from the left circle to give Belmont a 2-0 lead just 3:19 in.
Bishop Feehan responded after falling behind early, generating quality looks off stout forechecking, but sophomore netminder, Ethan Bauer, was up to the task.
Bauer, who’s grown in confidence as the season’s progressed, was excellent throughout, earning his fourth shutout of the season.
“He’s given us a chance to win almost every game we’ve been in this year,” Foley said. “You know that he’s gonna come to play.”
Senior Nolan Kelleher pushed the Marauders’ lead to 3-0 at 4:27 of the second period. From behind the net, freshman Gabe Kioumejian found Kelleher driving the net, who beat Shamrocks goalie Logan Petrucci for his third of the year.
“He’s always in the opponent’s face,” Foley said. “And that’s a good thing.”
Guilderson completed the hat trick at 5:30 of the third period. After a clean toe drag to center the puck in the slot, he beat Petrucci glove side high to make it 4-0.
Freshman Henry Packard scored his first varsity goal at 6:39 of the final frame. His older brother, junior Leo, assisted the tally.
“Scoring that goal with his brother is huge,” Foley said. “It’s very important that they’re able to bond with each other.”
Freshman Thomas Courtney’s power play goal at 10:12 of the third sealed the deal for the Marauders.
Up next for Belmont is Winchester, whom the Marauders have already beaten twice this season, 4-1 and 3-1. Despite that, Foley is still looking for more out of his team.
“We need to play the whole 45 minutes at the pace that we’re capable of playing at,” he said.