Montgomery Bell Academy’s Conner Mazzoni lifted his stick high in the sky as the final buzzer rang out inside Bellevue’s Ford Ice Center and his teammates piled against the glass in front of a raucous crowd of MBA faithful.
The freshman defender-turned-forward in the postseason scored both goals as the Big Red edged Nolensville 2-1 to force a decisive Game 2 for the GNASH Predators Cup high school hockey championship. The final rematch will at 5:30 p.m. on March 4 at Centennial SportsPlex.
“It’s awesome. Our fans are showing out, being rowdy, so it’s pretty fun to score in front of those guys,” Mazzoni said. “Especially just the feeling of making those older guys proud, them coming and jumping on you, it’s just a great feeling.”
Mazzoni spent the majority of his freshman campaign solidifying the MBA defense, but with the season on the line he’s been asked to step into the forward line, where he’s done his part to keep MBA’s season alive.
“I was a forward until I was about 12, so I kind of had some of the roots coming in, but I’ve definitely been a defenseman for a while now,” Mazzoni said. “So just trying to dig up the forward skills has been a little tough, but it’s been good finding the scoresheet. It’s pretty easy when I get to play with Matthew (Moore) and Trace (Graham) all game.”
Mazzoni previously scored a hat trick, which included the game-winning goal in overtime, to secure a 5-4 win over Station Camp in the consolation bracket quarterfinals.
“He’s been a playoff demon for us,” Moore said. “He’s stepped up, we had him at defense all year and moved him and he got the hat trick against Station Camp and since then he’s been on fire. He peaked at a really good time and we’re going to need him for Wednesday.”
MBA battled through four elimination games in the consolation bracket to earn a championship rematch against Nolensville, which had defeated the Big Red, 2-1, in the first-round of the Predators Cup before winning its next two matches to secure a championship berth.
MBA seeks its first Predators Cup since 2021, while Nolensville seeks a three-peat, with the former Ensworth-Nolensville-Lipscomb co-op claiming the past two titles.
“Especially for those guys that have played four or five years, they’ve never been here, they’ve never experienced this (before),” Mazzoni said. “So coming in as a freshman and being able to experience all this is amazing. It’s just really cool getting to this point.”
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at hcampbell@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
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