Brendan McDonough Turning Into Star for Wildcats

Earlier this postseason, Wilmington High School boys hockey coach Steve Scanlon lightheartedly begged opponents to focus their defensive attention on Cam Owens, the leading scorer in program history.

The reason was simple. He knows that would leave open Brendan McDonough, another Wildcat skater who’s turned into a potent top line scorer.

“Key on Cam all you want. Someone’s open,” Scanlon said with a smile after his team’s 4-1 win over Boston Latin in the North Division 2 quarterfinal round. “When (McDonough) is on, he’s the whole package … He’s certainly a force. Cam’s a player, but people forget we have a ‘1’ and a ‘1A.’”

McDonough is a veteran player for Wilmington, even though he’s only a junior. He was a member of the state championship team last year, and returned this season with even more versatility to his game.

In particular, McDonough’s scoring is up this year. He worked hard in the offseason, winning Most Valuable Player and Showcase Tournament Scoring Champion during the annual Hockey Night in Boston over the summer.

The work has paid off. This postseason in particular, McDonough has been a force for the Wildcats. He has six goals in four games, culminating with a hat trick in less than two periods of the North Division 2 final victory over Danvers.

“Brendan’s shot is ridiculous. The kid has a snipe,” said Owens, a senior, who plays alongside McDonough. “He can put them on you quick. If he gets a few chances, he can bury them. He’s gained a lot of size over the last few years, and you can tell he works on his game a lot. His hands and his shot have come a long way.”

McDonough said that as his career goes on, he continues to gain confidence with the puck. He will likely be to the No. 1 scoring threat on the Wildcats next year, and it’ll be him defenses will be forced to game plan for.

The junior and his teammates will next skate on the ice of TD Garden on Sunday at 1:30 p.m., hoping to topple Franklin for a second straight state championship.

And the Wildcats enter the game with confidence, knowing McDonough and the rest of the team are entering the tilt playing at the top of their game after outscoring their opponents 17-3 in their last three playoff games.

“(Notching a hat trick in the North final) is a big boost because I have a lot of confidence going into the finals,” said McDonough. “I’d rather get an assist most of the time because it feels good knowing you set someone up. Me, Cam and Jake (Rogers) are similar type of players. None is selfish and we just work well together.”

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