Player of the Week: Jimmy Burns from Ponte Vedra (Fla.)

Jimmy Burns, Ponte Vedra (Fla.)
Burns has been off to a hot start and helped the Sharks to a 5-0 record. The senior won 44-of-50 from the dot last week, including 12-of-13 against Fleming Island (Fla.) and 19-of-22 over Woodward Academy (Ga.). 

“That was a scrappy game [the Woodward Academy game],” Burns said. “That guy felt big and powerful, so I had to use more quickness and wing play. It wasn’t just me out there. My wings, Campbell [Parker], Matayo [Trumble] or Tommy [Zitello] had to communicate out there to know where we were going.”

Burns’ style is adaptable to his opponent. He compared his performances against Woodward Academy and Fleming Island as ‘football-style.’

“We usually get a breakdown of the teams beforehand and we have a day in advance to plan to prepare for that certain [style] of play,” Burns said.

“Those guys are football-style. If those guys don’t have it, they’re just going to try and bully you out of the way,” Burns added. “The Woodward game was faster paced because their wings knew what they were doing and they knew how to play defense. 

The combination of Burns and Andrew Ewalt have been dominating the faceoff as well. 20-of-22 against Nease and 25-of-26 against Mandarin (Fla.). 

Honorable Mentions

Stephen Avery, Montgomery Bell (Tenn.)
In a meeting of state powers, Avery had his hands on seven of Montgomery Bell’s 12 goals in a 12-9 win over Trinity (Ky.). Avery scored four goals and three assists in the victory.

Ryan Siracusa from Centennial (Ga.).

Ryan Siracusa, Centennial (Ga.)
Siracusa surpassed 200 career goals with a seven-goal performance against Chattahoochee (Ga.) on Tuesday. The Maryland commit’s seven goals give him a career total of 201.

Zach Terhorst, Bloomingdale (Fla.)
The junior surpassed 400 career faceoff wins in a game against Newsome (Fla.). Terhorst is winning 90 percent of his faceoffs this season and has no games below 85 percent.

Ben Hull from Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.) taking part in the 2018 Under Armour Underclass games. Photo by: Mike Loveday

Ben Hull, Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.)
With 14 points against Wheeler (Ga.), the Michigan commit reached 300 career points just three games into his junior year. Hull scored 10 goals and handed out four assists to give him exactly 300 points. The junior has 179 career goals and 121 career assists.

Charlie Higgins, Lovett (Ga.)
Higgins made 17 saves in Lovett’s 9-8 overtime win over Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) last week. 

Reece Riccardo, Oxbridge Academy (Fla.)
Riccardo accounted for six points in Oxbridge’s 14-7 win over St. Andrew’s (Fla.) last week. The junior scored five goals and one assist in the win.

Ed Shean, Los Alamitos (Calif.)
The sophomore scored seven goals to help his team defeat Santa Margarita (Calif.) 12-11 on Saturday. Shean’s performance helped the Griffins down the Eagle’s for the first time since 2013, according to MaxLaxOC.com.

Sam Wadsworth, Westlake (Texas)
Wadsworth was a key player in Westlake’s 10-2 victory over defending state champ The Woodlands last week. Wadsworth won 8-of-13 face-offs to help control the ball and keep The Woodlands offense off-balance.