Central Catholic advances to Frates Championship Game 2-1 over Pope Francis

Middleton, MA – In the first game of the annual Pete Frates Winter Classic the Cardinals of Pope Francis took on the Red Raiders of Central Catholic in a top flight matchup just after Christmas.

The first period featured sparkling chances for both sides but only one team was able to light the lamp. 1:16 into the game stud freshman Ryan Leonard drove into the offensive zone coming off the right wing and fed an open linemate in freshman Ryan Shaw who tapped home a quick flip on net to make it 1-0. Pope Francis continued to buzz the cage repeatedly during the action but goalie Michael Brothers of Central Catholic shut the door by pouncing on loose pucks to avoid rebound chances. Similarly, on the other side junior Ben Zaranek did a nice job of seeing through traffic to deflect pucks wide and keeping them away from waiting Raider forwards. The pace picked up near the end of the frame which gave way to the second…

The second period led to some theatrics for the viewing public as Pope Francis played well and created chances but Central Catholic cashed in twice in the frame. Just under three minutes in Raiders defender Nick Peters fed junior CC forward Michael Dinges who transitioned it by himself and flipped a shot on net that trickled over the glove of Zaranek: tied at 1-1. Things stayed that way until the last few seconds when Peters saw an opening during a Cardinal line change and fired a puck up ice to a waiting senior forward Matt Lajoie who held off a defender and flipped the puck over the head of Zaranek to give the Raiders a boost headed into the room: 2-1.

The final frame featured a big push from Pope Francis and a more aggressive forecheck – but Central Catholic was equal to the task defensively. Brothers was able to get his blocker on a couple of shots to deflect them wide before another PF forward could stop on the puck. They pulled the goalie with about a minute left in the proceedings but that too did not yield a tying tally: 2-1 was the final.

Three Stars

1. F Matt Lajoie, Central Catholic (GWG)
2. D Nick Peters, Central Catholic (2 A)
3. F Ryan Leonard, Pope Francis (A)

NZ’s Take

From a fan’s perspective, this was an incredibly entertaining game to watch. Both teams were creative and quick with the puck and both showed active sticks defensively to break up plays in the neutral zone. Central Catholic looks much improved from last season: they are bigger, stronger and more skilled. Pope Francis plays much the same style as last season: they have slick puck-moving defenders that can jump up in the rush and opportunistic forwards with good strength. They may not have the same firepower as last year, but they will be a threat later in the year because of their style of play.

For Pope Francis, we liked 2005-born freshman forward Ryan Leonard – he creates offense off his speed and shifty ability to avoid contact. He doesn’t have the strength to hang with opposing seniors yet; but when he bulks up he is going to be a true weapon for this Cardinals team. On the blue line, we also liked Jack Kennedy because of his quick feet and good decision-making ability. He has added a bit more bulk in his sophomore season but he has not lost any mobility in the process: keep an eye on his progress this season as he will be a key cog.

For Central Catholic, it’s hard to miss senior D Nick Peters. He looks to be around 6’4 and 200+ pounds: in Mass HS that is man strength. He can play the physical game but his mobility was impressive: he has nimble feet and plays at pace on every possession, not waiting to dust the puck off – he keeps things moving. College and junior coaches should be keeping their eyes on him. We mentioned Michael Dinges in our PLPG but wanted to note senior forward Charlie LeCain here. He looks stronger physically than last season and he was tough to knock off the puck at both ends. He also played a nice two-way game today, breaking up opposing seam passes and using his thick frame to steal pucks from the opposition: a good look for the upperclassman.