Canton, MA: St. John’s Prep senior forward Zachary McKenelley sparked a four-goal outburst over a 7:28 period, scoring the first two including the game-winner in a 5-1 win for the Eagles over Xaverian. The Eagles scored five unanswered after Xaverian took the early lead on a 5-on-3 power play tally from sophomore Brock Casey who leaned into one from the dot, 1-0 Hawks. McKenelley buried the equalizer on the man advantage when he redirected a shot from senior captain Jack Gilligan. Gilligan, who was one of the Eagles’ best players all game, walked the blue line before snapping off a shot that found McKenelley’s stick and past Xaverian goaltender Kyle Harvey.
Harvey’s night was short-lived after being scored on three times in just over four minutes to begin the third. McKenelley scored his second of the game (GWG) after the Xaverian defense struggled to manage the puck behind their net and the senior capitalized making it 2-1. Less than a minute later, the Hawks failed to clear sticks or take the body, and senior Matthew Taylor jumped on a rebound, quickly doubling the lead to 3-1. Two minutes later it was Gilligan again, controlling the blueline, creating a lane and firing a shot that was redirected once again, this time by senior Evan Moore. Xaverian called their timeout and junior Kevin McGrath relieved Harvey. McGrath was really good in relief, allowing Xaverian to close the gap for almost two full periods, but the home team couldn’t muster any sustained offense and legit scoring chances. St. John’s Prep controlled the middle frame and went into the third leading 4-1.
Xaverian brought a push to start the third, but senior Noah Dorsey-Sorofman stood tall, literally (close to 6’5 on skates) and figuratively: slamming the door on the Hawks. Dorsey-Sorofman swallowed everything from the perimeter and limited rebounds, allowing his defense easy clears. The Eagles defense was locked in all night with their goaltender, led by Gilligan and senior Josiah Brown who anchored the back end all night. Both were physical when needed and a calming force when Xaverian turned up the pressure.
The remainder of the game lacked offense, but the physicality picked up as Xaverian became more and more frustrated with Prep’s suffocating defense and puck control in the final ten minutes. Unfortunately, it boiled over with less than five minutes to play in regulation when Hawks senior Will Forno ran Dorsey-Sorofman away from the play. Forno was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit. Dorsey-Sorofman shook off the cobwebs and finished the game to earn the win. Prep did close out the scoring on the power play when freshmen Cam Russo (who recently celebrated his 15th birthday) wired a one-timer from the left faceoff dot, beating McGrath bar down. The snipe got the attention of everyone in attendance. Russo will be one to watch going forward with good size, speed and skill. His willingness to finishing checks and go hard to the net at his age was impressive. Final: St. John’s Prep 5 Xaverian 1
Three Stars
- F Zachary McKenelley (2 G, GWG), St. John’s Prep
- D Jack Gilligan (2 A), St. John’s Prep
- G Noah Dorsey-Sorofman, St. John’s Prep
TTPA F Jake DiNapoli, St. John’s Prep
