Catholic Memorial shuts out St. John’s Shrewsbury 3-0

Worcester, MA – To cap off an exciting day of MIAA hockey, we were able to take in an excellent defensive matchup between the St. John’s Shrewsbury Pioneers and the Catholic Memorial Knights. Taking place over two 22:30 halves, the two teams battled it out the entire way in a very physical competition. 

This game represented a marquee red and white matchup and neither team was willing to let up a goal early. The first period was full of physicality, as well as a showcase of both teams ability to shut down the opposition’s rush into their zones. When the offense did arrive in the zone, however, they were met with two stalwarts in net who were able to subdue any attempt at breaking the scoreless deadlock. Each side had one offensive opportunity stand out in the half; Catholic Memorial had a power play that allowed them to get a couple very good shots on net, but senior Ryan Dailida was there to stop them all; and St. John’s with a 2-on-1 odd man rush that nearly squeaked in, but an outstretched Dom Walecka stoned the shot from the cross-crease pass. 

As we moved into the second frame, the main constant that shined through from the first was the physicality. Both teams clearly showed they were not afraid to throw the body around, specifically sophomore Jack Beauregard of the Pioneers, who was constantly seen throwing hits and disrupting the opposition’s flow of offense. Only five minutes into this period, the deadlock was finally broken. Freshman forward James Koo broke into the offensive zone down the right wing and rifled a shot glove side, beating the goalie clean, and making the score 1-0 CM. Nearly ten minutes later, the Knights added to their lead. Senior forward Will MacNeil put a shot on net from the right wing, where Koo scooped up the rebound and threw the puck back into the slot for a waiting Finn Burke. The sophomore defenseman fired a hard shot past the goalie to make the game 2-0 CM. Less than a minute later, there was more action for Catholic Memorial. A Pioneers defensive zone giveaway to junior forward Aiden Tripp allowed the forward to make two nice moves around opposing defensemen and opened up plenty of space for a shot that found the back of the net, 3-0 Knights. After this goal, Catholic Memorial fortified their already heavy defensive effort to shut down any advances from St. John’s in order to preserve their lead. The game would end 3-0, a shutout for junior goalie Walecka

Three Stars: 

  1. G Dom Walecka, Catholic Memorial
  2. F James Koo, Catholic Memorial
  3. F Aiden Tripp, Catholic Memorial