Pope Francis Defeats Bridgewater-Raynham 4-1

Springfield, MA – The Pope Francis Cardinals hosted the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans for a Saturday afternoon tilt at the Olympia Ice Center.

First period got underway with a fast and physical start from both sides as the first half of the period was largely controlled with Pope Francis keeping the puck deep in the Bridgewater-Raynham end. This allowed them to take the game’s first lead with a goal from forward Josh Iby who ripped one top shelf from the top of the circle off a quick breakout pass from defenseman Colin Foyle to make it 1-0. Around the halfway point Bridgewater-Raynham found themselves in a 5-on-3 situation with two quick penalties to set up the Cardinals with a power play. This power play would result in another quick score off a one-timer from the left circle from forward Ryan O’Leary to make it 2-0. After the second goal by Pope Francis there was more and more pressure until the end of the period but Bridgewater-Raynham was able to withstand the charge and go into the intermission only down two.

Starting the second both sides started off slow, a lot of possession changes and dump and chase was happening until Bridgewater-Raynham took an early penalty. Pope Francis was unable to capitalize on the chance but would wake up and really start to take it to their opponents. They started getting more pucks down low and making it hard for the Bridgewater-Raynham defense to control the puck in their own zone. This led to another goal by O’Leary inside the circle with an absolute snipe top shelf over the goalie’s left shoulder to make it a 3-0 Pope Francis lead. Halfway through the period, Bridgewater-Raynham was able to respond with a couple of solid shifts and even hit the post from a wrist shot off the right wall. They were able to gain a power play shortly after and execute with a goal from a shot from the blue line by Justin Peters that was tipped in by defenseman Mike Dolan. The remainder of the period was very physical and chippy at points with Pope closing out the period with a couple of great opportunities to increase their lead heading into the break but once again Bridgewater-Raynham withstood the barrage and headed into the break only down by two.

Moving to the third period we had some great end-to-end action to start with opportunities for both sides. Bridgewater-Raynham junior goalie Richard Popson was able to make some huge saves starting the period to keep his team in it, only down by two. Pope Francis center Derek Rhodes and his linemates were able to take control of the period with a lot of offensive zone time, not allowing the defense a breather. This allowed O’Leary once again, with eight minutes left, to finish the game off with another great wrist shot inside the circle that would go top shelf to complete the hat trick on the day. Pope Francis forward CJ Watroba and Joe DiMichele were his primary assist men with two helpers each. The Cardinals would not allow any chances in the final eight minutes for their opponents to get back into the game and would go on to take this one with a final score of 4-1. Goaltender Ryan Rhodes was solid in net for Pope Francis with 13 saves and at the other end Popson was busy all game with 24 saves on the night.