Canton, MA – The first game of the day in the Catholic Conference Showcase was between the Xaverian Hawks and the Knights of Catholic Memorial.
Both teams looked ready to play when the puck dropped in the first, and it was an up and down game with good pace for the first five minutes or so. CM had some chances in the period but Xaverian took over momentum and spent a lot of time in the Knights’ zone. Xaverian’s transition game was very good in this period leading to multiple odd man rushes and scoring chances. The period would end in a 0-0 tie, mainly because of CM’s goalie Owen Watson, who was outstanding.
The second period began with CM on a power play. Xaverian was excellent on the PK, clearing players out from the shooting lanes and getting sticks on pucks. They would kill off the power play, and back at even strength Xaverian continued carrying the play: senior forward Jack Silva was all over the ice. He had multiple chances and created some nice odd man rushes. But CM’s Watson was great again turning away all of Xaverian’s opportunities. With five minutes remaining in the period CM’s sophomore forward Connor Fryberger would break the ice. He was F3 on the forecheck, and would set up in the slot. He received a beautiful pass from the corner to the left of the Xaverian goalie from junior defender Finn Burke and banged a one-timer home. CM would end the period up 1-0.
As the third began, CM looked to employ the same game plan. It starts with outworking Xaverian, getting pucks deep, forechecking hard and leaning on their goalie Watson. They played a good brand of hockey. But a few minutes into the period, on a tripping call, Xaverian would go on the power play. Once again CM played as a team, and did a nice job killing off the power play. But Xaverian would finally find a crack in CM’s defense and capitalize. With 8:43 to go, Joe DiMartino would get a pass in the high slot and beat Watson to tie the game at 1-1. The game went back forth with both teams looking for the go ahead goal. With 2:45 to go, CM would take a penalty giving Xaverian an opportunity to find it. But once again, CM locked it down and not only killed off the penalty but had a shorthanded breakaway chance that rang off the post. With the period coming to a close CM would get another breakaway chance but that was denied leaving the game tied 1-1.
On to the 4-on-4 overtime session. Back and forth both teams went, until Silva snuck into the slot and snapped a shot off that was kicked out by Watson, keeping the game tied. There weren’t many other scoring chances to speak of, then with under 10 seconds to go, CM broke through neutral zone and had a 2-on-1 chance. The initial shot was stopped, but the rebound was kicked right to CM’s Fryberger who buried it, unfortunately the clock hit 0.0 and the goal didn’t count. Entertaining game here from Canton Ice House.
Three Stars:
- G Owen Watson, Catholic Memorial
- F Connor Fryberger, Catholic Memorial
- F Jack Silva, Xaverian
