Middleton, MA – We were back at Essex Sports Center for the Consolation Game and Championship Game of the Pete Frates Classic. The first matchup at 4pm featured the host St. John’s Prep vs Central Catholic while the 6pm title game featured Pope Francis taking on BC High.
Consolation Game: St. John’s Prep vs Central Catholic
The first period was a territorial battle for 17 minutes as both teams went on runs. St. John’s Prep looked to get quality chances around the net and Central Catholic was looking to catch SJP in a change with long outlet passes that routinely went for icing. The first half of the period belonged to Central Catholic as they frustrated the Prep and were active with their sticks to shut down plays through the neutral zone. There weren’t many shots early but the action picked up late as SJP got more physical. The momentum swung their way in the final five minutes and they had their best chances of the period producing rebounds but senior goalie Timmy Briley was equal to the task in squaring up shooters. The first ended scoreless and on we went to the second.
In the middle frame, Central Catholic came out looking to set a tone and create more chances in the SJP end, but that was short-lived as the Eagles drew first blood. Off a nice centering feed to the middle by senior captain Will Van Sicklin, senior captain Jimmy Ayers fired a one-timer home to make it 1-0 Prep. That really galvanized the Eagles’ attack as they put more pressure on the Raiders and two minutes later they would double their lead. Senior forward Ben McGilvray made a slick feed, again to the middle of the ice, where junior speedster Jake Vana was waiting and deposited a quick strike one-timer to make it 2-0 Eagles.
In the final period, St. John’s Prep built on its momentum and turned the screws on the Raiders to take control of the game. Earlier the action had been largely even but this was an all-out Eagles forecheck blitz which led to them putting more shots on net and most of the action taking place in the Central Catholic end. This persisted for nearly the entire 17 minutes until a late penalty meant it was time to pull the goalie for a 6-on-4 advantage. CC proceeded to create their own blitz and looked to take advantage of more traffic down low, but were unable to put one past Brian Cronin for Prep. The icing on the cake was an empty netter for Van Sicklin and your final was 3-0 St. John’s Prep over Central Catholic to claim the Consolation Game.
Three Stars:
- G Brian Cronin, St. John’s Prep
- F Will Van Sicklin, St. John’s Prep
- G Timmy Briley, Central Catholic
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Championship Game: BC High vs Pope Francis
The first period was one of the best periods of hockey we saw all weekend: high-quality play from both teams and some great awareness and good decisions on both ends. It did not take long to break the seal on this game as two minutes in sophomore Pete Luecke fired a shot from the point that junior forward Owen Welch tipped home to make it 1-0 BC High. The Eagles were buzzing early and had Pope Francis on its heels. Just a minute later they would add another as yesterday’s OT hero, senior forward Jackie Murphy fed a puck into the slot and it was flung on goal by sophomore forward Joe Feinberg, finding a sliver of daylight to make it 2-0 Eagles. The next few minutes were all Eagles but Pope Francis began to make a push coming off a power play, which led to additional sustained time in the attacking zone. Roughly 10 minutes in they cut the lead in half when junior defenseman Jacob Jarrell fired a shot pass right to the stick of sophomore CJ Watroba to make the score 2-1. The rest of the period featured more possession by Pope Francis and we went to the room with a one-goal lead for the Eagles.
In the middle frame, Pope Francis brought the same momentum from the first and continued their push to tie this game up and it didn’t take long to realize their goal. Just over a minute into the period, a netfront scramble ensued as senior forward Wyatt Kenyon found senior defenseman Sean O’Leary to knot us at 2-2. In the first half of the period, Pope Francis continued to build on their momentum but were slowed by multiple penalties as we reached the 10-minute mark, giving BC High some juice. At 11:43 a Cardinals player was whistled for closing his hand on the puck in the crease which led to a penalty shot for senior defenseman Matt Cox, who was stoned by senior Pope Francis goalie Vin Maggi. Just two minutes later, the Eagles would again find the back of the net to untie us as senior forward Frank Shediac made a nice pass to the middle where Murphy was waiting and fired a hard one-timer that beat Maggi clean to make it 3-2 in favor of BC High. That is where we ended the second 17 as we were set for an exciting finish between two teams playing extremely hard.
In the final frame, Pope Francis came out strong and wasted no time tying this thing up. They came guns blazing out of the locker room as they got the puck and multiple bodies to the net. Senior forward Josh Iby set up fellow senior forward Ryan O’Leary at point-blank range to knot us at 3-3. Pope Francis was flying high on the momentum, but BC High began to chip away and create more looks around the Pope Francis net. Four minutes after the tying goal, the Eagles untied it. Cox pulled a puck off the wall and dished the puck over to senior forward Andrew teDuits at the top of the circle and he fired one bar down to make it 4-3. After the BC High goal, Pope Francis started to push back which led to a handful of quality chances looking for the equalizer. BC High responded with a couple of looks of their own: it was terrific firewagon hockey with accurate passing and timely shot-blocking. There were few stoppages until there was a minute and a half to go with an offensive zone draw for Pope Francis. They decided to pull their goalie out of the ensuing timeout (and a timeout by BC High as well) but were unable to find the tying goal thanks to some great clears by BC High. The Eagles were crowned Frates Classic Champions 4-3 and goaltender Adam D’Errico was named MVP.
Three Stars:
- G Adam D’Errico, BC High
- F Jackie Murphy, BC High
- F CJ Watroba, Pope Francis
