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Frates Classic: Pope Francis and BC High Advance

Middleton, MA – We arrived early at Essex Sports Center in Middleton where the annual tradition of the Pete Frates Classic was set to drop the puck at 4pm and 6pm today. For those unaware, this game is the 8th annual Christmas tournament established as a benefit in honor of former St. John’s Prep and Boston College star Pete Frates alongside Team Frate Train to help all those families affected by and currently battling ALS.

The first matchup of the day pitted the Central Catholic Raiders against the Cardinals of Pope Francis. The late game featured the host St. John’s Prep Eagles taking on the BC High Eagles, collectively these four teams featured many of the top preseason favorites to capture a D1 crown in March and we were excited to see what they had to show in an early season showdown.

Game 1: Central Catholic vs Pope Francis

The early game started fast with both teams playing with pace coming right out of the gate. You could see Pope Francis looking to move the puck up ice quickly to put added pressure on the Raiders while Central Catholic was looking to bang bodies and win territorial battles to create chances at the cage. It didn’t take long for Pope Francis to take control of the game’s early possession and in the process, they scored less than five minutes in. Junior forward Jacob Petrin threaded a pass into the slot just a few feet from the net and fellow junior forward Mossy Kearney fired one past the Raiders goalie to make it 1-0. There were plenty of chances to follow by both teams throughout the remainder of the period, but none that hit the back of the net. A couple of turnovers in front of each net led some to hold their breath but the goalies collectively stood tall. The momentum the Cardinals had built would stand an early test as a penalty was assessed to Pope Francis with 45 seconds remaining. With few whistles in between shifts, the first ended swiftly with Pope in the lead 1-0.

In the middle frame, it was a lot more of the same between two teams playing fast and playing hard. The physicality was amped up on both sides and both teams started to tighten the screws on their systematic play as well. The Pope Francis penalty came and went without the Raiders putting one home and the subsequent next few minutes featured a lot of back-and-forth action. Both teams created turnovers in the neutral zone and both teams delivered big hits to fire up the benches. There were a couple of exciting chances including a breakaway as time expired just before the shot was taken. We would head back to the dressing rooms at the same score: 1-0 Pope Francis.

In the third period, once again you saw each team generate a push: the Raiders activated their forecheck and produced a couple of solid scoring chances whereas Pope Francis looked to win along the walls and create quick setup feeds out front. Both goaltenders stood tall in this one: Vin Maggi for Pope Francis and Timmy Briley of Central Catholic were really locked in throughout this game. Pope Francis grabbed the reins and took control of this game about six minutes into the period as sophomore forward CJ Watroba set up senior forward Josh Iby for a rip of a wrist shot top shelf near the dots to make it 2-0 Cardinals. From that point forward, the Cardinals looked to keep the Raiders away from the Grade A areas around the net and played a strong prevent defense. That limited what the Raiders were able to do, but following a timeout with just under two minutes left, they did put on some pressure following a pull of the goalie with just over a minute to go. It did not yield any scoring and Pope Francis rang the post but then found the yawning cage with 12 seconds left as Iby tallied his second of the period to give us our final score of 3-0 Pope Francis.

Three Stars:

  1. F Josh Iby, Pope Francis
  2. G Vin Maggi, Pope Francis
  3. G Timmy Briley, Central Catholic

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Game 2: BC High vs St. John’s Prep

In the first period, St. John’s Prep looked to take control of this one early and pelted the BC High end with a barrage of shots from all angles. They were strong on the forecheck and also created turnovers that led to penalties. The early momentum did not lead to any scoring at first and there were a few juicy rebounds that led to posts being hit and shots that just missed the net. The frustration was starting to build up until a penalty was assessed just past the midway point of the period to BC High and a wacky play ensued. Down low in front of the BC High net, an initial save was made and a BC High defender whacked the puck out of midair trying to make a clear, the puck was intercepted by junior forward Christian Rosa who took his own whack at the puck out of midair from just below the dots and knocked it home to make it 1-0 St. John’s Prep. That score would remain the same through the initial buzzer but there were a few scares at the opposite end as the SJP goalie squeezed his pads but wasn’t entirely sure that he had trapped the puck. Regardless, 1-0 was our score moving into the second period.

In the middle frame, there was a lot of firewagon back and forth action but very little conversion. Both teams had good looks, both teams had partial and long lead breakaways, but both were snuffed out by each goaltender. There were quite a few takeaways in the neutral zone plus a few bobbles in each attacking zone that meant the defenses could close and shut down the chance. Overall, BC High controlled the pace and the momentum throughout the balance of the period and they had the better of the chances as the period wore on. They had three high quality breakaway chances but were unable to convert thanks to the stout goaltending of senior Brian Cronin. Onto the third period we went with nothing new resolved from the first period.

In the final frame, you got the feeling that the longer this game stayed at 1-0 the pressure would continue to compound on St. John’s Prep. BC High really began to turn the tide as we got towards the midway portion of the period and a seemingly nondescript play drew them even. Senior forward Jackie Murphy gained the zone and drove the puck to the net but it was knocked off his stick and a clearing attempt was stolen by senior defenseman Matt Cox who put it on net and it squeaked through Cronin to tie the game. For the remainder of the period, both teams traded chances, but with about 10 seconds to go, St. John’s Prep had a couple of Grade A chances in succession, but were unable to solve the BC High goalie.

To 4-on-4 OT we went and it didn’t take long to untie the game as 37 seconds in, Cox settled a puck in the neutral zone and flipped an area pass over the defense where Murphy was waiting and carried in alone. He fired a wrister from the dots and beat the goalie to give BC High the come from behind victory in extra time.

This win punched their ticket to tomorrow’s Final against Pope Francis while St. John’s Prep will take on Central Catholic in the Consolation Game.

Three Stars:

  1. F Jackie Murphy, BC High
  2. D Matt Cox, BC High
  3. F Christian Rosa, St. John’s Prep
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