Canton, MA – The MassNZ squad was in attendance at the Canton Ice House on Sunday afternoon to take in a scrimmage between Xaverian and Fairfield Prep (CT). The home team used a fast start, jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period, and never looked back. The remainder of the game was fairly even with both goalies making some solid saves. The home team Hawks skated away with the 3-0 victory and will look to build on a solid performance as they open their season against Duxbury next week. Fairfield
Prep will return home traveling down Route 95 and look to regroup as they open their season on Tuesday against Ridgefield HS (CT).
The game started a bit slow as each team was trying to feel each other out. The Hawks would draw first blood roughly halfway through the first frame. After a smart dump into the offensive zone, Jack O’Neil (Mansfield, MA) got in on the forecheck quickly, stripped the puck from a defender and snapped a centering feed to Jackson Morse (Raynham, MA). Morse received the puck in the low slot and ripped the puck by the goalie. A few minutes later, after a turnover in the neutral zone, Xaverian drove into the offensive zone. Daniel Gentile (Norwood, MA) slowed his pace and offered a passing lane as a trailer on the three-on-two break. He received a nifty feed and snapped the puck into the net, giving the home team the 2-0 lead. Before the period was out, Xaverian would put the finishing touches on the scoring, as O’Neil struck again. He used a strong first step to walk off the half-wall, cut to open ice and snap a shot by the goalie. The home team took a three-goal lead into the first break.
The Jesuits came out stronger in the second period and created some good scoring chances. Xaverian goalie Cole Pouliot-Porter (Wrentham, MA) was up to the challenge. He was calm and poised in the net and took good angles to stifle chances. He made a few athletic saves with his pads and kicked rebounds to the corners. He played two strong periods overall before giving way to the backup. The third period was fairly uneventful as each team locked down defensively. Both teams used a full bench and got a live look at players deep into their bench as they looked to round out their respective rosters. Both Fairfield Prep and Xaverian should be in the hunt for State titles in Connecticut and Massachusetts when March rolls around.
Three Stars:
1) F Jack O’Neil – Xaverian
2) F Daniel Gentile – Xaverian
3) G Cole Pouliot-Porter – Xaverian