Middleton, MA – We arrived early at Essex Sports Center in Middleton where the tradition of the Pete Frates Classic was set to drop the puck at 1pm and 3:10pm today. For those unaware, this game is the 9th 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
In the first period, both teams began by throwing pucks deep at either end and attempting to chase them down to create scoring chances. Right off the bat Pope Francis’ D was able to win those pucks in the corners and get them out of their zone, but it was more of a tall order for Central Catholic. As the opening minutes ticked away, more and more time was spent in the CC defensive zone and that lead to a high volume of shots on goal before we reached the five minute mark. The dam finally broke four and a half minutes in as sophomore forward Matty Regan found a puck below the goal line and flipped it on net. The CC goalie had trouble corraling it and it slipped over his back and into the net: 1-0 Cardinals. Pope gave CC no time to regoup as 14 seconds later sophomore defender Max Monroe picked up a puck at the point and wired it top shelf untouched: 2-0 Pope. Two minutes following that, it was Pope again creating pressure as junior Mike McGrath grabbed a puck behind the goal line and distributed in to an open Wade Wegrzyn in the slot for a quick wrister: 3-0 Pope. After the third goal in under seven minutes Coach Conte of Central Catholic called a timeout to settle his team down and it helped them refocus. They began handling the puck with more urgency and creating chances at the other end by winning races and puck battles. Ultimately, they were unable to dent the scoresheet, so we entered the room 3-0 in favor of the defending D1 Champs.
In the middle frame, Central Catholic came out of the room with a renewed sense of purpose and competed hard and fast all period. They made things difficult on Pope Francis by intensifying the forecheck and using their speed to take away passing lanes. It didn’t take long to get on the scoreboard as just under two minutes in, sophomore defenseman Cameron Duval, playing at the forward spot today, found a rebound in the crease and slammed it home to make it 3-1. That goal sparked a spirited next couple of shifts by the Raiders as they continued to put the pressure on. Pope was able to stabilize and a few minutes later tilted the ice in their direction with three quality looks that were canceled in front of the net. 12 minutes after the initial goal in the period was scored, we saw a great effort by sophomore forward Caz Wotkowicz lead to another. He took the ice he was given and used his acceleration and good positioning to protect the puck and slip past the defender and set up assistant captain Aiden Pinet on the back door with a nice pass: 3-2 was now the score. Central Catholic felt the momentum shifting and the period would end a few minutes later with them headed to the room down one. What would come of the final 17 minutes? They would be crucial to determine a victor.
In the final frame, it was a physical, tough, hard-nosed battle from both sides. There were fewer shots on net than either of the first two periods as the defenses really clamped down and blocked shots and gained good positioning to steal pucks. Central Catholic was constantly involved on the forecheck and used their team speed to their advantage. Pope Francis won a lot of battles along the walls and looked to put a high volume of shots on net. Both teams were making pushes but neither was able to get the critical next goal. That meant every shift was the most important. It remained that way until the final minute when CC pulled their goalie and with just under 20 seconds to go Regan fired a puck into the open net from behind his own blue line. Our final score would be 4-2 Pope Francis, who would advance to face the winner of BC High and St. John’s Prep.
Three Stars:
- F Matt Regan, Pope Francis
- F Wade Wegrzyn, Pope Francis
- F Caz Wotkowicz, Central Catholic
Game 2: BC High vs St. John’s Prep
Just a few minutes after Game 1 ended both sides were ready to punch another ticket to the title game tomorrow afternoon. This game pitted Catholic Conference rivals against one another as the Eagles took on…the Eagles. Of note, BC High has won last year’s Frates Classic, so SJP was looking to settle the score as they emerged from the locker room in their red, white and blue pinstriped refinery. One of the sharpest looks we’ve seen in what is the team’s annual tradition of unveiling new threads at this event.
In the first period, you could tell that SJP was coming out with some fire and they jumped all over BC High both with and without the puck. They were quick and aggressive on the forecheck and took every inch of ice the defense was willing to give them. The early minutes of this game saw a few odd-man chances by SJP but senior BC High goalie Christian Gonsalves was equal to every task. He stopped shots from outside, rebound chances, one-timers and he kept BC High in this one facing an onslaught of shots. BC High began to tilt the ice back to even in the middle section of the period and crashed the crease looking for rebound chances. Following that, the teams traded breakouts that led to extended zone time, but again, the scoreboard remained unchanged. We would head to the locker rooms knotted at 0.
In the middle frame, the competition intensified even further and both teams were delivering solid body blows. Both sides wanted to send a message early, but that worked to the disadvantage of BC High as defenseman Cam Berry was whistled for a 5 minute major on a hard hit into the boards. The resulting 5-minute man advantage resulted in a boost of energy for BC High as they blocked a number of shots and passes and killed off the full penalty. After that, BC High started to make a push, but junior netminder AJ Farese was equal to every task. Gonsalves held up his end of the bargain as well and we were still knotted at zero late into the frame. That is until SJP senior forward Caleb White broke into the offensive zone with fellow senior Cam Umlah in tow. He found Umlah in the slot and Cam deposited it top shelf for the 1-0 Eagles lead. That would be our score after two frames and it set up for a decisive third.
In the final frame, it was once again tough sledding for both offenses because of the physicality and strong defensive coverage on both ends. SJP was looking to make things happen off the rush and BC High was willing to throw pucks on net from anywhere. Both goaltenders stood tall in this period but SJP would break through to insert the dagger. Just over six minutes into the period senior forward Hunter Steiner won a puck in the slot and tapped it over to fellow senior forward Brendan Powers who deposited it for his first career goal (and what a time to score it): 2-0 Eagles. From there, SJP doubled up the ice time for their top lines and put the clamps down defensively while Farese was able to do the rest. About 10 minutes later the Prep sealed up the shutout victory with an empty netter on the forecheck. Senior captain Johnny Tighe jumped all over the puck carrier and wrestled it loose and fellow senior captain Jake Vana was the beneficiary, tapping it into the yawning cage to complete the 3-0 win.
The win for SJP meant that they would take on Pope Francis for the Championship tomorrow in the late game at 3:10pm. The appetizer to that game will be BC High taking on Central Catholic in the Consolation Game at 1:00pm.
Three Stars:
- G AJ Farese, St. John’s Prep
- F Cam Umlah, St. John’s Prep
- G Christian Gonsalves, BC High