Arlington, MA – It was high time we caught a game in primetime, and sure enough there was one in store on Wednesday at Ed Burns Arena in Arlington. The game featured two of the teams we were most excited about in the preseason: the Arlington Catholic Cougars and the Archbishop Williams Bishops. Pregame parking is always an adventure at the Ed Burns but we were able to sort it out early and find our favorite spot above the home student section. The AC students were loud and active early and that would carry into game action. We were ready to go…
In the first period, both teams were trading blows. It was a lot of territorial battling with both squads looking to create chances at the netfront and also hoping to create quick transition. AC looked a step quicker as a team compared to last year and Archies looked a bit bigger than we remember from last year. The early puck possession advantage based on the eye test went to Arlington Catholic who also created the most Grade A looks in the period. The deeper we went, the more they were able to beat defenders wide and put good looks on net. Conversely, the Bishops found success in the slot once they had the cycle set up in the zone, their early season chemistry looks good. Still, despite all the positive signs, no goals were scored in the opening 15.
The middle frame featured more physicality and much more nasty. There were many more post-whistle skirmishes and chatter and both teams were finishing their checks. It seemed like that was a focus early for Archies but AC took it upon themselves to step it up physically. As the period wore on, the hits were more and more intense until five minutes in when the referees drew a line on a hard hit along the boards by Archbishop Williams. That power play gave AC all the momentum they would need. It all started with junior forward Stephen Constantine, who cranked up his acceleration from his own blue line and made a nice move at the offensive blue to sidestep a defender. He deked near post and slipped far post to tuck it in on the backhand: 1-0 Cougars. Following the goal, Arlington Catholic stepped up their forecheck and created a couple more Grade A chances but senior Archies goalie Sean Velozo was equal to the task. Because of their aggressiveness, the Bishops countered with aggressive sticks at the blue line and created two breakaways off those turnovers but senior AC goalie Patrick Clair stopped every shot he saw. On we went to the third with the score 1-0.
In the third period, the momentum belonged to Arlington Catholic and they came out strong: finishing checks and looking to take ice away wherever they could. Archies needed a play to balance the scales and they got one in the third minute to tie this thing up. Freshman forward (and MassNZ Rated Rookie) Jake Guerriero notched his first career goal off a turnover where he snuck behind the net, popped up short side, quickly spun and fired it top shelf: 1-1 was our score. After that goal, Archbishop Williams was playing with a spring in their step. They were winning more battles and races to loose pucks and subsequently putting more quality shots on net. Ultimately though, both defenses tonight were excellent in denying space and getting sticks and bodies in lanes. On we went with a lot of back-and-forth action with many shots on goal, but none crossed the goal line. With an offensive zone draw coming and 22 seconds to go, the Bishops took their timeout and once they had lined up for the faceoff, AC took theirs right after. No shots came as a result of those 22 seconds and we were on to OT.
In the extra frame, the play was even for the most part but a penalty was assessed with three minutes to go on Archbishop Williams and that seemed to seal the fate of this one. Arlington Catholic was dangerous with the extra man all night and got that final tally they had been searching for as Constantine threw a shot on net and the rebound popped out to an open senior defender Prescott “Tiger” Mulligan down low who slipped one through the goalie’s pads to send the home fans into a frenzy behind the net. 2-1 was our final: Cougars claim the win.
Three Stars:
- D Prescott “Tiger” Mulligan, Arlington Catholic
- F Stephen Constantine, Arlington Catholic
- F Jake Guerriero, Archbishop Williams