Arlington, MA – On the eve of Christmas Eve, in a top-tier matchup, the Eagles of BC High traveled to the Ed Burns Arena to take on the Spy Ponders of Arlington High School.
Both teams came out working hard and playing a physical brand of hockey, but neither team generated many Grade A chances. They both defended well in their own zones, keeping most shots outside the dots. At the 10-minute mark, Arlington created a 2-on-1 and it appeared they would take the lead, but the goal was called back because the referees ruled the puck was kicked in. Each team had a power play chance, but both came up empty. BC High sophomore goalie Drew Karlovits and Arlington junior goalie John Snider both stopped all the shots they faced: keeping the game scoreless at 0-0. Arlington had the edge in shots for the period.
BC High started the second period strongly, getting pucks behind the Arlington defensemen and forechecking with good structure. This allowed them to have some sustained zone time, but the Spy Ponders’ defensive zone coverage was excellent and once again limited the Eagles to mainly outside or point shots, that is, until the nine minute mark. BC High’s sophomore Danny Chan went in hard on the forecheck, which paid off. The Arlington defenseman turned it over next to the net and Snider was sliding to his left when Chan picked it up and slid it in the empty short side to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead. This period was physical and a bit chippy, and Arlington began to carry the play after they gave up the goal. They had decent zone time with multiple shots but Karlovits was up to the task. He faced multiple shots through traffic and smothered all of them, limiting any rebound chances. Arlington had a chance to tie it on the power play with three minutes to go but BC High’s penalty kill, backstopped by Karlovits, did a solid job killing it off.
Arlington picked up the pace in the third trying to tie the game up, but BC High continued to be physical and didn’t give the Arlington forwards any time or space with the puck. Arlington did have some extended possession in the Eagles’ zone and did a good job going low to high with the puck, getting shots through from the point. Karlovits was solid in net for the Eagles all game but was especially sharp in the third. He tracked pucks well and continued to smother every shot, giving the Arlington forwards no chances on rebounds around the crease. With 10 minutes to go, senior Eagles forward Chris Brennick chipped a puck by the Arlington defender at the blue line, kept his feet moving and drove the net. He fired a shot from the bottom of the circle that snuck through Snider to give the Eagles the 2-0 lead. With five minutes left Arlington would go on the power play again, and they pulled Snider to create the 6-on-4 advantage. The Eagles penalty kill was disciplined and Karlovits was dialed in so once again they kept Arlington off the scoreboard. With just under a minute to go, senior forward Sonny Christian chipped a puck out of his zone past the Arlington defender and scored the empty net goal sealing the victory for the Eagles 3-0.
Three Stars:
- G Drew Karlovits. BC High
- F Chris Brennick BC High
- F Danny Chan BC High