Middleton, MA – With the holiday season largely in the rearview mirror, we took a drive down to Middleton to catch the 10th Annual Pete Frates Classic featuring four of the perennial top teams in the State, all competing to honor the memory of Pete Frates, with all proceeds from ticket sales being donated to the Team Frate Train Foundation. We would encourage everyone reading this post to learn more about Pete, the Foundation’s mission here and consider a donation as well. As far as the hockey taking place today, it features the 1pm early game including the Central Catholic Raiders and Pope Francis Cardinals and the late game at 3:10pm featuring the BC High Eagles and host team, the St. John’s Prep Eagles. This tournament is a great measuring stick for these four schools who are looking to make a statement early and start their seasons off on the right foot.
In the first period, it would feature a lot of back-and-forth action. Both teams were looking to spark transition and create odd-man chances but ultimately there were not many shots on goal to speak of. Many attempted shots went wide while others were blocked by sticks and bodies in front of the net. There were not a great deal of Grade A chances to speak of and in total it would shock us if there were more than 10 shots between both teams. Pope Francis was looking to use its speed on the forecheck to force mistakes on the breakout whereas Central Catholic was looking to author sneakaway passes up ice and catch Pope Francis off guard with numbers on the rush. Neither team was able to convert in the first 17 minutes. There was one Pope Francis shot from the point that did evade the Raiders’ goalie, but it was whistled down for high sticking, and on we went. The Raiders will have 55 seconds of power play time remaining when we start the second.
In the middle frame, the Cardinals were able to kill off the penalty and with both teams at even strength, the tug-of-war resumed. Once again, both teams were looking to play to their strengths, and once again neither team was willing to give an inch, which led to yet another scoreless frame. A new wrinkle in the middle frame was two key penalties on Central Catholic that gave the Cardinals 4 minutes on the man advantage late in the period. Full credit goes to the Raider defense as they covered the house very well and did not allow second shots to get through. Their active sticks and physicality down low led to a limited number of Grade A chances. Pope Francis did ring one off the post and they created a couple of additional sparkling looks, but the Raiders denied them all. Central Catholic picked up their forecheck in the period which forced a couple of mistakes in coverage by Pope Francis earlier in the frame, but neither produced any results on the scoreboard. We head into the third period scoreless, but this game feels like the first one to score may be declared the winner to advance to the title game tomorrow…
In the third period, sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. In the early minutes of the third period, both teams came out with an extra pep in their step and the play was faster and cleaner than the first two frames. More chances were occurring at both ends of the ice, but Pope Francis would strike first. Just over five minutes into the frame, junior forwards Wolfgang Zinger and Matt Regan connected behind the net and Zinger found an open senior forward Michael McGrath who buried to make it 1-0 Pope. At that point, the Cardinals were flying high and their confidence grew by the minute. They would pad their lead three minutes later as McGrath and Regan broke into the zone on an odd-man rush and this time Regan finished at the left post to make it 2-0 Pope. And three minutes later the Cardinals put in the final dagger as Liam Dolan broke in off the wing with speed and fed a diving Regan who tapped it home to make it 3-0 Pope Francis. That would be our final score as sophomore goalie George Ramsey was credited with the shutout.
Three Stars
- F Matt Regan, Pope Francis
- G George Ramsey, Pope Francis
- F Wolfgang Zinger, Pope Francis
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Middleton, MA – The second game of today’s doubleheader featured the afternoon’s most anticipated matchup as the host team St. John’s Prep was taking on BC High in an All-Eagle matchup. The pregame ceremony featured Pete Frates’ daughter dropping the first puck to both team captains at center ice with many other family members looking on from the benches. Following the ceremony, Bruins anthem singer Todd Angilly offered a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and we were ready to get underway.
In the first period, the action was frenetic and fast with both teams going all out from the first shift onward. For St. John’s Prep, this is a statement game and an important tournament to start the year off on the right foot. They came out of the gate emptying the tank and they were very tough to contain because they kept their feet moving. They had a number of Grade A looks, but they were stonewalled by the BC High netminder. BC High was quick to exit their zone once they gained possession and St. John’s Prep was looking to win along the walls to regain the puck. The constant cycle of back and forth punches and counterpunches did not yield any goals but it did hint that the first goal of the game wasn’t far off.
In the middle stanza, once again, both squads were competing hard at both ends. St. John’s Prep was able to create a couple of chances in transition whereas BC High used an aggressive forecheck to create turnovers below the goal line. There were a few Grade A chances that looked ticketed for the back of the net, but they either rang the post, went just wide or were blocked at the last minute in front before they could go in. Both netminders: sophomore Drew Karlovits of BC High and junior Nathan Michaud of St. John’s Prep have been on point today and that has been the story of the game thusfar. The skaters on both sides have been working their tails off to dig pucks out along the walls and to stand in front of the net, taking plenty of punishment looking to get open. Still, we finished the second scoreless and looked to the third to determine a winner.
In the third period, it was more of the same: BC High was using its quickness and tenacity to create chances whereas St. John’s Prep was looking to transition with numbers and create odd-man looks. As it got later and later that first goal became more and more critical and it would be St. John’s Prep who would break the ice. Nine minutes into the period, a scramble at the netfornt led directly to a goal by senior forward Sam Croke as he roofed the puck at the top of the paint. Following that goal, the Prep was emboldened and tightened up their defensive coverage. They did not allow very many looks in the house, but there was a crack in the armor when they were assessed a penalty with 3:05 to go. BC High took their timeout to draw up a play and it seemingly worked as on the ensuing shift they were able to tie the score. There was a scrum that ensued with a loose puck around the netfront and it was senior Chris Brennick who buried it: 1-1 was the score with under two and a half minutes left. The game seemed destined for OT, but the Prep had other ideas. Just two minutes later an odd-man rush led to a clean zone entry and junior Brandon Ward caught a quick pass and fired a shot top shelf at close range to make it 2-1 with only 23 seconds to go. That would be the dagger as the Prep advances to the Champsionship tomorrow at 4:40pm.
Three Stars:
- F Brandon Ward, St. John’s Prep
- G Nathan Michaud, St. John’s Prep
- F Chris Brennick, BC High