Malden, MA – We were able to catch tonight’s Christie Serino Christmas Classic Championship Game featuring the host Malden Catholic Lancers going up against the Colonials of Shrewsbury High School at Malden Valley Forum in…Malden.
The opening stanza didn’t disappoint in this Championship matchup. It was fast-paced, physical and both teams left it all on the ice. MC junior goalie Kyle Rushton was dialed in and was a big reason why this period ended scoreless. Shrewsbury generated more zone time and had multiple odd-man rushes that Rushton handled all period. With 10 minutes to go on the clock the Lancers would go on the power play. A fumbled puck by MC led to a shorthanded 2-on-0 break for Shrewsbury. Rushton held his ground and read the pass perfectly making a great lateral save to keep the game even. Both teams were playing the dump-and-chase style looking for turnovers on their forechecks. There wasn’t much space to operate, both teams played stingy and did a good job of taking time and space away from the puck carriers all over the ice.
MC came out in the second and took control of the game. They put heavy pressure on the Shrewsbury defensemen and finished every check. They forced Shrewsbury to ice the puck multiple times to relieve the pressure. Colonials sophomore goalie Jake Linton was tested early and often but was up to the task, turning away shot after shot in the first five minutes of the period. Shrewsbury would later get a break and go on the power play with nine minutes to go in the period, but MC spoiled the party. MC sophomore forward Brody MacMaster beat the Shrewsbury defenseman to the puck, wheeled up the wall and began to attack the net. He made a great pass to junior Zachary Woods who buried it past the sprawling Linton to give MC the 1-0 lead. A couple of minutes later Shrewsbury would find some luck of their own when senior defenseman Tom Senior dumped a puck on net from center ice and it caught Rushton by surprise and it snuck by him to tie the game at 1-1. Building off that momentum, just a minute later, forward Zak Salovardos backhanded home a rebound from Ryan Quercia’s point shot putting the Colonials up 2-1. MC had a chance to tie the game with two minutes left. MC senior Dominic Ferragamo picked up the puck at center ice and went in all alone, but Linton robbed him point-blank to protect the lead.
The third period belonged to Shrewsbury as they put up four goals to secure the win. Just a minute and a half in, Colonials forward Jaxon Sabataso stole a puck from an MC defenseman trying clear the zone, broke in all alone and beat Rushton 5-hole to give the Colonials the 3-1 lead. Just 4 minutes later Cedric McDonough picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, took the puck into the zone with speed and walked around the defenseman and sniped top shelf for Shrewsbury’s fourth goal of the game. After that goal, the game got physical and chippy with both teams trading power plays, but the score remained 4-1 until the 5-minute mark. Freshman defenseman Brady O’Connell got a shot through to Rushton who made the initial stop, but Salovardos buried the rebound for his 2nd and the Colonials’ fifth of the game. Senior forward Christian Thoren would finish the scoring a minute later when he picked up the puck at the MC blue line beating two MC players to the net and sliding the puck past Rushton for their sixth goal of the game.
The Shrewsbury Colonials would win the game 6-1 and claim the Christie Serino Christmas Classic Championship.
Three Stars:
- F Zak Salovardos, Shrewsbury
- G Jake Linton, Shrewsbury
- F Brady MacMaster, Malden Catholic