Middleton, MA – We arrived early and set up shop ahead of this afternoon’s Pete Frates Classic Consolation Game featuring the Raiders of Central Catholic and the Eagles of BC High. Both teams lost games yesterday but were looking to right the ship following today’s matchup. As expected, the attendance was sparse for this game as most of the fans awaited today’s Championship that would soon follow, that did not deter us as we wanted another viewing of both teams. As a quick reminder, for anyone who is looking to learn more about Pete’s story, and the Frates Foundation’s mission click here and please consider a donation as well.
In the first period, it was entirely wide open and both teams were taking big swings and the action was up and down the ice on every shift. Each team traded chances and it did not take long to crack the scoresheet as three minutes in junior Andrew Seamans delivered a slick cross-ice feed to the tape of junior Jake Morowski who buried it top shelf to make it 1-0 Raiders. BC High came back quickly with a couple of response shifts and netted the equalizer a minute and a half later. Junior forward Landon Littlewood took a shot from the point that deflected off senior forward Jack Reidy out to senior Stephen Cherry at the dot and he flung it on net far side and the goaltender had no chance to stop it: the score was knotted at 1-1 with 12+ minutes left to play. The remainder of the period featured many more Grade A scoring chances by both sides, but the best looks came off the sticks of the Eagles who put in the work down low to generate those chances. Central Catholic did take some quality shots in transition but the shots on goal battle went to the Eagles. We went to the second period tied 1-1.
In the middle frame, it was more of the same between both teams as both BC High and Central Catholic were taking chances and looking un-tie the game. There were more than a few scrambles in front of the net and lots of odd-man chances to speak of, but the vast majority of them broke down before shots on goal were generated. The game continued in this back-and-forth style but 10 minutes into the frame BC High would go on top. Junior forward Max Ryan made a nice pass from behind the net and it was buried by senior forward Sonny Christian to make it 2-1 Eagles. The score would stay that way through the remainder of the period…on we went to the third.
In the third period, once again it was wide-open hockey with both teams trading chances at both ends. The quality of the chances improved here with some nice cross-ice passes, BC High had the majority of the best looks and inevitably drew a penalty with 5 minutes remaining. They would capitalize on the man advantage as senior forward Chris Brennick took a close-range shot from the slot that deflected right to senior defender Cam Berry who buried to make it 3-1 Eagles. The remainder of the period was largely academic except for a waved-off rebound tally by Brennick for the Eagles and a timeout called with 55 seconds remaining. Final score: 3-1 win for BC High.
Three Stars:
- F Sonny Christian, BC High
- F Jake Morowski, Central Catholic
- G Drew Karlovits, BC High
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Middleton, MA – Following the completion of the Consolation Game we were ready for the Main Event: the Frates Classic Championship Game featuring the Cardinals of Pope Francis and the Eagles of St. John’s Prep. This matchup was the most anticipated of the weekend as two of the heavyweights in this foursome would be facing off head-to-head. The ability to use this game as a springboard was critical for early season success and of course the legacy of playing in the name of Pete Frates added extra motivation, especially for the Eagles. It was time to light this candle and get the game going…
In the first period, the pace was frenetic as both teams looked to gain the upper hand and there were sparkling chances at both ends. The defenses were on alert early and not allowing much to happen between the dots, but when those shots did come in they were the best looks of the period. For the first 10 minutes the play was largely even but slightly favored St. John’s Prep in terms of possession. They were able to create chances below the dots and worked hard along the walls to keep the puck moving quickly. As the period wore on, that possession arrow swung over to Pope Francis and that would ultimately create the goal that they scored. They drew a penalty with four minutes remaining and a large scrum in front of the net ensued with multiple players taking a whack at the loose puck. It was senior forward Nick Burns who found the loose change and made the deposit to make it 1-0 Cardinals. For the remaining two and a half minutes, the Prep responded with two strong response shifts but were unable to bury the equalizer. The first period ended 1-0 in favor of the Cardinals.
In the middle frame, it was high pace, exciting hockey with chances created at both ends. The Prep came out with a fire and that led to an early goal for the Eagles as junior defenseman Kevin Correa fired a shot from the top of the circle and junior forward Brandon Ward was able to tip the shot to tie this game at 1-1. The Eagles were feeding off the momentum and flying early and that led to more collective attacking zone time. They were able to stack up more shots on goal in the period, but as we got into the back half of the period, Pope began to break through and created chances off the rush. They were hanging a forward at the opposing blue line and that spread out the Eagles defense as a result. Later, it paid off with an odd-man rush with three minutes to go. A nice give-and-go play between junior forward Liam Dolan and sophomore Troy Hamelin led to a quick strike by Hamelin that he sniped five hole to make it 2-1 Pope Francis. That would be our score at the end of two periods.
In the third period, St. John’s Prep strung together a couple of strong opening shifts, but following that, it was almost all Pope Francis. The Cardinals showed a steely determination and smart approach with possession and that’s how they created the shift that resulted in the dagger goal. Only 3:30 into the final frame the Cardinals had earned a power play and converted on a tic-tac-goal from freshman defender Joseph Chiancoloa to Burns to goal scorer junior Joe Orszulak: 3-1 Pope Francis. For the remainder of the period, the Cardinals were quick to limit space and time for the Eagles and their quick zone exits were limited to mostly one-and-done rushes. As the period wore on, grips on sticks began to tighten and Pope Francis kept the pressure on. The Eagles secured a power play with six minutes left but were unable to convert. They later called timeout with 59.8 seconds remaining and aggressively pulled the goalie, but shortly after junior forward Matt Regan iced this game with an empty netter to give us a final score of 4-1 Pope Francis. They are the 2024 Pete Frates Classic Champions.
Three Stars:
- F Liam Dolan, Pope Francis
- F Troy Hamelin, Pope Francis
- F Brandon Ward, St. John’s Prep