Boston, MA – MassNZ started the season with a Saturday double dip and the nightcap featured one of the best games across the state. It pitted the defending State Champs #1-ranked Knights of Catholic Memorial against the #4-ranked Cardinals of Pope Francis at Warrior Ice Arena. This was a rematch of the Final Four game that sent CM to the Garden last March and both teams had that on their mind early in this one. Interestingly, there was a sparse crowd at the opening puck drop. The CM student section got a bit of a late start in this one, but they did bring the heat with their Christmas theme and their vocal support in the back half of this game.
In the first period, the Cardinals held most of the puck possession across the opening 15. They were rolling only three lines in this game and they were focused on exiting their zone quickly, dumping the puck in and going to work. The Knights showed off some quick puck touches and a couple of quality scoring chances with looks around the net but they were unable to solve junior goalie George Ramsey. The opening 10 minutes featured lots of back-and-forth action and some slick passing but no Grade A looks. That all changed in the 12th minute when sophomore forward Whitaker Zinger gained the offensive zone with senior Thomas Connery and the former delivered a slick sauce pass to the latter who buried a snap shot to make it 1-0 Pope Francis. From there, the Knights looked to push back and it all started with a huge open ice hit by junior Liam McKinney. After that hit the Knights had many of their best looks of the night. Ramsey stood tall in the face of this onslaught and Pope weathered the storm and showed their resolve which led to a positive outcome as senior Matty Regan took a pass from senior Liam Dolan and fired an off-angle shot that snuck through the goalie’s pads just before the buzzer sounded. The Cardinals were fired up following the walk off score heading into the locker room.
In the second period, both teams came out of the locker room with a steely resolve and the animosity was cranked up a couple notches as more big hits knocked off opponent helmets and more scrums ensued. Both teams were assessed misconduct penalties and each squad was gifted power play time but neither was able to convert. As we settled into the period, the Cardinals began to tilt the ice once again. They owned the bulk of the possession and their physicality was a factor in the defensive zone which allowed them to clear pucks out quickly. There were a lot of pass breakups in the neutral zone and that meant fewer chances around the net. We went a full 16 minutes without a tally but that last minute seemed to be eventful tonight. With just under a minute to go the Knights junior forward Will Robinson fired a puck to the front of the net and it hit the back of a Pope Francis defender’s helmet and trickled into the net. That made it 2-1 in favor of Pope Francis headed into the third, but the Knights were feeding off those vibes headed to the final frame.
In the third period, the Knights were riding that wave of momentum and they came out aggressively. Just 1:11 into the frame they would knot this thing up as junior forward Dan Antonellis scored for the second consecutive game by getting his stick on a shot in front to make it 2-2. From that point on it was a new game and both teams gripped their sticks a little tighter and played heavier, looking to shut down the opposition. The penalty calls had hardly been a factor for the previous two periods, but two Knights infractions would play a large role here. Just 30 seconds after the tying goal was scored, Catholic Memorial was whistled for a 5-minute major which felt like it would have far-reaching consequences. Full marks to the Knights defensively as they surrendered few shots during the man advantage and were able to kill it. Both teams traded scoring chances once we were back to 5-on-5 but neither was able to land the final punch. With two minutes remaining, Catholic Memorial was whistled for another key penalty but once again the Cardinals were unable to solve for the Knights packing the house tight. To OT we went since regulation was not enough to decide this one.
In the extra session, we started 5 on 4 as there was one extra second remaining on the penalty clock, but it didn’t make much of a difference as the pace picked up. The early minutes of OT featured a lot of offensive zone time for the Knights but Ramsey was equal to every shot. Pope Francis was able to create odd-man chances but not able to put many shots on net at the other end. Ultimately, neither team was able to gain the upper hand and this game ended in a 2-2 tie. It was a fitting ending for two teams who may meet again in March.
Three Stars:
- G George Ramsey, Pope Francis
- G Jaxson Fleming, Catholic Memorial
- F Matt Regan, Pope Francis