Game 1: Central Catholic vs Pope Francis
Middleton, MA – With the holiday celebrations winding down that can only mean one thing: it’s time for tournament season! This year we have a two-person crew working the 11th annual Frates Classic at Essex Sports Center. All four teams in this year’s tournament were 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. After some great introductions pregame explaining Pete Frates’ mission we were off and running.
In the first period, the puck possession and the momentum was all on Pope Francis’ side of the ice. They were winning races to loose pucks and connecting passes to Grade A scoring areas with regularity. They began pressuring the Raiders from the opening draw and it only took a couple of minutes before they would take the lead. Following a penalty for the Raiders, sophomore defender Joe Chiancoloa dished the puck to senior captain Matt Regan who buried it post and in to give his team the lead 2:42 into the game. The Cardinals would continue to own the possession but Central Catholic did power their way to the net a couple of times, with junior George Ramsey setting aside every shot. Pope Francis held the territorial advantage and added a second score later in the frame as senior Tom Connery sprinted to the wall to keep a puck in at the blue line. He then crept in a couple of steps and fired a shot pass to the front of the net where Regan was waiting and delivered a nice tip shot home. The Cardinals would finish the period strong and 2-0 was our score after one period.
In the second period, Central Catholic came out of the locker room with some fire and owned the early puck possession. The early shifts belonged to them as they were more aggressive and pushed the pace in the process. They got a couple of quality shots away, but as time wore on the ice once again tilted in Pope Francis’ favor. They were connecting on plays more consistently and made good reads to shut down chances. Even though they created more good looks in the attacking zone, the Raiders were able to shut them down and junior Cooper Kirchner stood tall to keep them off the scoreboard. Limiting the damage was the name of the game and the Raiders held their ground, playing a scoreless 17 as they returned to the locker room trailing 2-0 and giving themselves a chance to climb back into the game.
In the final frame, both teams were taking home run shots but ultimately none were connecting. Each team looked for a dagger in scoring the next goal, but it was not to be. The action was back and forth with the teams trading chances. After another 17 minutes, the score remained the same: 2-0 was our final and Pope Francis advances to the title game on Saturday.
Three Stars:
- G George Ramsey, Pope Francis
- F Matt Regan, Pope Francis
- F Tom Connery, Pope Francis
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Game 2: St. John’s Prep vs BC High
Middleton, MA – Going into the second game of the Frates Classic, it felt extra special as St. John’s Prep rocked their 2025 Frates custom jerseys and took part in an emotional ceremonial puck drop accompanied by members of the Frates family. As a home game for the Eagles, the Essex Sports Center filled up in an instant with high-energy St. John’s Prep students and fans, as we went from being able to move around freely to being packed in shoulder to shoulder.
At the beginning of the first period, BC High owned possession of the puck with high-end forechecking. They were suffocating St. John’s Prep defenders, consistently getting the puck behind them and winning physical battles below the goal line. Although BC High was controlling the flow of the game, St. John’s Prep was generating scoring chances off their breakouts, getting down the ice quickly with numbers; however, they struggled to get pucks to the net. As it seemed both teams were settling in for a tough, close hockey game, Gavin Anderson won a faceoff directly to Brandon Ward’s stick, who fired a low shot that beat the goalie five-hole. Soon after taking a 1–0 lead, SJP took two penalties simultaneously, giving BC High a two-minute 5-on-3 power play. BC’s power play was in full effect, tallying six shots from prime scoring areas. Senior SJP goalie Nathan Mangiafico–Michaud stood on his head during the entire penalty kill, stealing every inch of momentum from BC High. Almost immediately following their power play, BC High put SJP on a power play of their own, where senior defenseman JR Goldstein wasted no time burying another goal with a low shot from the blue line before unleashing one of the most high-energy celebrations we’ve seen all season. After this goal, BC’s forecheck – as well as their dump-and-chase style of play – went silent. St. John’s Prep led 2–0 after the first period.
St. John’s Prep started the second period with their foot on the gas. Senior forward Luke Horenstein scored a wrap-around goal in the first 90 seconds of the period. Within another 30 seconds, SJP came down the ice with numbers as Ryan Finkle rifled a low shot on net and Owen Hanson buried the rebound to make it 4–0, forcing BC High to make their first, but not their last, goalie change of the night. After the two goals that came in quick succession, BC High found their game, breaking out cleanly and getting down the ice more consistently. Even though the BC High Eagles were picking it up, St. John’s Prep’s well-coached defensive structure held strong and did not give them much time or space, leading to uneventful rushes and turnovers. Before long, St. John’s Prep’s Anthony Petrucelli scored and deflated the BC High bench. Around the halfway point of the game, BC High was down 5–0 and their game began to shift toward playing with emotion. They started throwing hits, chirping, and crashing the net after the whistle – not in a dirty way, but in a manner that shifted their focus from trying to score to showing frustration, which only became more noticeable as the period went on. Adding insult to injury, Chase Brown of St. John’s Prep scored a beautiful snapshot goal on a shorthanded breakaway. As the second period was winding down, Petrucelli scored his second of the game with a beautiful forehand-backhand deke in tight on the goalie off a rebound, making it 7–0 and ensuring running time for the third period.
The third period started with BC High putting in their third goalie of the night, Danny Callow. He obviously came into the game cold, but he shut the door for the entire frame and made some impressive glove saves. BC High as a team came into the third period with some energy, more specifically, forward Tommy Misilo. He played the third period like a ball of energy, cleanly throwing hard body checks and keeping his feet moving. He was backchecking and forechecking as if it were a 0–0 game and drew a penalty after getting into a SJP player’s head. After BC High had an unsuccessful power play, the game continued on in uneventful fashion, ending 7–0 and setting up the finals between Pope Francis and St. John’s Prep.
Three Stars:
- G Nathan Mangiafico-Michaud, St. John’s Prep
- F Anthony Petrucelli, St. John’s Prep
- F Gavin Anderson, St. John’s Prep