Arlington, MA – In our second game of the day for the MassNZ staff, we stuck around at Ed Burns Arena to catch the second game of a local doubleheader. After Arlington Catholic defeated Concord-Carlisle, it was the #4 ranked Spy Ponders of Arlington HS hosting the #2 ranked Knights of Catholic Memorial in a Top 5 matchup. There was an ample buzz pregame for the Game of the Week at the D1 level.
It wouldn’t take long to get the home crowd into the game. Just under a minute into the tilt, senior Nolan Russell cut across the top of the faceoff circle and beat CM junior goalie Colin MacDougall with a quick shot over his glove. Both teams played a physical brand of hockey throughout the period but Arlington would get called for a trip and go to the box at the 10 minute mark. CM had some good looks and scoring chances on the power play but senior goalie John Snider was up to the task, making a couple of quality saves through traffic. With three minutes left the Spy Ponders would add to their lead. Senior Drew Beck was heavy on his forecheck, caused a turnover and found senior Armen Vartanian on the doorstep. Vartanian collected the pass and beat MacDougall glove side high once again. The first period ended with the Spy Ponders up 2-0.
CM found their legs from the drop of the puck in the 2nd and made a push, but Arlington played tough defense and bottled CM forwards up all over the ice, limiting their scoring chances. With eight minutes to go, CM would finally break through. Sophomore forward Landon Carlson took a pass from junior Will Robinson and ripped a shot through a screen in the high slot, beating Snider blocker side. Just a couple minutes later, MacDougall made a game-saving stop to keep it a 2-1 game. The Spy Ponders were cycling low in the zone and CM missed coverage on the back side as the pass went to the open Arlington forward who was looking at an open net. MacDougall never gave up and reached back with his stick to make an unbelievable paddle save. Not to be outdone, Snider would make a big stop at the other end. With a minute to go, CM had a 2-on-1 and the CM forward put a shot on the far pad of Snider who kicked it out to an open CM forward. Snider tracked the rebound well and made a sprawling save to deny CM’s tying opportunity. That save kept the game 2-1 and that’s how the period would end.
Both teams came out playing hard to start the third period, and both teams were stingy defensively, limiting chances at both ends. The first few minutes of the period, Arlington did a good job gaining the red line and chipping pucks behind CM’s defense, applying good forechecking pressure and making it difficult for the Knights to create much offense. But it didn’t last long as CM kept grinding and the ice began to tilt in their favor around the 10-minute mark of the period. Snider was solid, making multiple saves in the middle of the period to keep CM off the board, but they would break through with five minutes on the clock. The Arlington defender had the puck behind his net and blindly wrapped it up the wall. The puck was turned over and junior Jack McCourt fired it on net from the point. The shot was blocked by an Arlington defender and junior forward Michael Melvin picked it up, walked across the slot and beat Snider high blocker side to tie the game 2-2. Arlington took a tripping penalty with two and a half minutes to go in the period and CM would capitalize. Sophomore forward AJ Ankstitus had the puck on the side wall and fed junior Christian Hinckle on the goal line. He drove the net and slid the puck under Snider at the post to take the lead 3-2. The Spy Ponders called a timeout and eventually pulled Snider to get the extra attacker out. With seconds left, Arlington had a chance right at the back door but couldn’t get it to go and CM would hold on for the 3-2 victory.
Three Stars:
- F Nolan Russell, Arlington
- F Michael Melvin, Catholic Memorial
- F Landon Carlson, Catholic Memorial