READING — The Reading boys hockey group bounced again properly Monday afternoon in its first motion since Belmont ended its undefeated season.
Despite twice trailing No. 8 Pope Francis (6-1-2) in an endowment sport at Burbank Ice Arena, the No. 4 Rockets (6-1-1) battled again each instances and skated by way of a scoreless additional time as a part of a 2-2 tie. Chris Hanifan (28 saves) and the Reading protection have been examined in heavy bunches, solely permitting a pair of targets to Josh Iby within the second interval.
Cam Fahey’s neutralizer with underneath six minutes to play added to a protracted checklist of clutch performs all through, leaving the Rockets loads to hold their hats on in a sport with Div. 1 state event implications.
“Wonderful high school game … enjoyable,” mentioned Reading coach Mark Doherty. “Today was very good. … If you’re going to play the Belmonts, the Arlingtons, the Pope Francis, you’ve got to be ready to go. It’s a great opponent to play, we like playing them.”
While the photographs have been largely even after the primary interval, the visiting Cardinals produced much more harmful alternatives with out having the ability to get many pucks on web — largely a credit score to the work of the protection in entrance of Hanifan.
That management of the sport began to indicate up on the scoresheet after the primary intermission, although, as Iby wanted lower than 5 minutes to translate feeds from CJ Watroba and Robert Trigilio right into a 1-0 lead. A pair of penalties then left the Rockets down a skater for seven of the subsequent 12 minutes, serving to Pope Francis almost double Reading in photographs on web within the body (13-7).
Hanifan labored by way of a lot of it to maintain the deficit at one, lengthy sufficient to assist flip the tables on the Cardinals throughout a five-minute main penalty kill. Mark Boyle scooped up a turnover on the Pope Francis blue line and charged down the center for a shorthanded objective to even the rating with 5:23 left within the second interval.
A second penalty finally paid a worth for Reading when Iby scored his second objective on the facility play, however Hanifan and the protection’s work to restrict Pope Francis to 2 targets in that stretch spoke volumes.
“They’re very good offensively,” Doherty mentioned. “So obviously, we’re very happy to (tie) 2-2. D was pretty solid.”
The Rockets assault lastly received constant stress within the third, making Pope Francis goalie Vin Maggi work for 11 of his 24 saves within the body. The solely shot he couldn’t cease got here on some stunning motion from Reading, as TJ Michel’s profitable pinch gave Evan Pennucci the puck in open house to seek out Fahey for a objective on the left submit – tying the rating at 2-2.
Reading rapidly acquired an influence play alternative proper after, although couldn’t get greater than a shot on web.
Neither group gave any slack from there, finally leading to a largely quiet additional time interval earlier than the ultimate buzzer.
Source: www.bostonherald.com