CANTON — The Catholic Conference Hockey Challenge has constantly offered a showcase for the premier expertise within the state.
On Sunday, its six collaborating colleges arrived on the illustrious Canton Ice House, every hoping to depart a long-lasting impression.
Mason Luciano and Christian Rosa every potted a aim in the course of the sport’s opening 4:35 as St. John’s Prep (8-1) overcame an early one-goal deficit for a convincing 4-1 win over Catholic Memorial.
“It’s kind of funny,” stated St. John’s Prep coach Kristian Hanson. “You win a huge game like this. Then you’re in the locker room afterward, and you’re kind of picking apart the things you didn’t do well. I think that’s the point we’re at right now. We need to be better. The points are a huge two points, we all know that. We all accept that. But we have a job to do, and it’s kind of getting ready for the next one. But I’m certainly not going to walk away without understanding the importance of the two points we won.”
In complete, St. John’s Prep went on to attain 4 complete targets in a 14-minute stretch in the course of the opening stanza, the latter two of which got here off the sticks of Johnny Tighe and Caleb White, respectively.
The occasion’s nightcap featured no scarcity of fireworks, and Xaverian (7-2) was in a position to survive on the finish of the day. Junior proper winger Jackson Morse completed with two factors, together with the clinching aim with 2:54 left in regulation, because the Hawks staved off a livid rally by St. John’s (Shrewsbury) for a wild 7-4 victory.
“(This is) a wonderful event,” stated Xaverian coach David Spinale. “We love hosting it. All the teams come in, and there’s great energy here. It’s a great day of hockey. Hopefully everybody enjoyed themselves..but I think the exposure we get, and the games (are incredible).”
The first minute of the sport was a foreshadowing of what was to return, with Xaverian and St. John’s buying and selling targets between Ryan Bello and Brady Chenevert. However, the Hawks shortly discovered a second gear, as Colvin Callahan, Joe Von Handorf and Devin Gosciak mixed to attain three straight. By the tip of the primary interval, Xaverian was cruising with a 4-1 lead.
Yet, St. John’s by no means relented as the sport wore on. Led by Luke Gerardi (two targets, help), the Pioneers closed to inside 5-4 with 3:56 remaining in regulation.
With the sport and the lead hanging within the steadiness, Morse sniped his tally to successfully ice the win. Jack O’Neil added a last-second aim for the Hawks.
Meanwhile within the opening sport of the afternoon, BC High used a whole staff effort to select up an important 4-2 win over Malden Catholic. The Eagles (4-5) obtained targets from Max Ryan, Tommy Halloran and David Williams within the early phases to grab a 3-1 lead, solely to observe the Lancers trim the deficit to a aim late within the third off a snipe by Brody MacMaster.
With 59.9 seconds remaining, it appeared Malden Catholic had discovered an equalizer off an preliminary shot by MacMaster, which was later tapped into the web amongst a scrum. The referees waved it off nonetheless, and BC High senior captain Owen Welch collected an open-net aim within the waning seconds to seal issues in a thriller.
BC High coach John Flaherty firmly believes persevering with the Catholic Conference’s showcase itself has opened doorways for its athletes to realize recognition, particularly with the MIAA’s Super Eight suspension.
“I think we have to take things into our own hands,” stated Flaherty. “If we’re not going to get the support that we should be getting to showcase our guys, then we’ll start taking things into our own hands, and we’ll start running these showcases to help our guys. … It’s the same as what other (schools) are doing. It’s sad that we have to do that because the MIAA made the decision in a vacuum to get rid of the Super Eight. We’ll just keep doing what’s best for our players until we can’t anymore, and then maybe we circle back together and see what’s best for our programs.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com