Rebuilt BC High eliminates Framingham from Super Eight tourney

BUZZARDS BAY — BC High may have entered the 2019-20 season with a completely refurbished group of players, but judging by the success the Eagles have had to this point, you might not have even noticed.

Despite a roster shakeup, BC High now finds itself just two wins away from playing in a third consecutive Super Eight final. John Logan sniped the game-winning goal on a power play with 8:25 remaining Wednesday, as the Eagles staved off elimination with a 2-1 victory over Framingham at Gallo Ice Arena.

“I think it’s just the will to keep playing,” BC High coach John Flaherty said. “You’ve got to do the job. That’s a very good team over there. They have some very, very dangerous hockey players. So for us, it was about containing their threats, trying to get one or two by that kid in the net, and just playing our game. You’d like to think experience comes into play, but as I said, every year is a new team, and this is a completely different team from last year. So it takes a game like this, to get under their belt, so now they have that kind of experience.”

After a sluggish start to action, the Eagles ramped things up late in the opening period, as Colin Norton rifled a shot home from the faceoff circle with 2:22 remaining in the stanza. Matt Keohane and Aidan Carey were credited with assists on the play, and BC High (15-4-4) seized a 1-0 advantage.

However, after struggling to get any form of offensive tempo in the second, Framingham (15-7-2) was provided a boost late, as BC High was whistled for hooking with 6:58 to go in the period.

At first, the Flyers couldn’t put an offensive possession together on the man advantage. Then, with exactly one second remaining on the power play, Dom Leone spotted Cole Deletti skating uncontested across the ice near the BC High net, and forced a saucer pass over in his direction.

By the time BC High goaltender Tom Kiesewetter saw Deletti swooping in, it was too late to recover. Deletti uncorked a bullet, finding twine to knot the score at one goal apiece 10:01 into the period.

With 9:21 remaining in regulation, the Flyers were called for holding, which spelled doom for Framingham.

As Carey skated with the puck in the corner, Logan tapped his stick on the ice, calling for a pass. When the puck came his way, the junior defenseman waited for his opportunity, and ripped a shot on net from the blue line. The attempt soared through traffic, then ricocheted off the inside of the left post and into the net, giving BC High a 2-1 advantage with 8:25 left on the clock.

“He saw the far post,” Flaherty said. “Because I had the same angle he did, and I couldn’t see the goalie. So all we wanted him to do was to get it through, and he did. So that’s a great play by Johnny Logan, to recognize net-front presence, and to put it in a spot where it wasn’t going to get touched.”

Jake Handy kept Framingham’s hopes alive all night in net, finishing with a whopping 35 saves. In addition to Leone, Ryan Watton added an assist for the Flyers.

Kiesewetter earned the victory for BC High, notching 11 saves to his credit.

BC High will now face St. John’s Prep this Saturday evening at Loring Arena in Framingham.

“Prep’s a big, physical team,” Logan said. “They’re good. So we’ve just got to be tough, get on pucks, get screens, and bury our opportunities.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2xcyfP5