St. John’s Prep ousts Catholic Memorial in Super Eight elimination game

STONEHAM — It wouldn’t take long for St. John’s Prep to seize control of their win-or-go-home contest against Catholic Memorial last night at Stoneham Arena.

The fourth-ranked Eagles jumped out to an early lead and did not relent, holding off sixth-seeded Catholic Memorial for a 5-2 victory, in a Super Eight elimination matchup.

The Eagles (13-5-5) opened the scoring 5:16 into the game, when senior Ryan Hart curled from the right wing boards across the top of the circle toward the slot before stepping into a heavy wrist shot that broke off the blocker of CM goalie Dom Walecka and found the net, to make it 1-0.

Later in the first, the Knights (9-8-6) would have a golden opportunity to even the score on a five-on-three, but Prep senior goaltender Noah Dorsey-Sorofman (24 saves) stopped all four shots he faced, controlling rebounds and preventing CM from gathering momentum.

Seconds after the first penalty expired, St. John’s defenseman Andrew Cole sprung fellow senior Ryan Webb, who had sneaked behind the Catholic Memorial D and broke away alone, deking to his backhand and then jamming home his own rebound to make it 2-0 with 2:51 remaining in the first.

“Our team speed in situations like that can really be a plus for us,” said Prep head coach Kris Hanson. “Webby is really tough to stop in open ice. …He used his speed and went to the net, there was a stop on the first shot and he put the rebound in. It was such an important goal for us.”

Catholic Memorial would get on the board 1:30 into the second, when Glen Considine followed up his own shot, putting the rebound home to cut the deficit in half.

The Eagles would answer with 7:22 remaining in the middle frame, when Hart sent a looping pass to a breaking Nicholas Townshend, who broke in and picked the five-hole to make it 3-1.

Townshend would score again with 2:20 remaining in the second, parking himself in front of the net where a loose puck found its way to the sophomore forward for the easy put home to put the Prep up 4-1.

CM would strike on a Jonny Nichols snipe with 2:57 remaining in the game, but 14-seconds later Hart would notch his second, polishing off a perfect pass from Townshend, to make it 5-2.

Hart and Townshend would both finish the night with two goals and two assists.

“The feet never stop moving with (Townshend), he’s a strong kid, good offensive skills,” Hanson said. “And (Hart) scored that first goal for us. … He’s got silky hands, he’s a fast, strong kid, he’s an athlete, he can play really in any situation and play with confidence, I thought he was really strong tonight.”

St. John’s Prep moves on to the final four of the Super Eight tournament, and will take on BC High in an another elimination game on Saturday.

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