Hingham, Prep win openers
LOWELL — As the horn sounded to end the third period yesterday at the Tsongas Center, Frankie Higgins couldn’t help but think to himself: “Not again.” Higgins did not want to see another season end the way the past two had, with the Hingham boys hockey team being swept out of the Super Eight tournament.
So the senior captain took matters into his own hands. As his brother, Jake, lined up for a one-timer, Higgins raised his stick for a tip-in. One second later, he spun around, only to see his effort pay off with the puck sitting in the back of the net, giving No. 4 Hingham a 2-1 overtime win against No. 5 Andover.
“It felt unbelievable,” Higgins said. “If anything, I was shocked it went in, to be honest. Especially with the way I shot it, I hit it out of the air. To see the town there, the student section, to turn around and see your teammates coming at you, I think my brother hugged me first. That’s something I’ll cherish forever.”
Robbie Kornack made 20 saves for the winning side and his brother put Hingham (13-4-6) up early. Tommy Kornack scored on a wrister to give the Harbormen a 1-0 lead just 7:46 into the game.
But as they have all year on and off the ice, the Warriors fought back from adversity. Andover (13-6-2) tied things up with 12:34 left in regulation when a freshman, Shane Lachance, found twine.
The Warriors would be called for tripping wih 47 seconds remaining in the third period, setting the path for Higgins’ heroics. He advantage on the power play, netting the game-winner 55 seconds into the extra period.
Cole Chingris made 31 saves for the Warriors.
For the Harbormen, the win was their first in Super Eight play in six tries.
“I said, ‘Thank God for lacrosse,’ ” coach Tony Messina said. “(Higgins) whacked that thing out of the air. We had so many chances down there, I didn’t think it was ever going to go in . ... Just great hand-eye coordination.”
Next up for Hingham will be a Monday matchup with the winner of tonight’s opener between top-seeded Central Catholic and No. 8 St. John’s (Shrewsbury). Andover drops into the losers bracket and will face the team on the wrong end of the Central Catholic/St. John’s (S) tilt.
St. John’s Prep 5, Burlington 3 — The third-seeded Eagles (14-3-4) showed why they belong among the best in the state, coming from behind twice to beat the No. 6 Red Devils (20-4-0) at the Tsongas Center.
“It was a great team win,” Prep coach Kristian Hanson said. “It was the next man up mentality and everyone just competed tonight. You didn’t know if it was going to come but everyone stayed positive on the bench.”
Brian Carrabes scored twice for the Eagles.
“All the guys on the team were all-in tonight,” Carrabes said. “Not for a second did I doubt one person out there and they all came through tonight.”
With the score knotted 3-3 in the third period, Patrick Moran broke in 2-on-1 and fed a pass across to freshman Zach McKennelley, who buried the goahead goal with 7:16 to go. Carrabes sealed it with an empty-netter with 21 seconds remaining.
The Eagles trailed 3-2 with 3:19 to play in the second period when Carrabes fought for a rebound and banged in the tying goal.
“Brian’s compete level is off the charts,” Hanson said. “He wants to win more than anybody and he wasn’t going to be denied, it’s simple as that.”
At 7:51 of the second period, Joe Barbieri crashed the Prep goal and scored off a rebound to put the Red Devils up 3-2.
The teams appeared headed for big offensive night when the first period ended at 2-2. David Sacco gave St. John’s Prep the early lead and Frankie Bonanno answered for Burlington, then the Red Devils went ahead on a Conor Quinlan goal that was followed by Evan Beers’ tally for the Eagles in the final minute.
“You know that one shot, one bounce can tie that came up,” said Hanson. “We were back on our heels and that’s just character there, we didn’t let up.”
Cam Ludwig made 27 saves for the Eagles. The Red Devils’ Paul Barbieri stopped 24 shots.
The Eagles move on to play the winner of today’s game between No. 2 BC High and No. 7 Pope Francis, while Burlington awaits the loser of that matchup.