SJP nets win over Xaverian
Holds off No. 5 seed to move on
FRAMINGHAM — In the inaugural game of the 2020 Super Eight tournament, fourth-ranked St. John’s Prep took a two-goal lead early in the third and held off fifthseeded Xaverian in a firstround 2-1 victory at Loring Arena in Framingham.
ST. JOHN’S PREP 2 XAVERIAN 1
“We know how dangerous X av er ian is ,” said Prep head coach Kristian Hanson. “Our goal every time we step on the ice is to use our team speed and have it translate into solid defense.”
Deadlocked in a scoreless tie midway through the second, St. John’s (12-4-5) began to take control of the game, dominating possession and and piling up shot totals before finally drawing a penalty.
On the power play, with six minutes to play in the middle frame, Prep senior defenseman Josiah Brown fed junior Jake DiNapoli below the left dot, who fed it back to senior blue liner Jack Gilligan, who unleashed a slap shot through a sea of bodies that found the back of the net on the far side, to make it 1-0.
“Both teams are trying to get that all-important first goal,” Hanson said. “Our goal is to get bodies out front, sticks on pucks and put in rebounds. … Gilly got a nice shot on it.”
The Eagles got insurance just 2:55 into the second, when Ryan Webb collected a pass from Edward Malolepszy in the slot on an oddman rush, using the defenseman as a screen and ripping a shot off the far post and in, tomakeit2-0.
“That second one really gave us a little bit of breathing room in the third,” said
Hanson. “Just a really wellplaced shot by Webb who was all over the ice tonight.”
Moments later, Xaverian (13-5-3) found themselves with a golden opportunity to cut into the deficit with a 5-on-3 power play, but Prep senior goaltender Noah Dorsey-Sorofman was stellar, stopping all five shots he faced on the penalty kill, but more importantly controlling rebounds.
Said Hanson: “Noah was dialed in all night, he was great on the five-on-three and I thought the PK was great around him.”
The Prep netminder turned aside 11 shots in the final frame and 29 total on the evening.
The Hawks found life with just 1:33 to go, as Ryan Pomposelli redirected a Nolan Dion wrist shot home to cut the deficit in half, but that was all the scoring Xaverian could muster.