Pouliot-Porter, Xaverian edge Catholic Memorial
Xaverian goalie Cole Pouliot-Porter wasn’t going to let a sensational effort all night get wasted by a last-ditch comeback in the final minute.
Not against the Catholic Conference foe that beat him twice in the regular season. Not with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
After already allowing a 6-on-5 goal to Catholic Memorial with just 44 seconds left in a Div. 1 state quarterfinal matchup Wednesday night at Warrior Ice Arena, the junior netminder had little vision in front of him when he somehow absorbed a shot from the point with 17.9 seconds remaining to hold onto a one-goal lead. It wasn’t the flashiest of the 44 saves he delivered against relentless pressure through all three periods, but it proved the biggest to help the seventhseeded Hawks take down the No. 2 Knights, 2-1, to get back to the state semifinal round for a second straight year.
The third time was the charm for Xaverian, and it moves on to face No. 14 Reading for a spot at TD Garden this weekend.
“I knew I had to lock it down for these few seconds, that’s crucial for the team,” Pouliot-Porter said. “Since the boys their job for me, I (had) to do my job for them. … Just got to keep calm under those situations, that’s what we train for. It’s what I play for Xaverian for. I’m not just doing it for myself, it’s for the boys in front of me. … It’s a great team win.”
Not many people outside of its own locker room had Xaverian pegged to get this far for a second straight year after graduating 15 seniors, but the Hawks put their heads down and took advantage of whatever chances laid in front of them to keep advancing.
This game proved the epitome of that in front of a sold-out crowd. Catholic Memorial jumped all over Xaverian from the opening faceoff with a storm of offensive pressure, translating into 19 shots on Pouliot-Porter in the opening frame.
But as he pulled out his entire bag of moves to block shots in front of every inch of the net, the opportunistic Hawks found a gap late in the first for a 1-0 lead. An unfortunately-timed CM line change freed up space down the left side, and a shot on Owen Watson ricocheted to a wide-open Colvin Callahan for a goal. The second period saw a similar execution on a Knights mishap, with Jackson Morse picking up a loose puck off a turnover for a breakaway goal and a 2-0 lead early in the second.
“You’ve got to get the bounces, and we got our bounces today and we worked hard for it. We feel good about it,” said head coach Dave Spinale. “I don’t mean it to sound like we got lucky, but at this time of year, things have to go your way. Things went our way tonight. … I thought we battled.”
Xaverian settled the CM storm over the last 30 minutes, but the Knights still produced a bevy of offensive chances to cut the deficit. That includes a 2-on-1 late in the second that any other goalie almost assuredly would have let in after a perfect pass across the crease, but it was PouliotPorter’s night. He saved it with the glove.
Catholic Memorial put on the late charge after pulling Watson with just under three minutes left, scoring when Anthony Pellitteri tipped in a shot from the point for some life. Again, though, it was Pouliot-Porter’s night.
“Starting with Cole in the net tonight, there’s nothing much more I can say about how outstanding he was,” Spinale said. “He was the difference, clearly. … Cole was just dialed in, that was the best I’ve seen him all year.”