BOSTON — Despite Catholic Memorial controlling play for most of the first period against Xaverian, the game was scoreless.
Then came the final minute.
With 36.4 seconds left in the period, CM junior forward Mike Melvin pushed in a rebound off a mad scramble in front of Xaverian junior goalie Connor Kotwicki. Then, with 1.8 seconds on the clock, sophomore Landon Carlson gathered the puck in the high slot and ripped a snap shot past the Xaverian netminder to go up by two.
It was a lead CM never gave up, as the Knights eventually won, 3-1, to win the Catholic Conference title.
Xaverian pushed back hard after going down, 2-0, in the final minute of the first period. The Hawks spent a good amount of the second period in CM's end. With 4:24, Xaverian even got a power play.
But with the seconds trickling down on the power play, CM sophomore forward Will Alves was going to turn and clear the puck. As he turned, he noticed sophomore forward AJ Ankstitus leaving the penalty box and hit him with a perfect pass, sending Ankstitus in alone on a breakaway that he scored on.
The Hawks responded 37 seconds later when senior forward Ryan Bello scored. In the third period, however, CM's stinginess didn't allow many Hawks chances. And when Xaverian did get to the net, CM freshman goalie Jaxson Fleming was there to make the save.
CM improved to 14-2-1 with the win, while Xaverian fell to 13-4-0. It was the Knights' second win over Xaverian this season after beating the Hawks, 5-0, on Jan. 18.
Let's dive into some standouts and takeaways.
Jack McCourt
Catholic Memorial, 4/3/2008, F, left shot, 6-2/181
Hometown: Milton, Mass.Â
McCourt had a strong, 200-foot game. In his own end, he supported the play low as the center, and on penalty kills, he was a pain to play against, especially high in the zone. He almost scored a few times at the other end, just missing the net wide on two rebound attempts in the first period. He was able to get into high-danger areas with his frame and ability to protect pucks. On top of that, his shot was so heavy.
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Kellan Murphy
Catholic Memorial, 2010, D, left shot
Hometown: Belmont, Mass.Â
Murphy played like his life depended on stepping up and keeping pucks in the offensive zone — and it worked. There was a sequence in the first period where he did so three times, extending a long, offensive zone cycle for his forwards. On Melvin's goal, it started when Murphy threw a heads-up dump on Kotwicki as his team was changing. Murphy was consistently aggressive on his step-ups in the neutral zone and at his own blue line. Midway through the third, he got in a lowbridge hit that sent a Xaverian forward's feet in the air.
Shaun Farrell
Catholic Memorial, 2010, D, right shot, 5-7/146
Hometown: Hanson, Mass.Â
Farrell's poise with the puck was obvious. When he had the puck at the offensive blue line, he never panicked and was able to use his good edgework to get away from defenders and to space. Catholic Memorial generated quite a bit of offense from its defensemen, and Farrell was at the heart of that. He was also unafraid to take the body and had a good stick when defending.
AJ Ankstitus
Catholic Memorial, 9/19/2010, F, left shot
Hometown: North Dighton, Mass.Â
Ankstitus' goal sent the CM student section into a frenzy when he burst out of the box, corralled the pass from Alves and showcased a great finish. Ankstitus' speed combined with his compete made him relentless on pucks and hard on defenders when forechecking. His line with him, Trevor Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.) and Ronan Foley (Randolph, Mass.) had a cycle in the first period that lasted for roughly two minutes.
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Jaxson Fleming
Catholic Memorial, 2010, G, catches left, 6-3/249
Hometown: Waltham, Mass.Â
Fleming wasn't super busy, but made two massive saves in the third period. One of them came when a Hawks shot went wide and Fleming overcommitted a bit. Xaverian sophomore forward James Johnson got the puck on the other side and looked to have an open net, but Fleming reached across with just his stick and, from my angle, it sure looked like he got all of it, making the save. Fleming also robbed Hawks junior forward Ben Pernicano with the blocker late in the third.
Ryan Bello
Xaverian, 3/8/2008, F, right shot, 5-10/141
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.Â
Bello was Xaverian's best player. On his goal, he dished the puck to Joe Von Handorf on a 2-on-1. Fleming stopped Von Handorf, but Bello took a terrific route to the net and was right there to cash in on the rebound. Bello showed an ability to get to high-danger areas and find soft spots in coverage. In the third period, he made a great read in his own zone after a long shift to intercept a CM chance and delivered a perfect breakout pass. I also liked his skating.
Liam Doherty
Xaverian, junior, D, left shot
Hometown: Canton, Mass.Â
Doherty was good at putting out fires. Late in the first period, he broke up a 2-on-1 and eventually sprung a Xaverian odd-man rush the other way. He was able to win most of his board battles, especially low in his own zone. His stick prevented passes by shoring up passing lanes. At the end of the second period, he made a smart read in front of his own net and closed on the shooter, blocking a chance in tight.
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Leftover thoughts
- Kotwicki kept the Hawks in the game early by making a lot of saves right off the jump.
- Catholic Memorial forwards wore down Xaverian all game with their cycles. That the Knights can also go low to high and have mobile defensemen to get shots through, make another pass or throw the puck back down the wall made their five-man unit that much more dangerous. There is no better team at utilizing all parts of the offensive zone and extending possession.
- The Knights are a fast team. Nowhere is that more evident than how fast they got on Xaverian puck-carriers. That was true on the forecheck, in the offensive zone and in the neutral zone. It felt like Hawks players had no time or space.
