READING, Mass. -- The atmosphere inside the Burbank Ice Arena was electric as the partisan crowd of Rocket faithful watched Reading High School upend St. John’s Prep, 2-1, in a hotly contested game between two teams with MIAA Super 8 aspirations.
Junior forwards Shawn Golden and Shawn Barbera were the goal scorers for Mark Doherty’s team that improved to 4-1-0 on the young season. Golden’s shorthanded goal in the first period staked the Rockets out to a 1-0 lead.
A St. John’s Prep power play goal later in the opening period evened the score, 1-1. After a scoreless second period, Barbera scored the game-winning goal at the 3:00 mark of the third period. The right-shot left wing came barreling into the attacking zone before unleashing a wrist shot that was initially saved, but trickled past the goal line.
For large stretches of the game, Reading dominated play territorially. The Rockets certainly showed they’re a top 10 team in the state with Wednesday’s impressive result over St. John’s Prep. The Eagles fell to 2-2-2, but Kristian Hanson’s team has played a challenging schedule.
For St. John’s Prep, the Eagles received a very strong goaltending performance from ‘04 freshman Jackson Irving. On the smaller side, he moves well and has solid fundamentals. He’d probably want to have the game-winner back, but he should be commended for some of the saves he did make, especially in a hostile environment.
SJP’s top line of left wing Ryan Bradley, center Pat Moran, and right wing Zach McKennelley generated a large majority of the team’s scoring chances. Bradley’s speed was on display a few times, including on a chance he had late in the second period.
Reading has three solid lines. Right wing Mike Tobin was held off the score sheet, but he is one of the more skilled players in the state. The UMass lacrosse commit competes hard as well.
Reading’s defense is led by ‘02 junior Matt Gallagher. He’s a smooth, puck-moving defenseman who also does a pretty good job defending with his feet. ‘02 sophomore Charlie Miele brings a physical element to the blue line and ‘01 junior Matthew Fiorenza also logs a lot of minutes.
Dylan Emery picked up the win in net.
Reading Lines
28 Sean Barbera - 27 Brendan Donovan - 7 Jake Emery
26 Landyn Greatorex - 21 Kevin Donaghey - 19 Mike Tobin
9 Nick McFarland - 11 Shawn Golden - 18 Kyle Liesener
20 Brian Cahill - 3 Brendan Fay - 29 Devin Forbes
10 Matthew Gallagher - 4 Cam Lawhorne
15 Brandon Millerick - 2 Matt Fiorenza
22 Charlie Miele - 6 Mike Miele
30 Dylan Emery
St. John’s Prep Lines
22 Ryan Bradley - 8 Pat Moran - 10 Zach McKennelley
15 Matt Taylor - 16 Evan Moore - 14 Ryan Hart
11 Ryan Webb - 19 Ned Malolepszy - 12 Nick Siciliano
24 Cole Lopilato - 9 Zach Scarpola - 4 Nick Townshend
7 Jack Gilligan - 21 Ty Raposa
20 Will Perry - 13 Josiah Brown
6 Jack Riley - 18 Andrew Cole
30 Jackson Irving
