MIDDLETON, Mass. — Central Catholic and BC High will move on Saturday’s final of the Pete Frates Winter Classic.
The Raiders erased a 1-0 deficit to defeat Pope Francis, 2-1, in the first semifinal. BC High and host St. John’s Prep tied 1-1, but the two-time defending Super 8 champion won in a shootout.
The two games, especially the second one, were played in front of a huge crowd at the Essex Sports Center. It’s hard to imagine any young hockey player not wanting to play in that type of environment.
Central Catholic upsets Pope Francis
Junior Michael Dinges and senior Matthew Lajoie were the goal scorers for Central Catholic. Dinges had the puck a lot and was the best player for the Raiders. Sophomore Brian Brothers picked up the win in net.
Pope Francis isn’t as deep as it has been in the past and is led by a very young top line. Freshman Ryan Shaw scores the goal, assisted by linemate and classmate Ryan Leonard. The line is centered by junior Brandon Spaulding. Defensively, sophomore Jack Kennedy was the standout. Junior Ben Zaranek was the goaltender of record for the Cardinals.
BC High, SJP battle to 1-1 tie
BC High opened the scoring with Max DaSilva redirecting a Colin Norton shot. John Flaherty’s team was hit hard by players leaving for prep hockey. Norton and Aidan Carey had the goals in the shootout. Dalton Neelon was the goaltender for BC High.
Senior Edward Malolepszy had the lone goal for St. John’s Prep. It was a nice bounceback performance for Kristian Hanson’s team after a tough loss. Senior Noah Dorsey-Sorofman was very solid betweeen the pipes.
Standout prospects
Ryan Leonard
Pope Francis, 1/21/05, RW, right shot, 5-9/160
Leonard had the puck a lot and was involved in the play. He drove the net and was tough to defend, especially given his youth in the game. He had an assist on the only Pope Francis goal of the game.
Cam Russo
St. John’s, 1/3/05, RW, right shot, 5-10/140
Russo is a good skater with an explosive stride. He had a real good shift in the third period and scored a shootout goal. I’m shocked he didn’t get more ice time as he’s one of the few players in the game that could legitimately impact the game offensively.
Colin Norton
BC High, 5/23/03, C, left shot, 5-10/175
Norton had an assist in regulation and scored a goal in the shootout. He has good hands, skates well, and made some plays. To me, he was the clear standout for BC High.
Brandon Spaulding
Pope Francis, 8/8/03, C, left shot, 5-11/165
Spaulding is a good skater who plays a mature game and can impact all three zones at this level.
Ryan Shaw
Pope Francis, 1/29/05, LW, left shot, 5-9/140
Shaw had the only goal for Pope Francis. He skates well and appears to have a good shot. More viewings are necessary, but he was an impressive piece to the Cardinals’ top line.
Jack Kennedy
Pope Francis, 5/14/04, D, right shot, 5-10/165
Kennedy has skill and can skate well from the backend. He made a couple of nice breakout passes and has touch on them. He’s a player to keep an eye on as a potential offensive defenseman at the college level.
Michael Dinges
Central Catholic, 3/27/03, C, left shot, 5-10/160
Dinges had the puck on his stick a lot Friday afternoon. He had quite a few chances and was able to turn the tide of the game with his second period goal.
Nick Peters
Central Catholic, 6/9/03, D, right shot, 6-3/170
Peters assisted on both Central Catholic goals, including a great stretch pass on the Lajoie goal. He’s a big defender worth watching, especially for prep schools looking to add some size and offensive instincts on the blue line for 2020-21.
Noah Dorsey-Sorofman
St. John’s, 1/1/01, G, catches left, 6-3/175
Dorsey-Sorofman was the best goaltender of the four who played, at least on Friday. He has good size, stood his ground, and made some nice saves to keep BC High’s offense at bay.
Cole Lopilato
St. John’s, 2/28/04, C, left shot, 5-10/165
Lopilato is a player who is heavy on pucks and is a rugged, physically mature forward. He saw a lot of ice time, deservedly so.
Andrew Cole
St. John’s, 4/18/02, D, right shot, 5-10/175
Cole is a strong defenseman who had a couple of positive plays on Friday. He’s tough and was hard to beat for opposing forwards.
John Logan
BC High, 5/3/03, D, right shot, 5-10/170
Logan is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who has gotten a lot better over the past year or so with the Cape Cod Whalers and BC High.
Central Catholic lines
J. Doucette - M. Dinges - A. Flammia
M. Lajoie - M. Collett - C. Finneran
S. Gray - M. Finneran - B. Curran
T. DiBurro - N. Peters
R. DiBiaso - C. Marzilli
M. Brothers
Pope Francis lines
R. Shaw - B. Spaulding - R. Leonard
C. Cognac - Ja. Iby - Jo. Iby
J. Moltenbrey - E. Phaneuf - C. Wodecki
L. Dapprich - J. Kennedy
M. Hanscom - M. Pelletier
J. Turowsky - S. Rougeot
B. Zaranek
BC High lines
C. Benson - M. Keohane - A. Carey
B. Bulger - C. Norton - M. DaSilva
C. Tsanotelis - D. Joyce - A. Burke
M. Creamer - R. Flaherty - N. Murphy
J. Milso - M. Dragon
P. Terry - J. Logan
N. Martin - N. Anderson
D. Neelon
St. John’s Prep lines
P. Moran - E. Malolepszy - R. Webb
M. Taylor - C. Lopilato - R. Hart
R. Bradley - E. Moore - Z. McKenelley
C. Russo
J. Gilligan - J. Brown
A. Cole - J. Riley
N. Dorsey-Sorofman
