MIDDLETON, Mass. -- BC High and Pope Francis each advanced to Friday’s championship game at the Pete Frates Winter Classic with 2-1 wins over their respective opponents in Thursday’s semifinals.
BC High needed a late tally with its goaltender pulled to even the score with St. John’s Prep before a second goal from Thomas Kramer lifted the visitors to the tournament win. For MIAA purposes, the result stands as a 1-1 tie.
In the early game, Pope Francis rallied from a 1-0 deficit as well. Junior right wing Matthew Lajoie scored the only goal of the first period to give the Raiders the edge early. Both Cardinal goals in the comeback win came from defensemen Zach Reiser.
Friday’s championship (5:20 p.m.) is a rematch of the 2018 MIAA Super 8 final at the TD Garden in Boston. In that game, BC High trailed late, but scored late in regulation before Maverick Woods ended it on overtime.
Pope Francis 2, Central Catholic 1
The Cardinals were the better team, but it looked as if an upset could be brewing for a while. Pope Francis was without two of their better players in senior forward Jon Tavella and senior defenseman Joey Salvon.
Lajoie’s tally at the 8:41 mark in the first period gave CC a 1-0 lead. It was a quick snap shot that beat the goaltender high after a neutral zone turnover.
The Cardinals scored the equalizer at the 9:11 mark of the second period. Reiser, a senior defenseman, was pinching as he was much of the game and tipped home a shot from Matthew Ashe.
The game-winner was a thing of beauty as Reiser again jumped into the offense. He got a nice feed from Cormac Hayes. Reiser did a good job protecting the puck before sending a backhand just below the bar and into the net.
Sophomore Ben Zaranek picked up the win for the Cardinals while senior Zachary LeTendre made quite a few saves in the losing effort.
Prospect Notes
Jack Kennedy
#15 Pope Francis, 5/14/04, D, Right Shot, 5-8/150
Kennedy is an ‘04 logging a ton of minutes for the Cardinals. He made a couple of good plays with the puck on his stick and has some physical tools to defend well. He’s young and worth watching as he develops over the coming year or two.
Makem Demers
#8 Pope Francis, 10/1/00, C, Left Shot, 5-11/170
Demers has put up gaudy offensive numbers for a few seasons now. While he was held off the score sheet Thursday afternoon, he had his moments where his skating, stick and vision were evident. If he plays a PG year or ages out of junior, he could be a fringe Division I player, but it’s tough to tell at this level. He’s certainly worth watching and hopefully he lands on a prep or NCDC roster next season.
Zach Reiser
#19 Pope Francis, 6/13/01, D, Left Shot, 6-0/180
Reiser showed off good stick skills and a propensity to jump into the offense. He’d be a nice addition for the right prep school looking for an offensive defenseman for the 2019-20 season.
Brandon Spaulding
#10 Pope Francis, 8/8/03, LW, Left Shot, 5-9/155
Spaulding had a couple of shifts in the third period that showed something. He was one of the better players in the Beast Series 15 Pure division this past fall while playing for the Springfield Rifles.
Pope Francis Lines
9 Max Cocchi - 8 Makem Demers - 25 Matthew Burke
16 Cormac Hayes - 4 Matthew Pelletier - 24 Dillon Foster
10 Brandon Spaulding - 7 Matthew Ashe
22 Spencer Stewart - 15 Jack Kennedy
19 Zach Reiser - 17 Logan Dapprich
31 Ben Zaranek
Central Catholic Lines
63 Tyler Cullen - 7 John Furry - 48 Matthew Lajoie
16 Michael Dinges - 20 Andrew Flammia - 67 Benjamin Boutselis
5 Joe Carney - 18 Andrew Grenier
4 Stephen Birch - 17 Colin Ferris
33 Robert DiBiasio - 8 Tyler DiBurro
1 Zachary LeTendre
BC High 2, St. John’s Prep 1 (OT)
This game was scoreless until Evan Moore roofed a wrist shot from just above the goal line with 5:34 left in the third period. The goal seemingly gave the hosts the momentum needed to pull off the monumental upset over the best team in the state.
However, BC High didn’t quit. With goaltender Chase Congdon pulled for an extra attacker, ‘00 senior Thomas Kramer banged a loose puck home in the midst of a wild scrum in front of the net.
Kramer scored again in overtime. Playing three-on-three, St. John’s Prep was whistled for too many men on the ice so BC High went on the four-on-three power play. Kramer took the puck from end to end before rifling a wrist shot past the blocker of SJP goaltender Jake Essensa.
Prospect Notes
Declan Loughnane
#25 BC High, 11/22/03, D, Right Shot, 5-11/175
Loughnane has good puck skills and showed them more as the game went along. He made a couple of nice plays and smart decisions. His feet are still improving and he also fired a hard one-timer from the point in the second period. He was on the first power play unit, impressive for a late ‘03 freshman. He’s definitely got the potential to be a Division I player down the road.
Thomas Kramer
#27 BC High, 8/8/00, C, Left Shot, 6-0/183
Kramer centered a line with his younger twin brothers flanking him on each wing. He scored the only two BC High goals of the game, but he didn’t generate much in terms of offense until late in the game. Kramer is a smart player who sees the ice and can be counted on to engage in his own zone and compete for loose pucks. He should be watched closely by Division III schools in need of a bottom six center.
Joseph Kramer
#34 BC High, 8/8/02, RW, Right Shot, 5-9/145
Kramer, like his older brother, competes for loose pucks. He created a few scoring chances in transition with his speed, which is above average at the MIAA level.
Zach McKennelley
#10 St. John’s Prep, 11/2/02, RW, Right Shot, 6-1/181
While the second line scored SJP’s only goal, McKennelley and his linemates probably had the most attacking zone time. McKennelley is a solid high school player who is worth watching, especially for prep coaches who might be interested in him as a PG down the road.
BC High Lines
14 Peter Kramer - 27 Thomas Kramer - 34 Joseph Kramer
8 Coleman Benson - 17 CJ Martin - 7 Aidan Carey
11 Brian Bulger - 10 Matt Lakus - 16 Matt Keohane
6 Paul Terry - 25 Declan Loughnane
4 Patrick Donahue - 2 John Logan
5 Michael Dragon - 12 Josh Milso
29 Charles Congdon
St. John’s Prep Lines
22 Ryan Bradley - 8 Patrick Moran - 10 ZAch McKennelley
15 Matt Taylor - 16 Evan Moore - 14 Ryan Hart
11 Ryan Webb - 19 Edward Malolepszy - 12 Nicholas Siciliano
7 Jack Gilligan - 21 Tyler Raposa
18 Andrew Cole - 13 Josiah Brown
31 Jake Essensa
