LOWELL, Mass. — There will be a new team crowned champion in the MIAA Division 1 Hockey Tournament.
Pope Francis made sure of that Sunday at the Tsongas Center with a 1-0 win over defending champion St. John’s Prep. Sophomore left wing Nick Petkovich’s goal with 6:13 remaining in the third period was the only puck to cross the goal line in the first semifinal.
From there, sophomore goaltender Nick Ritchie shut the door to keep a talented and deep Eagles’ offense off the board. The Cardinals will face the winner of the second semifinal between Xaverian and Reading next Sunday at the TD Garden.
Kudos goes out to longtime Pope Francis coach Brian Foley for implementing a game plan that could limit SJP’s offensive chances. After weathering the first-period storm from St. John’s Prep, the Cardinals made some necessary adjustments that kept the favorites from establishing significant offensive zone time.
Under Foley, Pope Francis has developed into a perennial contender but has yet to win the big one. The Cardinals will look to help lift the monkey off their coach’s back when they visit Causeway Street next weekend.
MIAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETS/RESULTS:Â Division 1Â |Â Division 2Â |Â Division 3Â |Â Division 4
Here are the three stars of the game.
Nick Ritchie
Pope Francis, 1/1/06, G, catches left, 5-7/140
Ritchie isn’t very big, but he stood tall in this game. His busiest period came in the first period. He didn’t allow many second chances and did a good job of finishing the shutout bid with SJP pushing hard in the final minutes.
Nick Petkovich
Pope Francis, 12/20/06, LW, right shot, 5-10/165
Petkovich was opportunistic with his goal as he snuck one past SJP goalie Brian Cronin. It was from a bad angle after the initial rush. Playing on the second line, he and his line have provided the secondary scoring necessary to get this far. He came up big to lift the Cardinals to the TD Garden.
Zachary Buffone
Pope Francis, 8/25/06, D, left shot, 6-0/165
Buffone logs a lot of minutes and does a good job pushing possession. His skating and stick are both above average for this level. Between him and Matt Bolduc each anchoring one of the top two pairs, Pope Francis was able to have a spark from the backend. It certainly helped as SJP wasn’t able to forecheck and cycle as much as they typically do.
St. John’s Prep lines
McGilvray - Rosa - Vana
Blaeser - Ayers - Van Sicklin
Tighe - Umlah - Hosmer
White - Santasuosso - Graber
Doherty - Holland
Plaza - Brandano
Goldstein - Morton
Cronin
Pope Francis lines
Watroba - Iby - Kearney
Petkovich - Petrin - R. O’Leary
McGrath - Cuccovia - Wegrzyn
Buffone - Jarrell
Foyle - Bolduc
Russ - Shea
Ritchie
