Prep’s depth too much for Central Catholic

REVERE – The St. John’s Prep hockey team knows that in order to get where it wants to be by season’s end, developing quality depth is of the utmost importance.The Eagles took major strides in that direction in Saturday night’s 4-0 non-league shutout of MVC/DCL Large power Central Catholic at Cronin Memorial Rink. With the visitors clearly committed to minimizing the impact of SJP’s first line, the Eagles’ second and fourth lines delivered all the goals. Junior second-liner Andrew Brandano broke a scoreless tie with 1:37 left in the second period, assisted by sophomore linemate Jack McCarthy, who then doubled the margin less than two minutes into the second period. Goals from fourth-liners Mark Azarian and Justin Longo sealed the deal as SJP (4-2-1) snapped a two-game slide.”I said after our game against B.C. High (5-3 loss) that we played our most complete game of the year. We wanted to continue that momentum tonight and we did that. We were a little slow to start the first period but we slowly got the ball rolling,” said coach Kris Hanson. “The second and fourth lines really stepped up. We need that kind of depth. We rolled four lines consistently, wore them down a bit and played our best hockey in the third period.”Senior David Letarte earned the shutout with 21 saves. The Eagles’ superb zone to zone coverage left little room for Central skaters, who only very occasionally were able to work themselves into the dangerous scoring areas.The teams spent a good portion of the first period parrying and probing for soft spots. Central’s stellar senior keeper Kyle Williams (31 saves) recorded a couple of flashy reaction stops during a late SJP power play while the Eagles’ Letarte faced only five shots and no prolonged flurries.A little quicker to the puck and a bit stronger along the walls, the Prep established control throughout the second period with the second group of Brandano, McCarthy and Cam Shaheen driving the bus and creating most of the opportunities. Their relentless work paid off with 1:37 left in the period when Brandano anchored himself in the slot and re-directed defenseman Dillon Gargano’s (two assists) slap shot from the left point over Williams’ right shoulder.”Andrew’s a talented kid and that was a terrific goal,” said Hanson, who had a clear view from the bench of how it unfolded. “His stick was in position to make the tip well before the shot was taken. It was important to get the lead – you don’t want to have to come from behind against Kyle Williams.”The Eagles doubled their lead at 1:40 of the final period. The defenseman Gargano chased down a loose puck deep in the left corner and fired a pass across in front that McCarthy re-directed past Williams. The lead grew to 3-0 at 4:41 of the period. The puck squirted to the high slot after Brent Murray’s diligent forechecking and Azarian stepped firmly into a one-timer, ripping a shot over Williams’ blocker.Longo’s goal from a goalmouth scramble with 4:42 to play finished it. Azarian drew the assist.”It’s a much-needed win for a number of reasons, especially for the Super Eight. If we get to that point, that’s a team we will probably be competing against,” said Hanson of the post-season tournament selection process. The Prep resumes its Catholic Conference schedule Tuesday night against Xaverian.