Super 8 Roundup: Kurker delivers for Prep in OT, 4-3

Senior captain Sam Kurker, who had earlier blasted a shot off the left post at 1:02 of extra time, scored his 29th goal of the season at 9:21 of overtime to lift No. 3 St. John’s Prep (14-5-2) past No. 6 Springfield Cathedral, 4-3, in Bracket 2 of the Div. 1A Tournament Sunday night at Lawler Arena.On the game-winner, Kurker was well-positioned in the low slot to chip a loose puck past Cathedral keeper John Liquori (19 saves). Brian Pinho’s centering pass from the right wall jumped up off a Cathedral defender’s stick, hit Liquori in the helmet and dropped at his feet.”We played well in spurts but they (Cathedral) did a great job of capitalizing on our mistakes. In the end, we were fortunate to get a bounce,” said St. John’s coach Kristian Hanson.The Eagles built a 2-0 lead on Andrew Brandano’s goal just 1:28 into the game and defenseman Nick Pandelena’s close-range strike 53 seconds into the second period. However, the Panthers (10-7-6) clawed back into the game behind senior Frank Crinella, who delivered a shorthanded strike at 7:44 of the second period, then tied it with 5:03 to go by popping the rebound of his brother Peter’s initial shot past St. John’s goalie David Letarte (21 saves).Pinho’s unassisted power play tally, a 1-on-2 wrist shot from a stride inside the blue line, restored The Prep’s lead at 3:28 of the third period. Peter Crinella’s persistence produced a tying short-handed goal with 9:19 left in regulation. The Prep faces off against Central Catholic Wednesday night (8 p.m., Merrimack). The winner will grab the inside track to a semifinal berth.Malden Catholic 3, St. John’s Shrewsbury 2The top-seeded Lancers (16-1-4) outplayed the No. 8 Pioneers (15-5-3) in every facet but needed Ryan Fitzgerald’s rebound with 34.7 seconds left to pull out the victory despite an astounding 37-5 edge in shots. St. John’s sophomore goalie Mario Pizzeri (34 saves) was immense but Fitzgerald, set up by linemates Brendan Collier and Mike Iovanna, dug out his own rebound and jammed it past Pizzeri at the right post.The Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 lead on the game’s first shot on net at 3:34 of the first period. Kyle Moss’ original shot went wide to the right but Chris Adams kept the rebound alive and Connor Bertram swept the puck past Connor Maloney into the open left side.The Lancers finally solved Pizzeri with seven minutes left in the second period when Ara Nazarian deposited a backhander off Tyler Sifferlin’s initial shot. Undeterred, the Pioneers regained the lead on their only shot of the period. Set up in the mid-slot, Vin D’Amato caught Maloney leaning left and slid an on-ice shot past the goalie’s right skate at 11:52. Fitzgerald came within inches of tying it with 1:25 left in the period but rang a shot from the left circle off the crossbar.Defenseman Colin MacGillivray tied it at 2-2 with 11:58 to play, blasting a slap shot from the left point through a screen after Fitzgerald’s face-off win. It became a shooting gallery from that point with the Lancers pelting Pizzeri with 17 shots in the third period alone. MC plays BC High at 8:15 Tuesday.In the day’s early game, senior Matt Sullivan’s shorthanded empty-netter with 11.2 seconds to play sealed BC High’s 4-2 win against Hingham, the lone public school team in this year’s tournament.