FILE PHOTO
Justin Collins and the Malden Catholic Lancers will skate against Arlington in the Super 8 semifinal.
By STEVE FREKER
MALDEN — As the stakes rise in this Super 8 journey, here is some real-life kindling that can be used to fire up the defending champs.
Also, to be clear, there will no mention of slingshots or any David vs. Goliath hashtags by their opponent in any of the social media. Not this time around.
Make no mistake about it. The Arlington Spy Ponders are one of the few teams this season to have come out on the right end of the score in a contested battle on ice against Malden Catholic’s hockey Lancers.
It happened the very first time both teams stepped on the ice in December in the Garrett-Reagan Summit jamboree and the scrimmage result appears in neither team’s win-loss count. But it does exist: Arlington beat MC, 3-1.
Top seed Malden Catholic (15-4-3) and No. 4 Arlington (20-2-2) square off for a real-deal showdown tonight (7:30) in the Division 1A/Super 8 semifinal game at the Tsongas Center in Lowell. The winner gets a Super 8 title shot Sunday. Central Catholic and BC High square off in the other semifinal at 5:30 p.m.
Not that the Lancers need any extra incentive other than earning another ticket to the TD Garden and defending their title by beating Arlington, but why not throw another reason up there on the locker room bulletin board?
Malden Catholic coach John McLean says he and his team are expecting a battle.
“They (Arlington) play hard with a lot intensity. They are a physical team with some solid forwards, they’re well-coached and they have a great goalie (Jack Pinard),” McLean said. “We know it’s going to be a tough game against a tough team.”
And yes, McLean does recall the two teams’ meeting earlier this year.
“They (Arlington) stuck it to us in the jamboree that day, they played really well,” McLean said.
Speaking of playing well, MC appears to be playing some of its best hockey at just the right time, with a potential second straight Super 8 crown and dynastic sixth in the past seven seasons on the line.
A very good Marshfield team hung with the defending champs at times in game one of their best-of-three first-round series, but got steamrolled in game two as the Lancers dominated every inch of the ice in a 7-0 series-sweeping win in Chelmsford. The Lancers not only outscored the Rams, 10-0, in the two games, they also silenced the highest-scoring (111 goals) Division 1 team in the state with a pair of shutouts backstopped by MC’s goaltending duo of junior Brian Cannata (24 saves) and senior Kyle Casey (17 saves) in back-to-back outings.
They spread the wealth offensively as well, with senior co-captain Matty Yianacopolus figuring in all three goals in a 3-0 win in game one, then the other co-captain Justin Collins (1 goal, 3 assists) and senior Joey Guarino (2 goals) of Malden leading the charge in game two on a night where 13 players made it onto the Lancer scoresheet.
In their series, also a two-game sweep, head coach John Messuri’s Ponders took a pair of 4-1 wins over No. 5 Hingham to earn their semifinal spot. The story of Arlington’s postseason so far has been the remarkable performance of junior goaltender Pinard. Get this: in two Ponder wins, Pinard recorded 40 saves in one and 35 saves in the latest “W,” a 4-1 win last Wednesday where Arlington was outshot 36-15.
“Jack’s a good goalie,” Coach Messuri said, after Pinard’s 40-save effort in game one, adding, in classic fashion, “but I don’t feel like relying on him that much. It’s nice to have a microwave, but I like to cook the meal once in a while. It tastes better that way.”
Peter Scheschareg and Cameron Ryan have been Arlington’s most productive forwards. Ryan figured in all four goals in the Ponders’ postseason opener with a goal and three assists in the 4-1 win. Scheschareg, whom Messuri referred to as “The German Freight Train” after the latest Ponders’ Super 8 win, nailed a three-goal “hat trick” in that victory.
Malden Catholic comes into tonight’s matchup with a wide margin of Super 8 “Frozen Four” experience over its opponent as the Lancers will be appearing in their 10th consecutive semifinal game, while Arlington will be ending a 16-year semifinal drought, having last played for a finals shot in 2001. The Spy Ponders will also be looking to end another dubious cold spell, as Arlington has played in the most (14) Super 8 tournaments without a title, ever.
McLean said the Lancers respect what Arlington brings to the table.
“They (Arlington) have a lot of tradition in their program and they play with a lot of pride,” the Lancer coach said. “They keep most of their kids right at home playing for their hometown school and they have been consistently successful and especially strong the past few seasons.
“We will go over our scouting reports, look over film and we will prepare as we do for all of our opponents,” McLean added. “We know we will have to play well (Wednesday night) to get to the final game. At this point in the season, everyone is good. No one gets to this game by accident. We are looking forward to playing a solid game against a strong opponent.”
