MALDEN — The St. John’s Prep hockey team came away with a much-needed win Wednesday night, taking down Catholic Conference foe Malden Catholic 2-1 at Valley Forum II. The Eagles got off to a slow start in the first period, but they eventually took control and dominated time of possession.
“In terms of time of possession and shots on goal we handled things pretty well tonight, but the score still read 2-1 for most of the game so it was a close battle,” said Prep coach Kristian Hanson. “Give both teams credit for continuing to plug away all game, and we were just able to make a few more plays than they were tonight.”
Juniors Ryan Bradley and Josiah Brown scored the goals for the Prep, while sophomore Jack Riley (two assists) and junior Matt Taylor (one assist) had helpers. Freshman goalie Jackson Irving made 13 saves in the victory.
Hanson said it was great to see his young netminder have a solid game in an important spot.
“He kept his composure all night, especially late in the game,” Hanson said of Irving. “In a 2-1 game, every save is critical, so it was good to see him have a game like this to build some confidence off of.”
The Eagles got off to a shaky start in the opening period and were caught for a penalty less than two minutes into the game. It turned out to be a crucial mistake, as Malden Catholic was able to capitalize with the man advantage. With 11:31 to go in the first, Peabody native Chris Merryman took a pass from Matthew Babineau and fired home a shot to give the Lancers a powerplay goal and a 1-0 lead.
But the goal actually flipped a switch for St. John’s, as the Eagles started to play much better the rest of the way. The Prep outshot Malden Catholic for the rest of the period, and the Eagles were eventually able to get on the board themselves with just over six minutes to go in the frame. After Riley sent a shot in from the blue line that was stopped by Malden Catholic goalie Aidan Plant, the rebound kicked right out to a waiting Bradley, who was able to quickly knock it in to tie the score at 1-1 going into the second period.
There wasn’t too much drama in the second period until the end. The Eagles once again outshot Malden Catholic in the period, and they had an unsuccessful powerplay opportunity with just under four minutes to go. But with just over one minute remaining in the period, as Malden Catholic was attempting to clear the puck out of its own zone, Taylor came up with a steal and sent a pass over to Riley, who quickly slipped a nifty pass to Brown. After a quick move to get around a defender, Brown snapped a wrist shot past Plant to give the Eagles the 2-1 lead.
The Prep was able to shut out Malden Catholic in the third period as well, but they had to really hang on to do so. St. John’s was called for two penalties in the final eight minutes of the game, and they had to play the final two minutes at a 6-on-4 disadvantage after the Lancers pulled their goalie. Irving came up with some big saves and the penalty kill held strong as the Eagles skated to a win.
“Shame on us for taking those penalties late in the game like that and putting ourselves in that position where we had to kill off a 6-on-4, but we were able to kill them off,” said Hanson. “Those are mistakes that we’ve been making this year, and we have to clean those things up.”
Now at 4-5-3 on the year, St. John’s knows it has to battle day in and day out if it wants to make a push for the state tournament. Next up for the Eagles will be another Catholic Conference battle against Xaverian next Wednesday at Canton Ice House.
