MIDDLETON — The St. John’s Prep hockey team put forth one of its best offensive performances of the year Saturday, skating past Austin Prep in a 6-2 win at Essex Sports Center.
The Eagles fell behind early on but quickly flipped the script, scoring three goals in less than three minutes in the second period to steal all the momentum.
“Putting six goals on the board is something we’re not accustomed to,” St. John’s Prep coach Kristian Hanson said. “We’ve struggled to score goals over the course of the year. It’s about continuing to get better every time we step on the ice and guys starting to accept roles. Things tend to fall into place when you work hard, accept those roles and play your position well.”
Jake DiNapoli capped off the Eagles three-goal surge in the second with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway. Evan Moore scored two goals and dished an assist while Zachary McKenelley added one goal and one assist. Ryan Webb and Ryan Hart each scored one goal.
“(Jake) was just buzzing out there all game,” Hanson said. “He never stopped moving his feet, competes the entire time and always gives you maximum effort. He had a really important goal for us, a goal scorer’s goal, on that breakaway.”
St. John’s controlled the pace of play early on to take a lead in the first period. McKenelley had a scoring chance out front that was initially saved but Moore was there to grab the rebound and score on a wide-open net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars got right back into it a few minutes later. Goalkeeper Noah Dorsey-Sorofman made a kick save on an Austin Prep shot but Joe Thibodeau buried the rebound to even things at 1-1.
Austin Prep came out and controlled most of the second period, taking a 2-1 lead on Thibodeau’s second goal before the Eagles started to shift momentum.
A power play got the Eagles on the offensive midway through the second, and while they didn’t score on the man advantage, they exploded for three goals over the next few minutes.
McKenelley scored on his one timer just after the power play expired to even the score at 2-2. Moore added his second goal of the day soon after, and DiNapoli skated to a breakaway while the Eagles were short handed and scored to give St. John’s a 4-2 lead before the third.
“We come back, get that second goal and it kind of just changed things for us,” Hanson said. “We got focused and once we built that lead the guys really bought in, believed and wanted it. It’s not too many times this year that we’ve played with a lead. It’s kind of a different feeling for us and certainly something I could get used to.”
The Eagles carried that momentum into the third period. Webb and Hart each found the back of the net in the final period and Dorsey-Sorofman (18 saves) was sharp the rest of the way to seal the win for St. John’s
“We have skilled hockey players in that room,” Hanson said. “You know it’s a matter of time before things start to go in. Hockey is a game of bounces and luck and (Saturday) we got some of that. You generate your own luck sometimes with just effort, going to the net and making things difficult for your opponent. We did that (Saturday).”
The Eagles (6-3-4) host Malden Catholic Wednesday (6:40).
