READING — What probably should’ve been a win but was awfully close being a disappointing loss wound up as neither.
Sophomore Gavin Anderson’s first goal of the season was a big one for the St. John’s Prep hockey team, as he popped one into the Reading net with only 69 seconds left in regulation to give the Eagles a 2-2 tie with the Rockets in a New Year’s Eve matinee at Burbank Arena.
With his team pulling goalie Nathan Michaud (25 saves) for an extra skater as time wound down, Anderson positioned himself in front of the Reading net while two of his teammates worked the wall to gain possession. A loose puck came out to the 16-year-old center below the goal line and he fired a low, hard shot at Rockets keeper JT Coyne.
“The coaches were saying during our time out right before that to shoot it at his feet. So I did, it hit the back of his skate and went in,” Anderson said of his second career varsity snipe. “It was about playing until the final buzzer, working the puck low, hitting people and playing until the final whistle.”
St. John’s Prep (now 3-0-2), which also hit a post and a crossbar in the third period while outshooting the hosts 15-7 (and 37-27 for the game), added three more on net in the five-minute 4-on-4 OT session, but to no avail.
“We’d like to have them all in the win column,” St. John’s Prep head coach Kristian Hanson said afterwards, “but we also want to stay out of that middle (losses) column, too. Tonight was a well-earned point for both teams.
“Do I think we deserved two (points)?,” he added. “That doesn’t really matter. Hockey doesn’t care what you think you deserve or not.”
After being outworked over the first 15 minutes by the host Rockets (3-0-1), St. John’s Prep used its depth and talent to control the majority of the final two periods and overtime. But thanks to Coyne’s goaltending (35 saves), some lack of execution and bad puck-luck — one shot that rang off the crossbar in the third, another off the post, and two near-misses on almost certain goals in the middle stanza — the Eagles were forced to settle for the stalemate.
“It’s bittersweet for sure,” said 18-year-old captain Kevin Correa, a defenseman from Georgetown. “We had a slow start in a tough atmosphere that got to us a bit. But we stepped it up from there and outshot and out-chanced them, then got that clutch goal from Gavin when we really needed it. We started off slow, but never gave up.”
“We played poorly in the first, but I also want to give credit to Reading because I thought they played great,” added Hanson. “They were ready to go, had great fan support, a ton of energy, kept it simple, played physically and outshot us (11-8).”
Reading led, 1-0, after one period after Kamden Greatorex tipped a slapshot home out front. Captain JR Goldstein answered for the Eagles in the second period with a seeing-eye wrister on the power play after freshman Blake Ward drew a penalty.
The Eagles continued to control the play in the third before Nolan Sullivan’s turn-around shot from low in the near circle went up and over Michaud’s shoulder with 2:09 to play. Anderson then played the role of hero for SJP with his game-tying tally.
“There was no panic on our bench after they took the lead,” said Hanson. “It was, ‘No problem; we’re going to go out and get one.’ Gavin’s been thrust into an important role for us as a first line center, but he’s mature for his age and scored a big one today. Hopefully he can build off of that.”
In addition to Blake Ward, Hanson liked the play and smart decision making of senior defenseman Brennan Waters.
St. John’s Prep 2, Reading 2 (OT)
at Burbank Rink, Reading
St. John’s Prep;0;1;1;0;2 Reading;1;0;1;0;2 First period: R, Kamden Greatorex (Nate Vitarisi, Jack Sullivan), 12:39.
Second period: SJP, JR Goldstein (Gavin Anderson, Chase Brown), ppg, 10:53.
Third period: R, Nolan Sullivan (Jack Melly), 12:51; SJP, Anderson (Anthony Petruccelli, Sefton Paradis), 14:07.
Saves: SJP, Nathan Michaud 25; R, JT Coyne 35.
Records: SJP, 3-0-2; R, 3-0-1.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN