DORCHESTER — They’re a radically different and much better team than they were a month ago.
The defending state champion St. John’s Prep hockey team needed a lot of on-the-fly training for the many new faces and varsity members in its lineup earlier this season. They weathered some rough stretches early, seem to have found line combinations and defensive pairings that are clicking, and are again getting stellar goaltending.
Those three factors were all evident in Sunday’s 3-0 shutout of host BC High at the William T. Ryan Ice Rink on the campus of UMass Boston. Senior goalie A.J. Farese made 27 saves for his third shutout of the season; junior first line right wing Brandon Ward — who skated in one varsity game a year ago — scored twice to give him a team-leading 10 tallies; and a strong three-period effort overall for the visitors allowed them to remain in first place in the Catholic Conference race with a 6-1 mark.
“The first few games you could tell we weren’t totally used to playing with each other yet,” admitted Farese, after lowering his goals against average to 1.49 and raising his save percentage to .942 on the season. “But now we’ve formed that identity of who we want to be.”
“We’re a much different team,” added Ward. “We’ve adapted to the level of play we expect to play at.”
“It’s a big statement,” senior defenseman Ryan Finn of Marblehead noted.
Playing its fifth straight Catholic Conference game (all on the road), St. John’s Prep improved to 8-4 overall while sweeping its season series with their rival Eagles.
“I knew these five games would be a pretty good measuring stick of where we were at,” said head coach Kristian Hanson, whose team has gone 4-1 in those contests. “I think the team is progressing well; we’re better today than we were the first day of the season, and that’s what the goal is every year: to continue to develop and get better every game.
“I think we’re trending in the right direction … but we can be a lot better.”
Farese said he was in a “flow state”, finding his groove early on Sunday and staying in it for the full 51 minutes of action. He moved smoothly and easily in his crease.
“Even the rebounds I gave up, my defensemen cleared them out for me quickly,” said the 18-year-old from Middleton. “It goes back to the fact we’re all playing together as one and looking out for each other.”
Ward scored his first goal off an offensive faceoff win by teammate Sam Croke and putting a one-touch shot (a “push”, he called it) on net that snaked its way under the crossbar 14 minutes in. His second was a result of establishing himself in front of the BC cage and batting home a Greg Benedetto rebound while goalie Drew Karlovits (27 saves) was down in his crease.
“I’m not the biggest guy, so going net front I try to get there first and state my presence,” said Ward. “And I try to turn my back so if they hit you, they’re hitting you from behind.”
“You want to score goals, you go to the net. And Wardo’s not afraid to go to the net,” said Hanson.
Like the Patriots did in their heyday by scoring late in the first half, then taking the second half kickoff and marching downfield to score again, St. John’s Prep increased its lead to 3-0 just 57 seconds into the third period. Captain J.R. Goldstein intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and worked it forward to Braeden Hurley, who dished a pass out front to Mason Luciano for a bang-bang score.
BC High (now 5-5-2) had four power play chances, including two almost back-to-back midway through the third period. But Farese and penalty killers Carson Irving, Croke, Hurley and captain Ryan DeLucia, along with Goldstein, Finn and Kevin Correa on defense, ensured the visitors remained unscathed on all four.
St. John’s Prep 3, BC High 0
at Ryan Rink, Dorchester
St. John’s Prep 1 1 1 3 BC High 0 0 0 0 First period: SJP, Brandon Ward (Sam Croke), 14:01.
Second period: SJP, Ward (Greg Benedetto), 15:26.
Third period: SJP, Mason Luciano (Braeden Hurley, J.R. Goldstein), :57.
Saves: SJP, A.J. Farese 27; BCH, 27.
Records: SJP, 8-4-0; BCH, 5-5-2.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN