MIDDLETON — Stay healthy, stick to the systems, get the win, and start focusing on the playoffs.
That, essentially, was the St. John’s Prep hockey team’s mindset in Wednesday’s regular season finale against a two-win Andover High squad. The hosts took care of business early, scoring three times in the opening stanza, then riding out a 4-0 Senior Night victory at the Essex Sports Center.
Goaltender Nathan Michaud, one of 16 seniors who were saluted on this day (12 players, 4 team managers), stopped all 16 shots he faced for his second shutout this winter. His teammates pepped Andover netminder Bodie Wood with 48 shots, including 23 in the opening period, where they scored thrice.
“The important thing for us was to stay focused and finish the regular season strong,” veteran St. John’s Prep head coach Kristian Hanson stated afterwards. His team won its 11th straight game — following a rare 3-game losing streak prior to that — and will take a 15-3-2 overall mark into the Division 1 state playoffs, which begin next week.
“The way the (state) power rankings work, a 3-goal victory gives you the maximum amount of points you can earn,” Hanson continued. “So winning by four was important to us, since we’re battling with Xaverian for the No. 2 seed (behind Catholic Memorial) in the playoffs. It could come down to percentage points when the final pairings are released (Saturday).”
Junior forwards Ryan Finkle and Chase Brown scored 17 seconds apart to give the Eagles a quick 2-0 lead before senior defenseman Brennan Waters snapped a shot home from the right point late in the first period, extending his team’s lead. Another senior, center Ryan Daigle, accounted for the Prep’s last goal early in the middle stanza after coming out of the left corner and roofing a shot.
Hanson reflected after the contest on his team’s journey to 11 consecutive victories and putting themselves in the best position possible entering the postseason, where they’ll attempt to win the program’s sixth state championship (and 3rd in the last 5 years).
“We got off to a good start and were feeling good about ourselves,” he said, “but then had two games (tie at Reading, win over St. Mary’s) where I didn’t think we played that well before losing three straight. We had a lot of illness at the time, a lot of guys out of the lineup, and it was tough. But slowly near the end of that stretch, we started to play better, got a win next time out (5-1 over Malden Catholic), then again at BC High (4-2), then went on to sweep the rest of our Catholic Conference stretch and keep winning after that. You could see us continually getting better and better.
“Now it’s a one-and-done scenario in the playoffs, and it’s all about survival,” added Hanson, whose own son, right wing Owen, was one of the seniors honored Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter how to you; it’s just that one game that matters. You find a way to win and you move on.”
St. John’s Prep 4, Andover 0
at Essex Sports Center, Middleton
Andover;0;0;0;0 St. John’s Prep;3;1;0;4 First period: SJP, Ryan Finkle (Brandon Ward, Chase Brown), 3:34; SJP, Brown (Finkle, Sean Flynn), 3:51; SJP, Brennan Waters (Christian Coleman, Sefton Paradis), 13:44.
Second period: SJP, Logan Daigle (Brown, Flynn), 3:12.
Third period: No scoring.
Saves: A, Bodie Wood 44; SJP, Nathan Michaud 16.
Records: SJP, 15-3-2; A, 3-16-1.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN