MIDDLETON — In February 1976, British singer Maxine Nightingale released what would become her biggest hit, the disco/funk smash “Right Back Where We Started From” in the US. There is no record of her being a hockey fan or not — although the tune was played in the 1977 classic Slap Shot.
Exactly a half-century later, the St. John’s Prep hockey team has used her infectious groove as a postgame victory song after prevailing on their home ice, the Essex Sports Center. That happened again Wednesday as the Eagles took care of Franklin High, 7-0, in the first round of the Division 1 state tournament.
Six different players lit the lamp for the third seeded Eagles (now 16-3-2) while sophomore goalie Jesse Bernardinelli pitched a shutout in his first playoff start, making 11 saves.
It was the 12th straight win for St. John’s Prep dating back to January 18, and its 11th consecutive first round postseason victory, which began during the team’s state championship season in 2015.
“I feel like we played well,” said senior captain Brandon Ward, the right wing who scored his eighth and ninth goals of the while also contributing an assist. “We could’ve gotten some more pucks to the net — we had a lot of shots blocked — but overall we battled, we were physical, and we just outworked them the whole game.”
It was hard to argue about the Prep’s shot volume, since they did put 52 attempts on Panthers’ goaltender Alex Weber (a Stonehill football commit who was away from Franklin’s hockey team for two seasons before returning this winter). A Gavin Anderson rebound beat him in the first period, as did two more tallies in the middle stanza — the second of those coming from Christian Coleman with 45 seconds to go before the intermission — before the Eagles put an emphatic four goals behind him over the final 15 minutes.
“I thought we used our speed right from the start and put a lot of pressure on them, creating scoring chances,” said St. John’s Prep head coach Kristian Hanson, whose teams are a combined 44-18 in the playoffs under his leadership, which dates back to the 2007-08 season.
“I thought their kid played great in net; it stayed 1-0 for a while, and that’s when things can become dangerous. It was 2-0 when Coleman scored that third goal, and I felt like that was such an important one because it deflated them. They came out in the third period deflated because of that goal.”
Ward, whose first goal came down his off wing when he used the defenseman as a screen to bury his shot, made it 4-0 with a 5-on-3 power play goal early in the third. Defenseman Sefton Paradis then connected on the ‘regular’ power play; in both instances, St. John’s Prep’s team speed forced the Panthers to pull them down, resulting in trips to the sin bin.
“(Drew) Macaulay’s been feeding me great passes all season, and that was another one,” Ward said of his linemate, who fed him after taking a pass himself from Anderson for the tic-tac-toe snipe.
“It was good for our young guys to get this game under their belts, too,” Ward added. “The playoffs are a whole different atmosphere, so to get this one out of the way and get the nerves out was a good thing.”
Tack-on tallies by Ryan Finkle and Anthony Petruccelli salted the triumph away for the Eagles. Coleman finished with a goal and two assists while with defenseman Brennan Waters and captain JR Goldstein both added two assists.
St. John’s Prep has a chance to hear their favorite victory song once more this Saturday (3:20 p.m.) when it plays its final home game of the season against Arlington Catholic in the second round of the state tournament.
“I thought they were a very good team with a great first line,” Hanson said of AC, whom his team beat earlier this month, 4-2. “Had they not lost four games in a row to end the regular season, we wouldn’t be playing them in the second round. They’re not a true second round opponent; they’re much better than that.
“We beat a good team once; now we’ll have to do it again.”
St. John’s Prep 7, Franklin 0
Division 1 first round
at Essex Sports Center, Middleton
Franklin;0;0;0;0 St. John’s Prep;1;2;4;7 First period: SJP, Gavin Anderson (Brennan Waters, Brandon Ward), 6:09.
Second period: SJP, Ward (Ryan Doherty), 6:23; SJP, Christian Coleman (Anthony Petruccelli, Waters), 14:15.
Third period: SJP, Ward (Drew Macaulay, Anderson), ppg (5×3), 6:03; SJP, Sefton Paradis (Coleman, JR Goldstein), ppg, 6:39; SJP, Ryan Finkle (Chase Brown, JR Goldstein), 8:21; SJP, Petruccelli (Owen Hanson, Coleman), 12:14.
Saves: F, Alex Weber 45; SJP, Jesse Bernardinelli 11.
Records: SJP, 16-3-2; F, 7-14-0.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN