St. John's Defense Clamps Down on Xaverian

The hockey team needed a statement game and delivered just that while dismantling Catholic Conference foe Xaverian, 4-1, at Ristuccia Arena Saturday afternoon.

With the exception of one brief second-period lapse, the Eagles (3-3-0; 8-4-1) dominated all facets of the game as they amassed a 37-16 edge in shots on net and skated circles around the visiting Hawks (2-4-0, 7-5-1), who have now lost five straight since starting the season with an eight-game unbeaten streak.

While St. John's cannot win the Catholic Conference title – Malden Catholic wrapped up that piece of business Saturday by defeating B.C. High – the Eagles can certainly enhance their chances for Division 1A Tournament selection by finishing strong and nailing down second place in the league. Two league games – both make-ups of snowed out engagements with Catholic Memorial – remain as do dates with Springfield Cathedral, Woburn and Arlington Catholic.

"This was our most complete game, our most complete 45 minutes of the season. It was our best defensive game. Except for one shift in the second period when our third group got stuck on the ice too long, if you take that shift away, I thought we won every shift in the game,” said St. John's coach Kris Hanson.

“It was our biggest game of the year with huge implications for the tournament. We challenged the kids all week by telling them how big the game was. We challenged them to play better defense and we posted their plus-minuses. We challenged them and they responded," he continued.

Following a scoreless first period during which St. John's peppered Xaverian goalie Dave Michaels with 16 shots to no avail, senior captain Colin Blackwell took control in the second as he continued to dazzle fans and mesmerize opponents with his 21st and 22nd goals of the year.

On the first, linemate Jon Farrow sent Blackwell away with speed through the neutral zone with a well-placed lead pass. Blackwell blew past a Xaverian defenseman, cut left, pulled the puck around Michaels and slid a backhander into the open left corner for a 1-0 lead at 5:12 of the period.

Defenseman Joe Currie initiated the second scoring play with a long diagonal breakout pass to Farrow, whose one-touch delivery from the right wall allowed Blackwell to split two Xaverian skaters and break in cleanly for a forehand tuck past Michaels and a 2-0 lead with 1:11 left in the period.

“I see Colin more than anyone else and, in my opinion, he's the best player in the state and we're fortunate to have him. There are a lot of great players in the state and in our league but I feel Colin is the best,” said Hanson. “He's so patient with the puck, he's unpredictable and he's always making the goaltender think.”

The Prep sealed the deal with 5:44 left in the third period when defenseman Christian Gutowski's slap shot from the left point flew through a maze of players in front and eluded Michaels. Xaverian broke the shutout with a powerplay goal by Jason Salvaggio with 2:51 to play, but the Prep's Sam Kurker countered with an empty-netter with 47 seconds remaining. Prep goalie David Letarte finished with 15 saves.

St. John's hits the road twice this week, facing Catholic Memorial on Tuesday (B.U., 3 p.m.) and Springfield Cathedral on Saturday (Olympia, 2:10 p.m.). The Eagles then close the regular season with four of their final games at home.