St John’s Hockey Takes a Shot at History

There will be no secrets when Catholic Conference rivals St. John’s Prep and Malden Catholic, who squared off twice during the regular season, meet in the Massachusetts Division 1A hockey championship game Sunday night at TD Garden (6 p.m.).

Both teams are seeking their first-ever 1A title and No. 1 Malden Catholic (20-2-2) is within one game of living up to the expectation of success that has followed them since the pre-season. No. 2 St. John's (18-5-1), winners of 13 of its last 14 games, is playing its best hockey at the right time. Malden Catholic swept the season series (5-3 and 7-4) and the Eagles are under no illusions who is the favorite.

Although, in this case, the Eagles have added momentum on their side and another goal to shoot for — a second state title for the Prep this year on the heels of the basketball team’s victory Saturday night over St. John’s of Shrewsbury for the Division I Championship.

“MC is a tremendous team – they've beaten us twice and they're the best team in the state. We don't dispute that,” said St. John's coach Kris Hanson. “Our goal is to play to our best capabilities and hopefully get a few bounces along the way.”

Interestingly, the Eagles’ success of the past two months dates back to their second loss to the Lancers in late January. After that game, Hanson and his staff constructed the all-senior third line of Devin Murray, Matt MacDonald and Derek Palm with the primary purpose of matching opposing team's top lines. Since that change, the Prep has outscored opponents, 64-17, including 20-6 in the post-season.

“They’re a very defensive line and they’ve done a great job matching against other teams’ top lines. They do all the little things,” said Hanson.

However, Malden Catholic’s top line of three Division One recruits – senior Mike Vecchione (UNH, 26-51-77), junior Brandon Collier (Boston University, 29-40-69) and sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald (Boston College, 29-42-71) – ranks as the top unit in the state and one of the best the sport has seen in 20 years. The Lancers’ second unit of senior Garrett White (16-22-38), sophomore Mike Iovanna (13-26-39) and junior Nick Roberto (12-21-33) would be a first line on nearly every other team. It will be interesting to see which group Hanson attempts to take out of the equation.

The Eagles’ first unit possesses skills comparable to their Malden Catholic counterparts, starting with electrifying Harvard-bound senior Colin Blackwell (32-32-64), who shared Catholic Conference co-MVP honors with Vecchione. Freshman winger Shane Eiserman (50 points) has emerged as one of the state’s elite players while senior Jon Farrow (31 points) is solid in all phases of the game. The trio has accounted for 14 goals and 38 points in four tournament games. Physical junior Sam Kurker (20-17-37) anchors the second line.

It will be incumbent upon the Eagles’ defensive group of seniors Joe Currie, Scott Derrickson and Christian Gutowski and junior Nick Pandelena to continue its stellar post-season performance in front of junior keeper Dave Letarte, whose tournament goals against average is 1.50. Pat Young (1.33 regular season) mans the Lancers’ net.

Both teams are 4-0 in the tournament. Since escaping the opener with a 4-3 win over Woburn, St. John's dominated Needham, B.C. High and Weymouth. Malden Catholic has two one-goal wins and its plus-13 goal differential was built primarily on an 8-1 drubbing of 2010 tournament champion Hingham.

“This is special. Any time you make program history, it’s memorable. This will be talked about by alumni and at class reunions. These players will remember this game for their entire lives,” Hanson said.