St. John's Prep Earns Spot in Division 1A Hockey Semifinals

Don't tell the Needham High hockey team that St. John's Prep wasn't on top of its game after the Eagles’, 5-1, dismantling of the Rockets in last night's Division 1A round-robin game at Merrimack College’s Lawler Arena.

Though clearly pleased the Eagles (16-5-1) improved to 2-0 in the bracket, Prep coach Kristian Hanson wasn’t especially enthused by the overall effort.

“I told these guys after the game that they have to change their mind-set for Sunday's game against B.C. High. There were times tonight that we didn’t work as hard as we could have and we took some shifts off. I didn’t think we played especially well and I know we can play better,” said Hanson.

Nevertheless, the Eagles still pelted Rockets’ goalie Connor Murray with 34 shots and controlled tempo and pace from the outset. Harvard-bound senior Colin Blackwell (goal, three assists) raised his season totals to 28 goals and 56 points; freshman sensation Shane Eiserman (two goals, assist) surpassed the 40-point plateau; and junior standout Sam Kurker contributed two assists in an all-around gritty performance.

Eiserman staked the Eagles to a 1-0 lead with just 2:31 expired, deflecting Blackwell’s wrist shot up and over Murray’s left shoulder. The junior goalie handled everything St. John’s threw at him for the remainder of the period until defenseman Nick Pandelena’s bomb from the right point found the top left corner with two-tenths of a second left in the period for a 2-0 lead. The Rockets had three opportunities to clear the puck but failed to do so and Pandelena made them pay.

“We had a lot of opportunities in the first period. Nick’s goal was a backbreaker and gave us a big lift,” said Hanson.

“I thought it could have been four or five to nothing after the first period. Our goalie kept us in it,” said Needham coach Bill Guisti, whose Rockets (12-8-4) fell to 0-2 in bracket play.

Blackwell’s highlight reel solo effort in the first minute of the second period expanded the Prep’s lead to 3-0. Collecting his own deflected pass in the neutral zone, he turned on the jets, wiggled through two Needham defenders in the high slot and beat Murray with a forehand finish.

“I’m spoiled – I’ve been coaching Colin for four years and see this all the time. It’s my opinion that he’s the best player in the state. There are a lot of great players out there but he’s the best as far as I’m concerned,” said Hanson.

The Prep’s efficiently killed off consecutive penalties early in the period that effectively presented Needham with a continuous three-minute power play, limiting the Rockets to one shot while blocking four in that sequence. Eagles’ goalie David Letarte (17 saves) denied a quality bid with 2:45 left in the period, gloving Lucas Davis’ wrist shot from the left circle.

Needham ended a tournament scoreless drought of 72 minutes and 52 seconds shortly thereafter when DJ Walsh’s pass from the left wall deflected off a Prep defender and past Letarte.

St. John’s, though, allowed Needham no life, limiting the Rockets to six third-period shots. The Prep’s Devin Murray banged home a Kurker rebound to make it 4-1 with 4:04 to play on a play initiated by Matt MacDonald. Eiserman completed the scoring with 2:16 left, burying an uncontested 2-on-1 dish from Blackwell.

“Eiserman has been the difference for us between being just a regular Division One team the last two years to where we are this year. The first time I saw him was at tryouts. I heard he was a good player and when I saw that he was big and strong I thought: ‘He has a chance to make the varsity.’ For him to come in and score more than 40 points as a freshman in this league is just remarkable,” said Hanson.

The Prep’s win, coupled with B.C. High’s 1-0 shutout of Woburn in Wednesday’s late game, means the two Catholic Conference rivals have both clinched berths in next week’s semifinal crossover games. They will meet Sunday (site and time to be determined) to decide first and second place in Bracket Two. St. John’s won both regular-season games, 6-3 and 4-1.