White Nets Four as MC Rolls in Super 8

NORTH ANDOVER—Whenever the Malden Catholic hockey team gets mentioned in conversation, it’s a good bet the focus is on the Lancers’ epic first line of Mike Vecchione, Brendan Collier and Ryan Fitzgerald.

Last night, however, it was the top-seeded Lancer supporting cast that took center stage.

The second line led the way as Malden Catholic (18-2-2) subjected defending state champions Hingham to a vicious 8-1 thrashing at Lawler Arena in the second round of the Super 8 Tournament. 

Known for its ability to keep scoreboard operators on their toes with sudden and severe outbursts of offense, MC's top line has a tendency to steal the show. 

The Hockey East-bound troika accounted for 74 goals and 199 points during the regular season.

“It’s funny, everybody says we’re a one-line team,” said Malden Catholic head coach Chris Serino. “We’re not. That second line is very good. I don’t consider them a second line, I consider them a 1A line. They’d be a top line on almost any other team."

Senior forward Garrett White was a one-man wrecking crew, netting four goals, while junior Nick Roberto grabbed three assists and sophomore Mike Iovanna added three points, collecting two goals and an assist.

“We just went out there and did our job,” said White about the play of his line. “We played hard, we skated the puck, got the open space, got shots on the net. That’s our game; we’re not finesse, we just work hard and get to the net. That’s how we score our goals.”

The win gives the Blue Blades their first victory over the Harbormen (13-7-4) in the two teams’ last three meetings.

Vecchione assisted on two of the Lancers' goals, moving him past Mike Sylvia of Catholic Memorial (class of 1994)  as the Catholic Conference single-season scoring leader with 75 points and counting.

“It’s a really good feeling,” said Vecchione of his new record. “It’s pretty nice, I can’t complain. It was a really good moment for me, and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

The UNH-bound senior wasn’t the only one feeling upbeat following the win.

“It feels good, it definitely feels good,” said White of his four-goal effort.”We were working hard out there...My linemates and I, we were moving the puck, we were going hard to the net and just skating hard.”

Fifth-ranked Hingham knocked MC out of last year’s Division 1A Tournament, as the Super 8 is known officially, in the semifinals, and were the only team to beat them on the ice during the 2010-11 season, earning a 2-1 win back on Jan. 15.

MC is now 2-0 in Super 8 play, and faces Weymouth on Sunday in its final game in the opening phase of the round-robin tournament.

After a lackluster effort in the opener against Central Catholic, a contest in which the Malden Catholic’s defense looked rather shaky, the Lancers wanted to come out and make a statement.

The Lancers defense, led by junior Conor Evangelista, turned in a solid performance and contained Hingham all night.

“I thought our defense played 30 times better than (against Central Catholic),” said Serino. “I was really happy with our defense tonight.”

He was especially pleased with the play of Evangelista.

“He’s a dominant player out there,” said MC’s coach. “He controls everything when he’s on the ice. He’s the catalyst for us...he brings the puck out of the zone, he starts the power play...he’s really good with the puck.”

Coming into the contest, with Hingham’s recent history of success against the Lancers, coupled with MC’s mediocre defensive effort against Central Catholic, it seemed as though this one would be a hard fought struggle.

The Harbormen backed up those sentiments in the early going, as they drew first blood just 2:52 into the first period, when James Gordon got the puck near the left post and backhanded a shot past Pat Young, giving Hingham an early 1-0 lead.

“I thought the first period was exactly like the first game,” said Hingham head coach Tony Messina. “We were playing the way wanted to, we had the line matchups that we wanted, and we were getting sticks in the lanes and blocking shots.”

The Blue Blades would pull even less than a minute later, when White opened his account on the day, beating Hingham net minder Derek McInnis following a face-off in the Harbormen’s end, making the score 1-1 at the close of the opening stanza.

“Everyone was really pumped up for the game," said Vecchione. "We came out a little flat, and they came out skating hard."

It seemed like Hingham had the Lancers right where they wanted them. 

“We were talking in the locker room after the first period,” said Messina. “We were saying that this was exactly how we wanted to play them.”

Things were about to take a drastic turn for the worse.

“Once the horses were out of the barn, when they start coming, they come,” said Messina, of Malden Catholic's lethal rush. “It’s amazing how good they are. As soon as they smell blood, it’s all over.”

The Lancers scored three goals in the space of 2:21 early in the second frame, and sucked the life right out of the Harbormen in the process. White, Fitzgerald and Iovanna all picked up goals during the explosive span.

Fitzgerald’s goal represented one of just two scores from the Lancers’ top line in the contest. 

“They can do that,” said Serino about his second line’s scoring capabilities. “When we get into a transition game, we’re going to be pretty good, and that’s what we did tonight.”

White and Iovanna would both score another goal in the second period, capping a five-goal outburst and putting Hingham’s hopes of advancing to the next round on thin ice. The Harbormen are 0-2 so far at the Super 8, and face Central Catholic this weekend.

Collier and White would add goals in the third, giving the Lancers their 8-1 margin of victory. 

Young made 13 saves for MC, while McInnis stopped 20 shots on goal.

As far as Weymouth goes on Sunday, Vecchione knows that he and his teammates will need to replicate the performance they turned in against Hingham if they are to go 3-0 in the bracket.

“We’re going to have to play the same way we did today,” he said. “Our top two lines have got to be playing hard and our third line has to go in there and forecheck.”