BOSTON – Pope Francis finally got its long-awaited state championship after many great seasons and close calls.
Longtime head coach Brian Foley has had more talented teams. Still, the Cardinals were able to get over the hump and win the MIAA Division 1 State Championship with a 3-2 victory over Xaverian on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
Pope Francis faced deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 but climbed back both times. Senior captain Josh Iby played the role of hero as he scored his second of the game with 25.6 seconds left. His first goal of the game came in the opening period while the Cardinals were on the power play.
Iby’s game-winning goal came on a three-on-two rush after an unforced error by Xaverian at the other end. Mossy Kearney carried the puck into the zone and cut to the middle before slipping a backhand pass to Iby at the backdoor.
Iby’s one-timer from the left wing circle at the 9:21 mark of the first period evened the score at 1-1. Defenseman Jake Jarrell gave him the pass down from the point. Kyle O’Leary was able to knot the score up at two at the end of the second period on a pretty passing sequence that started with a feed from Jacob Petrin. The primary assist went to Nick Petkovich who made an elite look to give O’Leary the tap-in bid.
Xaverian took a 1-0 lead in the first period when a pair of sophomores connected on a rush. Jackson Morse initiated the odd-man rush. He passed the puck over to Devin Gosciak who got his stick on it for the redirection past Pope Francis goaltender Nick Ritchie with 7:41 left in the first.
A shorthanded goal gave Xaverian a 2-1 lead in the second period. Sean Connolly and Tommy Dunn forced a turnover and put pressure on Pope Francis. Connolly scored on his own rebound after getting a pass from Dunn.
While he came out on the losing end, Xaverian goaltender junior Cole Pouliot-Porter made a number of key saves. Ritchie’s biggest save came early in the second period when he denied a penalty shot bid from Joe DiMartino.
It’s often said that big-time players step up in big games. Pope Francis’ big guns up front came to play on Sunday. All three goals came from the first two lines.
The game-winning goal coming off the stick of Iby from his two linemates was a fitting end to the season for Pope Francis.
Here are three unsung heroes from the game.
Mossy Kearney
Pope Francis, 1/1/06, RW, right shot, 5-7/140
Kearney made an elite play on the game-winning goal. He protected the puck before sliding it on his backhand over to Iby at the backdoor for an easy tap-in. Kearney has been a good playmaking winger all season but has gone under-the-radar with much of the coverage going to Iby and left wing CJ Watroba.
Jacob Jarrell
Pope Francis, 2/21/06, D, right shot, 6-0/165
Jarrell had the primary assist on Iby’s power play goal in the first period, but he made some plays on the breakout and had a more noticeable game than he has had recently. Zach Buffone and Matt Bolduc get much of the attention as youngsters on the Pope Francis blue line, but Jarrell might have saved his best game for the most meaningful.
Gavin Moynihan
Xaverian, 11/13/04, C, left shot, 6-0/176
Moynihan had two huge blocks on slap shots from the Pope Francis blue line while killing a third-period penalty. In addition to laying out his body for the good of his team, he had a couple of solid chances, including one a little later in the final period. For this level, he’s a good 200-foot center and wore a letter for the Hawks.
Pope Francis lines
Watroba - Iby - Kearney
Petkovich - Petrin - R. O’Leary
McGrath - Cuccovia - Wegrzyn
S. O’Leary - Fitzgerald - DiMichele
Jarrell - Buffone
Foyle - Bolduc
Russ - Shea
Ritchie
Xaverian lines
DiMartino - Moynihan - Caplis
Gosciak - Callahan - Peck
Fitzpatrick - O’Neil - Morse
Kramer - Connolly - Dunn
Leblanc - McGrath
Rossi - Patch
Tow - Dion
Pouliot-Porter
