RallyNorth.net

Sat, Jan 12, 2008 01:30 PM @ Catholic Memorial

Team	1	2	3	Final
St. John's	0	0	2	2
Catholic Memorial	1	2	1	4

Prep can't slow down Catholic Memorial icemen

Monday, January, 14 By Matt Williams
Staff writer

St. John's Prep goaltender Kyle Pettoruto's frustration boiled over late in the second period of Saturday afternoon's showdown with Catholic Memorial.

After barely being beaten on a breakaway that put the Eagles behind by three goals against the state's top ranked team, the erstwhile senior took it out on the cage, subtly knocking the net from its moorings with a strike from his blocker.

It was an understandable gesture from a player who had an eye-popping 43 saves, yet still came up short in a frustrating 4-2 loss for the Eagles at Harvard University's Bright Hockey Center.

"There's a reason (Catholic Memorial) is ranked No. 1 in the state," said Prep coach Kristian Hanson. "When a team is as good as they are, they can exploit your weaknesses and make real good teams look not so good."

Freshman Colin Blackwell scored twice in the third period for the visiting Eagles (5-3-1), but the tallies were sandwiched between a Knight insurance goal, and St. John's never had a chance to tie it up.

Just three days earlier, the Prep had knocked off defending state champ B.C. High. Yet on Saturday they seemed a step off against the highly touted, unbeaten Knights (6-0-1). Was this simply a continuation of an up-and-down start for the Eagles, or were they a bit jittery under the | pardon the pun | bright lights?

"For a lot of our guys, this is the first time they've ever played against CM," said Hanson. "You come into Harvard and it's a tournament-type feel. We made some mistakes."

Against a squad that boasts such hockey alums as Boston University coach Jack Parker and NHL star Ted Donato, it's hard for visiting teams not to stand in awe.

After the game, Hanson shared his own experiences against the Knights in an effort to push his club over that hump next time around.

"I told them what it was like when I played CM, because they always had a mystique," the Prep Hall of Famer said. "I'm trying to get into their heads that (CM) is just another hockey team, and that you have to come in here believing you can do it. (Beating them) can be done | but it's certainly not easy."

The Knights set the tone early with a dominating first period that saw them pepper Pettoruto with 17 shots. He conceded just one goal | a wraparound bid by T.J. O'Brien | but it was a tough one to swallow in that it came during a 4-on-4 stretch that would've been a Prep power play if not for a boarding call on defenseman Nick Riccio.

After CM went ahead 2-0 in the second, the Eagles began to turn the tide and were finally getting some pressure in the Knights' end. That's when disaster struck again as O'Brien broke free and beat Pettoruto with a short backhand to effectively put the game away.

"That was a really difficult goal for us (to give up)," said Hanson. "If we could've gotten out of the second down 2-0, they say the two-goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey. But that wasn't in the cards."

Blackwell gave the Prep some hope just 2:20 into the third with his first varsity goal, a power play tally. The Knights controlled most of the frame, though, managing 18 shots on net to total 47 for the game. If not for a number of acrobatic and point-blank stops by Pettoruto, it could've been a lot worse.

"Kyle made some great saves on difficult shots, but some that went in he'd like to have back. That's a funny thing that seems to happen a lot with goalies," said Hanson. "If you want to beat CM your goalie has to play great. I don't care who you are."

One youngster who shined on the Harvard stage was Blackwell, who poked home the second goal of his career with 31 ticks left on the clock. Usually a fourth-line player, the ninth-grader with quick feet and a lot of hustle earned extra playing time early in the game and made the most of it.

"He looked good early in the game, so we bumped him up to second line center," said Hanson. "To get your first two goals as a varsity player against CM, I'm sure that's special for him."

The Knights shut down the Eagles top line and did an admirable job containing Prep senior Christian Cowles, who had been one of the hottest shooters in the state of late with seven of his team's last eight goals coming into the game. CM goalie Tom Conlin totaled 25 stops and made a nice pass to trigger O'Brien's back-breaking breakaway.

"We didn't pack it in (in the third period), but overall I don't think we played our best game," said Hanson, whose team takes on Malden Catholic Wednesday in Wilmington (7:20 p.m.). "You almost have to play beyond your means against a team like CM and hope they have an off night | they're that good."