MIAA Boys Division1 Tournament – Quarterfinal Recap: Xaverian Holds Off #2 CM; Reading Edges Braintree

Two higher seeds and two lower seeds were victorious in Wednesday’s Quarterfinal round of hte MIAA Boys Division 1 Tournament.

– Top seed and defending state champ St. John’s Prep had the only result that wasn’t a one-goal game as the Eagles defeated Catholic Conference rival St. John’s of Shrewsbury for the third time this year with a 5-1 win.

Jake Vana and Ben McGilvray staked SJP to a 2-0 lead in the first period and the Eagles then pulled away with three power play goalsl scored by Jimmy Ayers, Cam Umlah and Will Van Sicklin. Luke Gerardi had a goa for SJS in the third period.

– Catholic Conference rivals #2 Catholic Memorial and #7 Xaverian also met for the third time. CM won the first two meetings, but were unable to get it done a third time, as the Hawks rode a 43-save performance from Cole Pouliot-Porter to hang on for a 2-1 win and a berth in the semifinals.

Colvin Callahan and Jackson Morse had goals to give Xaverian a 2-0 lead into the third period. The Hawks held the Knights off the scoreboard until the final minute, when Tyler Hamilton finally got CM on the board. But Pouliot-Porter made a few more saves down the stretch to keep Xaverian on top. The Hawks will face Reading in a semifinal matchup.

– #14 Reading kept its magical run going, edging #11 Braintree, 1-0, for the Rockets’ second straight post-season shutout. In fact, Reading’s three post-season wins have come against opponents (Woburn, Hingham, Braintree) that all beat the Rockets in February.

The only goal of the game came 1:50 into the third period by junior Matt Fichera, assisted by Laz Giardina and Mark Boyle. Junior netminder Chris Hanifan made 20 saves for the shutout.

– #4 Pope Francis scored in the first minute, led 3-0 after the first period, and then held on for a 3-2 win over #5 Marshfield.

Mossy Kearney scored early on to put the Cardinals up 1-0, and before the opening stanza would end, Ryan O’Leary and Nick Petkovich will find the back of the net to give Pope a 3-0 lead. Tommy Carroll would cut the margin to 3-1 after two periods, and Cam McGettrick scored a power play goal with just over six minutes to go, but the Rams could not get the equalizer.

The Cardinals move on to a semifinal date with top seed St. John’s Prep.