LOWELL – In all of its might and glory as the state’s winningest boys hockey program, the small details that go into a state finals trip have eluded perennial power Catholic Memorial for well over a decade.
Sunday night, it ended the drought.
With a dominant defensive showing that allowed just five shots on eighth-grade goalie Jaxson Fleming (11 saves) over the final 30 minutes, and a third-period game-winning goal from sophomore Jack McCourt, the fourth-seeded Knights (18-6-1) downed No. 1 Pope Francis, 1-0, in a Div. 1 state semifinal at UMass Lowell’s Tsongas Center.
Catholic Memorial is now just one win away from adding to its state-leading 17 titles for the first time since 2010, and for the first time in head coach Larry Rooney’s tenure.
“It’s unbelievable,” Rooney said. “I’m so proud of these guys. … It means a lot. But we’re moving forward, it’s not enough.”
“Our mantra the whole game was win every shift, win every battle,” McCourt added. “We went out there and executed. … We knew that Coach hasn’t been to the Garden yet. We just wanted to do it for (him) and the seniors, all year long.”
Fleming, who’s wanted to play for CM since he was a youth, played well to keep the Cardinals (21-5) off the board in a seven-save first period.
After that, his teammates kept him out of trouble in a masterclass of containment against a potent attack.
“We knew it was going to be that tough defensively,” Rooney said. “That’s a really good team, Pope Francis. Our strength is our defense. We have seven really good defensemen, we can use all of them. They did what we needed them to do in order for us to get a scoring opportunity. … We got pucks out of our zone really quick.”
“I haven’t gotten a ton of shots in one game all season,” Fleming added. “(The defense has) been really good, blocking shots.”
One bad moment can often spoil a dominant showing in the tournament, and one nearly did in the second period when Pope Francis created a scramble in front.
Troy Hamlin gained the zone on a 2-on-1, sent a pass in front of the crease to Nick Burns that Fleming dove to break up. It got through to Burns, whose shot went off the side of the net and slowly ricocheted in front. CM’s Brendan Martin smacked it away, right to Jack Goggins in the high slot for a wrister that Knights forward Christian Hinkle went to a knee to save as Fleming was pushed down in the scramble.
He gathered himself just in time to save Whitaker Zinger’s shot on the rebound, and keep the game scoreless.
“For the most part, I had my face in the ice so I didn’t really see much,” Fleming said. “But I heard it go off a shin pad and then I made the next save.”
“They blocked shots, they got sticks on pucks, they did what they needed to do in the moment,” Rooney added. “We said it’s going to be 100, 200, 300 little plays that are going to make the difference in this game. It’s plays like that, and they sacrifice for each other. We played really strong defense today.”
That was the biggest challenge Catholic Memorial was tested with all game as its defense limited trouble.
The game remained scoreless up until 6:36 remained, when Hinckle picked off a dump off at the CM blue line and sent it ahead of McCourt for a breakaway. He handled pressure on his back well, went into a full extension and finished a backhanded bid strong up over Nick Ritchie (31 saves), who had been stellar all game prior.
“That was not an easy goal,” Rooney added. “He made a play that he’ll never forget.”