MIDDLETON — When Michael Bulkin (47 saves) and a late goal propelled Xaverian past St. John’s Prep on Jan. 19 to snap a six-game head-to-head skid, the Hawks celebrated accordingly alongside the seniors who had never beaten the Eagles before.
St. John’s Prep remembered it.
And with a 4-0 win over No. 7 Xaverian in the rematch Wednesday night at Essex Sports Center, the No. 3 Eagles (11-4) not only got their revenge, but also secured at least a share of the Catholic Conference title for a second straight year.
Senior Ryan DeLucia’s empty-netter gave him a hat trick, senior AJ Farese notched a 30-save shutout, and St. John’s Prep can now take the outright title against Catholic Memorial with a win at West Point on Sunday.
“We took (the loss) pretty personal, that’s all we thought about going in today,” DeLucia said. “I think everyone doubted us (in the preseason), losing a lot of seniors from last year. Winning the Catholic Conference, at least sharing it with CM, is something that we’re so proud of.”
St. John’s Prep head coach Kristian Hanson knows just how special and rare it is to win even a share of the Catholic Conference title, let alone in two straight years. Especially against Xaverian.
“We were aware of what was at stake today,” he said. “I have all the respect in the world for Xaverian, I think they’re an excellent team.
“In (the coaching staff’s) time here, this is our 18th year,” Hanson continued. “It’s our third (conference title). That shows you how difficult it is to win it. … We’ve been fortunate enough to win three state championships, but only two Catholic Conference titles.”
Xaverian, which had won five of its past six entering the contest, outplayed St. John’s Prep for a long stretch in the first period. But Farese made 10 saves to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard, and it was the Eagles that took the lead when senior Chris DiBella potted a goal on a rebound late in the period.
Momentum shifted from there.
As the defense limited the quality of Xaverian’s shots and Farese cleaned up the rest, St. John’s Prep converted at least a goal in every period by doing the little things well. DeLucia powered in a loose puck off a blocked shot in front to make it 2-0 in the second, and then converted a blocked shot from the right circle with 9:01 left in the third for the big lead.
“That was kind of our game plan today, was get dirty,” Hanson said. “We had 48 shots against these guys last time. I thought Bulkin played excellent. We just wanted to try to get to the net today, and maybe capitalize on some rebounds. And we were able to do that.”
“I love battling out front,” DeLucia added. “Coach put me on the power play next to Sam Croke in front, and we just love going to work every single day.”
Battling illness and knowing the difficulty of beating Bulkin (33 saves) and Xaverian, Hanson emphasized the little details heading in. He thought SJP responded to the challenge after the momentum flipped in the first.
“I think what we really wanted to do today was focus on the details,” he said. “Keep it simple, play strong D-zone, keep them to the perimeter, and try to capitalize on chances. I thought after kind of a slow start for us, I thought we started to do that. … The boys wanted it, they knew what was at stake.”
The win marks the Eagles’ fifth straight, and they’re 9-1 since falling to Reading on New Year’s Day.
“Every year, our goal is to be playing better come February than we were in December,” Hanson said. “We started this year 2-3. … There were probably some doubters, but we just wanted to stick with it in the room and our kind of motto this year is be one percent better every day. I just feel like we’re continually getting better.”