LOWELL – It’s only a matter of time until Xaverian senior Joe DiMartino changes his legal name to “Playoff Joe.”
After a whole night of hearing his name chanted by a large student section at the Tsongas Center, DiMartino fulfilled their pleas Sunday night by sending the Hawks to TD Garden for a second straight year. His goal with 4:47 left in overtime stood as the only score in the No. 7 Hawks’ 1-0 win over No. 14 Reading in the second Div. 1 state semifinal of the day, ending a defensive marathon that featured two of the tournament’s most dialed-in goaltenders.
Cole Pouliot-Porter (25 saves) and the Xaverian defense were able to hold on just a little longer than Chris Hanifan (21 saves) and the Rockets, and now have a date with No. 4 Pope Francis in the final next Sunday to try to avenge its loss last year.
“You guys know ‘Playoff Joe,’ right,” said Xaverian head coach Dave Spinale. “Every year since we won the conference two years ago when he was a sophomore, he’s always scored the big ones and he hasn’t stopped yet. … To go to the Garden was a dream (entering the year), and we got hot at the right time in the second season. We battled all year and they deserve it.”
“This time of the year, when it’s all on the line, it’s easy to step up with this group right here,” DiMartino added. “We’re fighting for every inch out there, so I know I want to keep going with these guys as long as I can.”
Many of the fans in a packed crowd stood on their toes in anticipation of just one goal all night, as defenses relentlessly prevented many high-quality scoring opportunities. Hanifan and Pouliot-Porter made sure opposing crowds could only moan in disappointment for just missing out on chances each attack did produce, leaving the impression early on that one goal would likely win it.
Enter DiMartino.
When the senior skated toward the right circle and the Reading defender gave some separation, very few thought he’d pass on a game-winning opportunity. His wrister to the far top shelf cleanly sailed over Hanifan, capping off a run back to TD Garden despite graduating 15 seniors from last year’s team.
Pouliot-Porter has been a welcome addition in his first year starting.
“Just going into this game, I knew I just had to give my team a chance,” Pouliot-Porter said. “I know the team from last year, they were expecting a lot. I knew I was going to have to do my job for us to get back to the Garden, too, because the team in front of my does their job. I have to do mine.”
“He’s been just simply nothing short of amazing,” Spinale added.
The one-score drama was far from exclusive to the night-cap, as No. 4 Pope Francis and No. 1 St. John’s Prep skated to a similar tune.
Nick Petkovich snapped a shot off Eagles goalie Brian Cronin (26 saves) that slowly tumbled past the goal line with 6:19 left in the third, providing all the Cardinals would need to knock out the reigning Div. 1 state champs with a 1-0 win. Pope Francis’ sophomore goalie Nick Ritchie, only recently named starter for the postseason, was instrumental with 26 saves in the shutout.
That included a miraculous first period, in which he staved off 15 shots in a fast and furious offensive frame before defenses settled down the action. The Cardinals move on to the championship game as a result, overcoming the team many pegged as the title-favorite all year.
“We knew all year that St. John’s Prep was like, the team in Mass. as the defending champs,” said head coach Brian Foley. “I thought they were more prepared to impose their will on us in that first period and I thought we didn’t do a great job going toe-to-toe with them. … Figured (in the third period) that one goal was going to be the difference-maker, and luckily enough, we got it and were able to keep them off the board.”
This was the first time all year St. John’s Prep had been shut out, and the first period showed why with all the offensive opportunities they were generating. Crashing on rebounds, producing quick shots in the slot and plenty of passing lanes to generate open scoring spaces flooded the ice, but Ritchie stopped everything St. John’s Prep could throw at him.
Cronin stood strong opposite Ritchie with a similarly impressive opening frame (10 saves) and continued that into the second (12 saves) as Pope Francis started controlling play. The goalie battle was so impressive that it was only fitting that Petkovich’s goal came on a near save that just barely trickled in.
“I thought we had some good scoring opportunities early but didn’t capitalize on those,” said St. John’s Prep coach Kristian Hanson. “(The game-winner), that’s hockey. It’s a game of turnovers, it’s a game of mistakes. That’s why you put as many pucks to net as you can. … All those kids in that locker room, they gave us everything they had, left it on the ice, accomplished a ton.”