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WEST ROXBURY, Mass. -- There is no question St. John's Prep is going to face adversity as its closes its season with one of the toughest schedules in the state.

Clashing against top-fifteen ranked opponents in six of his final nine games, Eagles head coach John Roy is looking to make sure his squad is well prepped for the postseason. If a three goal fourth quarter comeback and a 9-8 double-overtime victory over Catholic Conference foe Catholic Memorial on Thursday is any sign of things to come, No. 19 SJP (8-4, 5-2) is up to the challenge.

“It is nerve racking to be on the sidelines for a game like this, but it is valuable for the players to get that experience” Roy said. “This is a great way to start this final run of seven games.”

The Eagles upset the host No. 9 Knights (9-3, 5-1) at James R. O'Connor Stadium with three goals and two assists from attack Andrew Gallahue and two tallies by midfielder Drew O'Connell (both sophomores).

With Prep scoring the last five goals of the game, a 15-yard side-arm rocket by O'Connell at 2:26 in the second extra period sealed the victory for the Eagles. As Gallahue worked the sidelines midway the second overtime, the sophomore popped the ball up top to O'Connell who finished along the side post for the win.

“I saw Andrew dodging and I saw an opening,” O'Connell said. “I have been playing since the second grade (and) shooting a lot in my back yard. He had been stuffing me a lot all game, but that one went through.”

The clincher was the second assist for Gallahue, who set up the game tying goal with 33 seconds left in regulation. After the two leading scorers hit net to open the fourth quarter, Gallahue ran a set play from behind the crease and cut backwards to find a slim gap on the outside to organize the third score of the period.

On his way towards the keeper, the attackman caught a slide and popped the rubber up top to fellow Eagle's sophomore Joey Cavallaro for a wide open five-yard finish.

“[Coach] wanted me to go back left, take a dodge, and feed one of the people in the crease,” Gallahue said. “I saw Joey Cavallaro come to me and I just tossed the ball.”

“We do run it in practice, (but) it did not go exactly as we had planned,” added Roy.

The Knights, who never trailed in regulation, took a 3-2 lead at 4:26 in the first quarter and led for the next 40 minutes. A side-net assist from freshman Tyler Bogart set up an open backdoor cut by fellow attacker sophomore Steve Righini to give CM the edge.

The Knights scored the next four, including a one-timer by sophomore Zack O'Brien off a steal and assist by senior Austin Bannister for a 6-2 lead at 4:57 in the second quarter.

“We were trying to use everybody on offense,” CM head coach Kevin Lynch said. “We have come out on the losing end of two overtimes so far and that was our third one.”

Gallahue helped Prep battle back with a pair in the final two minutes of the half, but the Eagles gave up two by CM senior leading scorers Tom Stanton (3 G, 1 A) and John Harrison (2 G) to open the third. CM had an 8-2 advantage in man-up opportunities, while outscoring the Eagles 2 -1 with the extra player.

Prep keeper Thomas Casale made 17 saves, while CM senior Miles McCarthy knocked away 14.

“Their keeper was making good saves all night,” Roy said. “We needed to move to be able to score.”

Both teams have two in-conference games remaining, with second-place Prep a game behind league-leader CM. The Eagles finish their final two weeks of the season with a pair of road games against No. 3 Lincoln-Sudbury (9-2) and No. 12 Billerica (8-4) and two home closers against No. 1 Duxbury (11-2) and No. 6 Medfield (7-2).

With six total games left, Prep needs one more win to reach the postseason, while CM has already qualified.

All eyes will be on the TD Garden Sunday as championships will be decided in six divisions of MIAA hockey title games.

We'll have you covered all day long, but until then, we provide to you a breakdown of each of the game and our prediction:

GIRLS’ FINALS Division 2
No. 1 Duxbury (21-0-1) vs. No. 7 Falmouth (16-4-1), 11 a.m., TD Garden
The Breakdown: If the Dragons win this game, they make a strong argument that they were the strongest girls’ hockey team in the state, regardless of division, with the potential for an undefeated season. As any strong hockey squad goes, the Dragons are built from goal out with sophomore goaltender Rachel Myette (0.91 GAA) looks for her second state title in as many seasons as starter. Duxbury’s blue line corps is regarded as the deepest in the state, led by ESPN Boston Ms. Hockey contender Martha Findley (4-19-23). Of course, Duxbury has plenty of offensive firepower to go along with their strong defensive play with junior forwards Hannah Murphy (18-27-45) and Lily Connolly (18-20-38) as leading scorers. Falmouth has been one of the stories of the tournament, making a run behind first-year head coach Erin Blood. The Clippers have also received strong play from a young goaltender in freshman Maddie Scavotto (1.26 GAA). Falmouth is also deep and experienced on the blue line with senior captain Brenna Callahan and junior Alexx Good. The Clippers have received scoring punch from a pair of freshman forwards in Kelly Ferreira (13-9-22) and Madison Haberl (11-12-23).

The Pick: The defending Division 2 champion Dragons spent half the season as the No. 1 team in our poll. We’re not about to go against them now. Duxbury, 4-1.

Division 1 No. 3 St. Mary’s (Lynn) (21-3-1) vs. No. 4 Arlington Catholic (20-3-1), 9 a.m.
The Breakdown: If two regular season meetings between these Central Catholic powers weren’t enough, we get a rubber match for all the marbles on Sunday. The Lady Spartans came away with two wins in the teams’ regular season series, including a defining 5-2 decision by St. Mary’s on Feb. 1 after they’d been upset by crosstown rival Winthrop/Lynn. Can’t underscore the coaching in this game enough, as Frank Pagliuca has turned in perhaps his finest performance behind the bench and Maggie Taverna has vaulted the Cougars back onto the state’s biggest stage in Year One. Taverna has been helped by one of the state’s most dynamic scorers in senior Natalie Flynn (19-15-34). Adrieana Rossini (8-14-22) has also come up with some huge postseason goals. On the blue line, AC has one of the state’s best in senior Rebecca Zappala. First-year transfers Kaleigh Finigan (30-goal season) and Brittani Lanzilli (25-28-53) have not disappointed while Alison Butler (team-leading 61 points) has taken a huge step forward. The Spartans blue line is airtight with preseason All-Stater Rachel Donahoe leading the group. Lauren Skinnion (7 SO) has been strong as a first-year starter in nets.

The Pick: Third time’s a charm? Not so. Spartans are too strong. St. Mary’s, 4-2.

BOYS’ FINALS Division 3
Medway (19-6-1) vs. Hudson (21-1-1), 1:30 p.m.
The Breakdown: This marks the return of one of the state’s great public hockey programs to its biggest stage in Hudson (seriously, look it up), with the Hawks making their first state finals appearance since 1978, when they took the Div. 1 title from Burlington. The Central sectional champions are strong up front with a trio of 30-point scorers in seniors Tyler Kirby, Tim Murphy and Blake Seymour. The Mustangs are paced by one of the state’s top snipers in Jake O’Rourke (43-13-56). This matchup will also feature two of most dominant D3 goalies in the state with Hudson junior Shane Barry and Medway junior Mike Narducci facing off with sub-2.00 goals against averages.

The Pick: We’re going with the storyline and perhaps the most consistent D3 team throughout the season. Hudson, 3-2.

Division 2 Wilmington (15-4-5) vs. No. 1 Franklin (19-2-3), 3:30 p.m.
The Breakdown: This might be the most intriguing matchup of the day. Both of these teams were among four Division 2 teams on the Mass. Hockey Coaches Association’s initial Super 8 Watch list a month ago and haven’t disappointed in the tournament. Franklin was here a year ago, when they had their hearts broken by Tewksbury in an overtime stunner. Many observers, including us, had last season pegged as the Panthers’ opportunity to break a nearly three-decade long drought, but Chris Spillane has showed why he’s one of the state’s premier coaches. It also hasn’t hurt that Franklin has received tremendous senior seasons from Adam Hall (17-25-42) and Nick Bertoni (25-15-40). Sophomore netminder Mike Donadio (1.64 GAA) has been a revelation. The Wildcats offense has taken off since Cam Owens’ (14-19-33) return to the lineup, while senior captain Dalton Rolli (9-16-25) is an underrated two-way presence. Junior forward Jake Rogers (12-6-20) has come up with some timely goals in the postseason. Sophomore netminder Drew Foley (1.69 GAA) has played his best when it’s counted most, carrying a three-plus game shutout streak into the Wildcats’ North sectional final with Winthrop.

The Pick: The last time the Panthers hoisted the trophy Coach Spillane skated. Unfortunately for the hockey hotbed, this isn’t the year either. Wilmington, 2-1 (OT).



Division 1 Burlington (17-2-6) vs. Milton (19-3-3), 8:15 p.m.
The Breakdown: The Red Devils pulled off a tough feat, bouncing back from a Super 8 play-in game loss (and a very competitive one at that) to pull themselves into the D1 championship. The Middlesex League champions have plenty of speed to burn, and senior assistant captain Trevor Cimino (17-22-39) is about as good a two-way forward as you’ll find. Along with Joe Berardi (22-13-35), Brett Romkey (17-3-20) and C.J. Grinnell (6-14-20), Burlington can score in piles. We’ve also come away impressed by their defensive corps led by Steve Mattos, in addition to Cody Crocker, Adam Crowley and Brien Diffley. The Wildcats ran the Bay State League gauntlet in the South sectional tournament to get to the Garden. Paul Curran (26-33-59) is one of the best pure scorers in the state, and along with top-liners Brian Higgins (23-29-52) and Terrance Walsh (16-33-49), Milton provides matchup problems. Blue-liner John Murtagh is a rock, logging boatloads of ice time, and senior netminder Jay Hankard is peaking at the right time

The Pick: Red Devils are simply too potent, but they’re the pick mostly because of the way they’re playing defensively right now in front of Derek DeCastro. Burlington, 6-3.

Division 1A No. 5 BC High (13-6-5) vs. No. 1 Malden Catholic (19-1-4), 6 p.m.
The Breakdown: After beating another Catholic Conference rival, St. John’s Prep, to advance to the final, Eagles head coach John Flaherty said he’s had a special feeling about this group. That feeling might have developed after BC High skated to a 2-2 tie with MC on Jan. 25, a game in which the Eagles in some regards out-played the Lancers. This will be the fourth meeting between these teams, with MC taking two wins, including a 3-1 win in the Super 8’s round robin last week. The crucible for BC High is which of their defensive units shows up: The out-of-sorts group that surrendered a 7-spot earlier this season to MC, or the cohesive group that bounced Prep and its top line? Of course, that all starts with junior goaltender Peter Cronin (2.00 GAA), who has turned in another solid tournament. Brian Furey leads a much improved blue-line group. The Eagles are also disciplined in their own zone, with Matt Sullivan (12-16-28) providing as much defensively as he does offensively. Everyone knows of the Lancers top line of Brendan Collier, Ryan Fitzgerald and Mike Iovanna, but freshman center Ara Nazarian has been the breakout star of the tournament, filling the scoresheet in every game and tallying five goals. It’s not just offense with MC, however, as you’d be hard pressed to find a deeper, more dynamic top three than Casey Fitzgerald, Colin MacGillivray and Brendan White. If netminder Connor Maloney plays as he did against Central Catholic in the crossover round, that’s game, set, and match.

The Pick: Doin’ it for CS5. MC, 5-3.

Catholic Memorial head basketball coach Dennis Tobin forwards along this year's Catholic Conference All-Stars:

LEAGUE MVP: MATT DRONEY, SR., CATHOLIC MEMORIAL
Steve Haladyna, Sr., St. John's Prep
Freddy Shove, Sr., St. John's Prep
Mike Carbone, Sr., St. John's Prep
Bryce Boggs, Jr., Xaverian
Jared Lewis, Sr., Malden Catholic
Kyle Sangster, Jr., Malden Catholic
John Mastascusa, Jr., Malden Catholic
Oderah Obukwelu, Sr., BC High
Charles Collins, Jr., BC High
Jameilen Jones, Jr., BC High
Dan Powers, Sr., Catholic Memroial
Armani Reeves, Sr., Catholic Memorial
Aahmane Santos, Soph., Catholic Memorial

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- It was a sequence that will probably haunt the dreams of Catholic Memorial and its fans, but will probably bring a smile to anyone wearing the blue and white of St. John’s Prep.

Mark Azarian came away with some late-game heroics to notch the winner with six seconds remaining to spring the Prep (11-5-1) to a 4-3 victory over the Knights Saturday in a matchup between Catholic Conference rivals at Ristuccia Memorial Arena.

Azarian will be the one with the game-winning goal always attached to his name, but the play wouldn’t have been made without the hustle, and patience, of Andrew Brandano.

Brandano got his body in front of a shot at the blue line, and raced out into the open ice down the right side. He got down to the right circle and had Azarian trailing on the play with a Knights defenseman in position in between the two.

Brandano looked to hesitate with the puck, but he was just debating on shooting it with only seconds to go until he saw his linemmate come into play in good scoring position. The junior forward guided the puck right to the tape of Azarian to grab two points, and keep a point away from the Knights in the process, with six seconds remaining in the game.

“The first thing on my mind was to block the shot,” Brandano said. “I noticed the 2-on-1 right away. I saw Mark from the beginning and was going to pass it, but he was behind the defenseman so I held onto it and waited until it opened up. … I just threw it at his stick and it went in.”

Brandano said he thought about shooting the puck at first with Shane Starrett in position, but he changed his mind when a passing lane opened.

“It was wicked long and it felt like it took forever,” he said. “But it was worth it.”

The Eagles’ defense prides themselves on being in position and blocking shots in their own end, and that was the first thing that Kristian Hanson noticed about the big play.

“What made that play was the block,” Hanson said. “He blocked the shot in an absolutely critical point of the game he sacrificed the body. It created the 2-on-1 and Mark just did his job by going to the far post. [Brandano] was very patient with the puck on that.... Obviously it’s a big win for us.”

KURKER COMES UP BIG AGAIN
Sam Kurker has become a force for the Eagles’ top-line against Catholic Conference foes, and he made a name for himself again with three goals to help fuel the Prep.

This was the second hat-trick for Kurker against Catholic Memorial this season, and he’s consistently wracked up multiple point games against familiar foes in the league.

“In the conference he’s scored two or three goals in virtually every conference game that we played,” Hanson said. “It says a lot about him as a player.”

Kurker got the Prep on the board in the first period on the first shot of the game, and he also tied things up at 3 on the power play with a slapper from the left point with 2:53 left in the game.

KNIGHTS IN TROUBLE
The road to the playoffs just got a little bit rockier for the Knights.

The Knights need six points in their last four games to be postseason eligible. Their last four games area against Rhode Island foes Bishop Hendricken and La Salle Academy, Connecticut's Fairfield Prep, in addition to No. 7 Central Catholic.

Catholic Memorial has been on the door step of crucial wins this past week, but coughed up one-goal leads in the third period in each of the last three contests.

MALDEN, Mass. -- For the second time in as many tries, No. 6 Catholic Memorial held a late third-period lead, only to settle for a tie.

Thomas Stanton provided the Knights with a 2-1 lead with less than three minutes remaining in Wednesday night’s Catholic Conference matchup with No. 1 Malden Catholic. And, while CM netminder Shane Starrett consistently stood on his head, stopping 41 Lancer shots, MC junior winger Mike Iovanna’s deflection of a point shot resulted in a 2-2 tie.

Remaining undefeated in Catholic Conference play at 6-0-2, MC wrapped up another regular season league title.

On the other hand, for CM (6-6-2, 2-3-2), it remains a struggle for points.

“I’ve said that in the last couple of weeks we’ve needed to steal a point here and there,” Knights head coach Bill Hanson said. “And we stole a point.”

The Knights now need six points in their final five games to qualify for the state tournament.

Aside from paring a point from the state’s top team, CM might have gained more in its play.

“Tonight definitely helps our confidence,” said Stanton, a senior assistant captain. “They’re a good team. We can play with them, we proved that. I think we just need to prove it to ourselves that we can play with teams like that.”

MC (11-1-3) was off to another quick start with Ryan Fitzgerald tapping in a one-timer off of Brendan Collier’s cross-ice feed at 2:57 of the first.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net until CM caught a dose of puck luck with senior captain Liam Coughlin banking in a puck off an MC defender’s skate with under nine minutes remaining in the third.

Stanton provided what look to be the game-winner before Iovanna got a piece of Brendan White’s shot from the point with 1:43 to play.

“[Starrett] made some good saves and it was tough to get it by him,” said Collier, the Lancers’ senior captain. “They hung around, and you can’t let good teams hang around. They’re scrapping for their lives right now.”

ADJUSTING ON THE FLY
CM was successful clogging up passing lanes and sagging down low, defensively, with a boatload of blocked shots to show for it. While Starrett saw plenty of rubber tossed his way, the Knights rolled with the Lancers’ punches and turned in perhaps their best defensive effort of the season outside of their early win over St. Sebastian’s.

“I thought we adjusted very well in the third period,” Hanson said. “We said, hey, we’ve got a chance to win a hockey game here. We backed off on the forecheck, we weren’t that aggressive. We locked on their wings, locked on them in the offensive zone and the defensive zone, hoping that we’d get a turnover.”

MOMENT FOR PAUSE
Emerging unscathed from Wednesday’s game, MC earned an undefeated conference record for the second time in as many years.

It was a feat that wasn’t lost on Collier.

“It’s a great league, it’s probably the best in high school hockey,” he said. “To be undefeated, it’s just an honor. It just shows how good of a squad we have and how hard we work. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night."

Lost in the fuss of Super Bowl mania this weekend, the Massachusetts High School Hockey Coaches Association unveiled its Super 8 Watch List.

It’s a comprehensive list, with 27 teams, including four Division 2 squads (Boston Latin, Canton, Franklin and Wilmington), gaining mention.

While the next three weeks play out to reveal who the final 10 teams will be, here’s a crack at our Super 8 field while gazing into a crystal ball, predicting how the teams will stack up a few weeks before the committee makes its ultimate decision.

(Teams are ranked in order of ‘Power Seeding’ so as to determine the field of six, plus four play-in teams, records are as of time of publication)

1. Malden Catholic (10-1-2)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 1

Why they’re in: The Lancers have been No. 1 wire to wire thus far in our poll and their lone loss comes to an out-of-state opponent (Delbarton of N.J.). As the presumed Catholic Conference champions, there’s no reason why MC will not take the top seed in the state’s biggest tournament.

Why they might not be in: Um, seriously?

2. St. Mary’s of Lynn (14-1-2)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 2

Why they’re in: The Spartans are scheduled to be Catholic Central Large champions, and we feel that, in itself, should always gain entry into the Super 8.

Why they’re in this spot: We hate to look too much into individual games, but the Spartans are one of just two teams (the other being BC High) to take the Lancers to the limit and salvage a point against the No. 1 team.

3. Hingham (12-2-1)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 4

Why they’re in: Playing one of the toughest schedules in the state as an independent, the Harbormen are takers of the best challenges from the state’s best, night after night. Not bad considering a young team had even head coach Tony Messina wondering what he had entering this season.

Why they’re in this spot: Pound for pound the toughest schedule in the state of any non-Catholic Conference team.

4. St. John’s Prep (10-5-0)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 3

Why they’re in: Even though they’re behind BC High in the Catholic Conference standings, still feel their body of work constitutes them as the second Catholic Conference team to gain entry.

Why they’re in this spot: We slot them after the Harbormen, despite taking a 2-1 win early in the season, because of their four league losses, including a real head-scratcher against Xaverian.

5. BC High (9-3-3)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 5

Why they’re in: Shoo-ins as presumed second-place finisher in the Catholic Conference.

Why they’re in this spot: Eagles are 3-1-2 in their last six, and while it’s nothing to slouch at, they haven’t been playing their best hockey of the season when other teams are peaking.

6. Central Catholic (9-2-3)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 7

Why they’re in: We’re going to go all Wolf Blitzer and project the DCL/MVC race for the Raiders, despite trailing Westford Academy by a point (Central has games in hand). That, combined with their aggressive out-of-conference scheduling has them back in a top six slot.

Why they’re in this spot: The formula presented above is enough to give the Raiders the final guaranteed position.

THE FINAL FOUR (PLAY-IN TEAMS)

7. Catholic Memorial (6-6-1)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 6

Why they’re in: The Knights split their remaining Catholic Conference games against Prep and MC (we won’t tell you which game they win, however) and take care of the balance of their schedule to qualify. The committee slots the Knights here to make them sweat through a play-in game because of their near .500 record.

Why they might not be in: Simply put, as last year, the Knights fail to qualify for ANY tournament.

8. Burlington (10-1-3)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 10

Why they’re in: The Red Devils wrap up the Middlesex League’s small division and survive any hiccups down the stretch. Given their convincing wins over Woburn, they go on to represent the league over any other squad from the Middlesex (read: Woburn).

Why they might not be in: They cough up few more points, like the 2-2 tie against Melrose on Saturday, and the bubble is burst.

9. Springfield Cathedral (7-4-4)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 8

Why they’re in: Another squad, akin to Hingham, that takes on all comers. Our crystal ball sees the Panthers coming up with some big points in their host tournament in two weeks, solidifying their resume.

Why they might not be in: Given that they came away with two ties against Catholic West rival St. John’s of Shrewsbury, it might be hard to pick the Panthers over the Pioneers and could create a wash.

10. Norwood (12-2-4)

Current ESPN Boston Top 25 ranking: 12

Why they’re in: Consider us among the believers after witnessing the Mustangs’ methodical win over perennial Bay State Super 8 entrant Needham. Coupled with Norwood’s earlier win over Braintree (also listed on the Association’s Watch List), hard to argue it should be anyone but the Mustangs representing the Bay State.

Why they might not be in: Is the out-of-conference schedule (a 2-0 L to Hingham and 6-0 win over Archbishop Williams) enough?

BOSTON – Malden Catholic freshman Ara Nazarian has settled in nicely between Tyler Sifferlen and Brian Cameron on the No. 1 Lancers’ second line.

The center made his presence felt in a big way, midway through Saturday night’s Catholic Conference clash with No. 9 Catholic Memorial at Walter Brown Arena.

With game tied, 1-1, and five minutes remaining in the second period, Nazarian set up the go-ahead goal and then scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal all on one shift in the Lancers’ 5-2 win.

“I think it was a big momentum shift for us,” Nazarian said of the two goals, scored within 45 seconds. “They came out fast, they got the goal at the beginning of the period. That was a big shift for us.”

The only thing that could beat CM goaltender Shane Starrett in the first period was Brendan Collier’s tally at 6:13, coming on a tape-to-tape pass from Mike Iovanna with the Lancer captain streaking toward net. Starrett (33 saves) turned aside 14 shots in the first period alone.

The Knights (5-6-0, 1-3-0) carried play in the first 10 minutes of the second, out-shooting MC, 8-3.

CM found the equalizer just 24 seconds into the second with Knights captain Liam Coughlin was the beneficiary of some slick transition play from linemates Jack O’Hear and Aaron Marcel. Gaining the line with speed, O’Hear found Coughlin alone in front to bury a one-timer up high.

Then, Nazarian and his linemates took over.

First, Nazarian won a faceoff in the offensive end, beating the Knights’ centerman to the puck and then dishing it to Sifferlen camped on the off-wing post for a 2-1 lead.

“I tell my linemates that if I win it forward for them to go to the net,” Nazarian said. “And then I look for them on the backdoor.”

MC (8-1-2, 5-0-1) gained entry into the zone off the ensuing faceoff and, while cycling the puck down low, Nazarian banked in a shot from below the goal line for a 3-1 Lancer lead.

“I was trying to make a pass out front, but it went off the goalie’s pad and in,” Nazarian said.

The Lancers rode the momentum into the third period. Ryan Fitzgerald added a short-handed goal on a breakaway.

Although CM got one back on Miles McCarthy’s strike with 1:59 to play, the Lancers had the last laugh with Iovanna picking up his second point of the night with a breakaway goal with 11 seconds remaining.

PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE
The Knights once again are facing a crucible in qualifying for the postseason tournament.

Hovering around .500 for the last several weeks, the Knights find themselves in dire need of points in the coming weeks against a grueling schedule. CM has the balance of their Catholic Conference schedule coming with four games, including another matchup against MC, in the next two weeks.

What’s been most troubling, however, for Knight head coach Bill Hanson has been the team’s inability to finish in key situations.

“When you get chances, you have to bury them, and we haven’t,” Hanson said.

Unsatisfied with Saturday’s performance, Hanson added, “I’m so disappointed … I refuse to go down like that again. That was embarrassing.”

BOSTON -- The battle for the Catholic Conference played out Wednesday night at UMass-Boston, as top-ranked Malden Catholic took on No. 5 BC High in a heated and physical matchup.

The two rivals have been heading in different directions in the course of their past four games. Malden Catholic came into action, having won their last four, outscoring their opponents 24-13 along the way. For BC High, the offense has struggled of late and the Eagles have gone 1-2-1, including a tough loss to St. John's Prep on Saturday.

However, BC High's effort was much improved Wednesday. The Eagles used two power play goals to scrounge up a 2-2 tie against the Lancers, who held a 33-15 shot advantage.

From the puck drop, Malden Catholic (7-1-2, 4-0-1) carried the play. They peppered BC High goaltender Peter Cronin, who stopped 10 of 11 first-period shots. Only senior captain Brendan Collier found a way to put the puck past Croning in the opening frame on a beautiful feed from line mate Ryan Fitzgerald.

“Fitzy got the puck…and I saw that the defensemen were coming toward the middle,” Collier said, “and I kind of snuck behind the left defensemen and Fitzy put it in an area and let me skate towards it, and just – instinct, I made the move around Cronin and buried it.”

The goals proved to be few, but not far between. While on a power play, just 48 seconds after Malden Catholic took the lead, BC High assistant captain Bartley Regan pumped a rebound into a gaping net past the glove of a sprawling Peter Cronin, tying the game, 1-1.

The game then became a grind. Both teams threw their weight around in heavy doses and combined for a total of 14 minor penalties through the course of the game. It would prove more detrimental to Malden Catholic, as BC High (6-2-2, 2-2-2) took the lead on the power play on a pinpoint wrist shot from captain Matt Sullivan.

Malden Catholic head coach John McLean felt being on the penalty kill too long kept his team from playing their game.

“I don’t think we played as well as we can,” McLean said. “We spent most of the game in the penalty box, you know, that takes away from our offense. When we have three lines rolling we’re a good team."

BC High head coach John Flaherty was glad to take the man-advantages Malden Catholic was dishing out. He also liked the way the team took advantage of their opportunities on the power play.

“We were getting pucks to the net and getting bodies to the net, we tried to just simplify. Neither one of them were overly beautiful goals, but they got to the net and they went in.”

Only 29 seconds after BC High scored their second power-play goal, defensemen Colin MacGillivray stepped up into the high slot and ripped a shot which barely squeaked through Cronin’s pads.

During a physical third period, both teams tightened up their play. BC High struggled to get their offense going and could only muster six shots against goaltender Connor Maloney.

Defensively, the Eagles began closing gaps and giving the skilled offensive players from Malden Catholic less room to operate -- a strategy Flaherty says the team was prepared to execute.

“[Malden Catholic] has guys that are very skilled, and they can skate and they can make plays.” Flaherty said. “So at the very least you have to get in their way. They bang, and if you don’t bang your gonna get run over. It’s unlikely you’re gonna match their skill, but if you compete with them and work hard, then you’ve got a shot.”

It also helps to have Cronin between the pipes. He turned away all 12 third-period shots Malden Catholic threw at him.

The tie marked the first game versus a Catholic Conference opponent in which Malden Catholic could not earn a victory.

Cronin stopped 31 of 33 shots on the night.

“I just tried to take it one at a time," the Junior goalie from Norwell said. "If you’re too caught up on one maybe you should have had earlier, it’s gonna effect your mindset. You gotta just stay in the moment, you gotta think of the next one, the next one, and that’s how you gotta treat it, especially in a game like this against a team as good as this.”

It's the caliber of Cronin's performance the Eagles have come to expect.

“I’ve said it a number of times,”Flaherty said about his goaltender’s consistency, “and I’ll continue to say it. He gives us a chance to win or tie every night by his presence in the net. He makes some spectacular saves but more importantly, he makes the ones he’s suppose to make.”

Last season, St. John’s Prep winger Sam Kurker provided grit and a scoring touch to the Eagles’ Super 8 run with 15 goals for 25 points.

This season, the Reading resident and Boston University commit has exploded, nearly matching last year’s output by midseason with 12 goals in 11 games. While shouldering a greater load offensively, the Eagles’ co-captain has also stepped up to lead a young returning squad in search of a repeat appearance at the TD Garden.

Kurker has also garnered attention on the national level. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder played with the Team U.S.A. U-18 Select team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August, traveling to play in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Earlier this month, Kurker was ranked 41st among North American skaters on the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm rankings and was the second highest ranked high school-level player on the list.

We recently caught up with Kurker for a Q & A:

Q: How are things going along with your linemates Tyler Bird and Brian Pinho?

A: “I clearly have two great teammates. We’ve been working well together. Those guys are working hard, and that’s only benefited me. They’ve been a huge part of my success.”

Q: What is your earliest hockey memory?

A: “I think it’s my Reading Mites games and getting up early for the rink with my father. After Mites, I played with the Valley Junior Warriors. But I’ve still have a couple friends I’ve kept in touch with from those days, we still keep up with how each other is doing, a couple of my teammates on the Warriors, too.”

Q: What were you able to glean from Colin Blackwell in terms of leadership on and off the ice?

A: “It was the work ethic he had on and off the ice. We’d always go against each other in battle drills, and he was one of the toughest kids I’ve ever played with. He always got us going.”

Q: How have players like yourself, or seniors like David Letarte and Nick Pandalena, taken on the role of leading the team this year?

A: “From freshman year, we’ve seen how other groups have done it. We now what works and what doesn’t work. We talked it over in the offseason a lot. We just want to have the best atmostphere in the locker room. Guys are really working hard, and it’s impressed us so far. We just want to be positive. Last year, we had great team chemistry and want to have that again this year. We’ve done off-the-ice stuff, too. We did some community service projects at the Salem Boys & Girls Club for their Christmas party and serving food.”

Q: What were your expectations for this team, coming in with such a young group?

A: “We have 13, 14 new faces, so there was a lot of chance. So were really just getting used to each other, playing with each other. After the CM game, we’ve been playing very strong. We’re just trying to make sure there’s no let downs. I think we’re just starting to hit our stride as a team now.”

Q: What led you to your commitment for Boston University?

A: “I love the coaches, love the campus. I’ve been a BU fan since I was 5 years old and gone to Beanpot games, watching those BU-BC rivalry games. I looked at Northeastern and Providence College, too, but then once BU come on board, it was a clear choice to me.”

Q: What were some of the things you worked on during the offseason?

A: “I’d work our four days a week at [new hired Red Sox strength and conditioning coach] Mike Boyle’s place. There’s shooting place next door, too, so I’d go back and forth. I’ve been focusing on finishing and that’s helped me a lot.”

Q: You bring a big frame to the ice and play a physical game. Do you enjoy the physical aspect of the game?

A: “Absolutely, that’s part of my game. At the next level, that’s going to be something I’ll have to, so it’s something that I enjoy. I really pride myself in trying to win every battle on the half wall. That’s important to me and it’s a part of the game that I need to focus on.”

Q: On being ranked as high as you did on the Midterm Rankings, do you feel any pressure to live up to the billing?

A: “Honestly, it’s so far away [the NHL Draft], that I’m just focusing on the next thing. The priority right now is getting back to the Super 8 and winning the Catholic Conference. It’s an honor to be considered with all those great players, but it’s so far off, that you just can’t think about that.”

BOSTON -- Catholic Conference rivals No. 6 Catholic Memorial and No. 7 St. John’s Prep entered Monday’s holiday matinee hungry for a win. Both teams sat at 4-4-0 entering the matchup with the Eagles yet to notch a conference win on the season.

Despite controlling play for the greater part of two periods, it was CM who left Walter Brown Arena with a sub-.500 record. Prep struck for three third-period goals, including senior captain Sam Kurker’s third of game, in a 5-1 victory.

“It was a must-win game,” Kurker said of the Eagles’ mentality leading in.

CM (1-2-0 Catholic) outshot the Eagles, 21-12, through two periods, but trailed 2-1.

Prep goaltender David Letarte (25 saves) was instrumental in keeping the Knights at bay early. Not to mention, Letarte along with the Prep defense, helped limit CM to one goal despite seven power play opportunities, including two 5-on-3 situations during the third period.

“He made some big saves early in the game, to keep things close,” Eagles head coach Kristian Hanson said. “Even after they came back, 2-1, he made a big save after that. If it had gone to 2-2, the game could’ve went either way.”

Prep (1-3-0 Catholic) went to the room with a 1-0 lead after the first intermission.

With the Eagles on the forecheck, Kurker forced a turnover in the Knights’ end. His dish out front found Brian Pinho, who beat CM netminder Shane Starrett with a wristshot for a 1-0 lead at 8:28 of the first.

Starrett denied the Eagles from striking again in the period, stoning Tyler Bird on a 2-on-1 chance, in close, at the goalmouth with five minutes remaining.

The Eagles added to their lead four minuts into the second, with Kurker potting his his first of the game.

Jack O’Hear put CM on the board with a perfectly placed wristshot from the slot. The power play tally, assisted by Liam Coughlin, cut the deficit to one before the second imtermission.

“We were doing alright, we played exceptionally well for two periods,” CM head coach Bill Hanson said. “We were right there with the power play opportunities.”

However, the Knights had the wind kicked out of their sails with Kurker’s second of the game, which came 21 seconds into the third period.

From there, the Eagles dominated what once was a tight game. Prep junior Nick Gianelli netted his first goal of the season on a short-handed breakaway at 1:55. Kurker collected the hat trick with a power-play goal with 6:37 remaining.

“The last couple of games, we’ve have opportunities to score and we haven’t capitalized on them,” Kristian Hanson said. “Today, we had fewer opportunities, but we did a better job with the ones we had.”

POWER TO THE PK
As the Knights’ goal-scoring struggles continued, the Eagles bettered their percentage on the penalty kill, which has been among the state’s best in the first half of the season.

Along with top-line stalwarts Kurker and Pinho, the Eagles’ PK has been a well-rounded group, with contributions from players up and down the lines.

“Our PK’s been pretty strong all year,” Kristian Hanson said. “Sam [Kurker] and Brian [Pinho] kind of lead the way with that, but then we’ve had other guys step in there like [Nick] Gianelli and [Derek] Osbahr and [Nick] Bragole, those were guys that were on the JV last year. This year, they’ve been asked to step up and contribute on the PK and play significant minutes.”

KURKER ON ASCENT
Kurker received weighty praise last week when he was ranked 41st among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm draft rankings. As one of only two MIAA skaters (along with MC’s Brendan Collier) included on the list, it speaks volumes that Kurker was the second highest ranked skater with New England roots, following Kent School’s Cristoval Nieves.

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound winger was also the second highest ranked high schooler (behind Nieves) on the list.

The BU-commit credited the achievement to the hard work he’s put in the weight room, under the watchful eye of recently named Boston Red Sox strength coach Mike Boyle.

“It’s nice to get recognition, but you have to keep working hard," Kurker said. "That’s so far off [the draft] that you have to keep on working.”

BOSTON – Couldn’t have convinced anybody that No. 3 BC High would walk away with a 4-0 win over Catholic Conference rival sixth-ranked Catholic Memorial after the first period in Saturday’s matinee at Frozen Fenway.

The Eagles barely touched the offensive zone and were outshot, 12-3.

Then, something during the first intermission must have clicked.

“We were all nervous coming in because it’s a huge atmosphere,” Eagles senior assistant captain Bartley “Moe” Regan said. “We just bore down in the second period.”

With a renewed commitment to the forecheck, BC High (6-1-0, 2-1-0) scored the game’s first goal 39 seconds into the second period.

“We had [three] shots in the first period, and that’s unacceptable,” BC High head coach John Flaherty said. “I made sure [the team] understood that.”

Regan, the quarterback of the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship football team, now has a penchant for scoring big goals, netting what proved to be the game-winner of Saturday’s contest. Regan also potted the game-winner in the Eagles’ Catholic Conference-opener against St. John’s Prep.

Regan’s goal Saturday was his team-leading fifth of the season.

“He was a role player for us last year, but he’s been stepping up big for us this season,” senior captain Matt Sullivan said.

The Eagles kept coming with the onslaught through the second, when they outshot the Knights (4-4-0, 1-1-0) by a margin of 13-6.

Tom Besinger found Adam Foley on a perfectly executed 3-on-1 chance for a goal at 8:23.

Chris LaLiberte then put BC High to a 3-0 lead before the second intermission with the back-handed putback of a rebound with 1:29 remaining in the second.

Sullivan capped scoring with a top-shelf wrister at 5:35 of the third period, with an assist by Regan.

“That goal doesn’t happen but for Moe [Regan] getting on the forecheck,” Flaherty said. “And if there’s one guy that I want finishing a play, that’s 1-9 [Sullivan] because he can finish.”

CHANGING IT UP
BC High’s dominance of the second stemmed from an adjustment in how they attacked their transition game.

With the Eagles’ struggles to move out of their own end, playing on the wings in the first period, BC High started to look up the middle.

“We were trying to throw it up the wall a lot [in the first], then we noticed that the center was open on the breakout,” Sullivan said. “We just needed to pick our heads up and find that center.”

TREADING WATER
Not to be lost in the fray was BC High goaltender Peter Cronin’s third shutout of the season. While things got considerably easier for the junior in the later periods, Cronin (22 saves) was under siege at time in the first period and held the fort long enough for the Eagles to take off.

“It looked like we were a little bit in awe of the park,” Cronin said of the team’s slow start.

He added, “My teammates did a good job of keeping the shots to the outside, taking good angles to the puck.

NO PUCK LUCK
Goals have come at a premium for CM in the first half of the season.

The Knights have just 14 goals through eight contests, yet they’ve remained afloat largely thanks to a stingy defense. CM has allowed a league-best 14 goals against, which has helped keep the Knights at .500, despite the offensive outage.

“They’re a good team, they work tremendously hard, but we’ve got to start scoring goals,” CM head coach Bill Hanson said. “We can’t expect out goaltender to throw shutouts all the time.”

BOSTON -- If the Catholic Conference opener between St. John’s Prep and BC High is any indication of how the rest of the season is going to be between some of the upper class hockey teams in the state, then everyone interested is in for a treat.

Bartley Regan swatted a puck out of the air and into the net in the final two minutes of regulation to give the Eagles (5-0) a 5-3 victory over the Prep (3-2) on Wednesday night at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of UMass-Boston.

The night had a little bit of everything. It featured physical play, great goaltending, and, yes, even a little bit of controversy.

“It was definitely an emotional game,” BC High head coach John Flaherty said. “It was a hard fought game. I think the momentum swings were back-and-forth, and they are a very good team. … This is the competition in the league. You’ve got to battle every game, you got to come ready to play every game.”

REGAN’S WINNER
It’s no surprise what Flaherty wants out of Regan when the big forward enters the game.

Regan, who just happens to moonlight as the Eagles’ Super Bowl winning quarterback, used his big frame to get in front of the net on two occasions and that’s where Flaherty wants him to live — case in point when a puck careened off his leg and into the net to tie things up 3-3 in the second period.

Regan also flashed a nice set of hands to go with this apparent legwork.

With 1:50 left on the clock, and right after the Eagles killed off a late Prep penalty, Regan moved toward the right post and batted a Brian Furey shot out of the air to notch the game-winning goal.

Regan played the puck with a high stick for most players, but according to the referees his goal was legal and it stood for the eventual winner.

“I just went right to the net,” Regan said. “[Furey] took it high and I was like ‘Oh, what do I do.’ I thought it was a little high, but I thought it was a good goal.”

The Prep (3-2-0, 1-0-0) played well enough to get at least a point out of the night, but Kristian Hanson knows that the puck bounces in mysterious ways for both sides.

“It’s difficult to make that call in a split-second call like that,” said Hanson. “But good play by [Regan]. Good hand-eye to coordination to bat that out of the air and credit him for being able to do it.”

Regan has morphed from a role player on the Eagles last season to a player that Flaherty has counted on in the crunch.

“He has to use his God-given size and strength, and he has to get to the net,” said Flaherty. “He is effective when he does. … He’s a go-to guy and he’s filling a role. He’s a leader, a natural born leader, and you saw it on the field as a quarterback. He takes control of the locker room and kids look to him to step up and deliver.”

CRONIN DELIVERS EARLY
The Eagles (5-0-0, 1-0-0) have sometimes relied on Peter Cronin a little too much at times, according to the head coach, and the first period was an indication of that.

The Prep came out and peppered Cronin, who made 25 stops on the night, with 13 shots in the first period alone. Cronin was stout almost all the way through the period, but Nick Pandelena potted a wrist shot from the right circle with 50.8 seconds remaining in the period to answer Tim Larocque’s score earlier.

“That’s what we’ve come to expect from [Cronin], but we can’t rely on Peter all the time,” said Flaherty. “We have to play in front of him, we have to play for him. He’s an excellent goalie and he gives us a chance to win every night.”

KURKER IS FLASHY
The Prep saw plenty of highlight reel goals from Colin Blackwell in the past and they have another solid forward playing on the top line this season in Sam Kurker.

Kurker finished with two goals and an assist and almost put in at least one or two more if it weren’t for the efforts of Cronin.

“[Kurker] played a North-South power forward style game tonight,” Hanson said. “That’s when he is at his best. I thought he was physically strong, but overall he can be a pretty dominant offensive force.”

WEST ROXBURY, Mass. –- Jackson Bockhorst booted two 30-plus-yard field goals and Luke Catarius added a 1-yard rush to lead the BC Eagles over host Catholic Memorial 13-0 to capture the Catholic Conference title on Thanksgiving morning.

“This was a great win,” said BC High coach Jon Bartlett. “We came in saying bend but don’t break. They’re going to get some yards, but and the end of the day the only thing that matters is the scoreboard.”

BC scored on their first possession with a 31-yard field goal from Bockhorst. CM then went three-and-out and BC converted one first down on the following possession, but a failed fair catch by Catholic Memorial at their 20 gave Bockhorst enough room for a 35-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 6-0 with 8:11 left in the second quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, CM stopped BC High on the BC High 14. After three plays, it was 4th and 2 on the 22. A.J. Doyle took the ball from under center and made a dive forward, but linebacker John Snee and lineman Jaleel Johnson shot the A-gaps and stopped Doyle for no gain.

On the ensuing drive, CM had the Eagles on their heels with a third and four situation, and although Camren Williams stopped Deontae Ramey-Doe short of the first down, an unnecessary roughness penalty against CM for hitting Ramey-Doe after the play set up the first down. Catarius (12 rushes, 28 yards) took three straight rushes and the third got him into the end zone.

“I wanted, the ball, coach gave it to me and I knew the linemen were going to make the blocks,” Catarius said. “Bartley gave me the ball, we put it in and it was just a great feeling.”

CM made it 31 yards on the ensuing drive and Doyle was looking towards the end zone on second and five from the 27, but James Moynohan came up with his second take away of the day, this an interception for a touchback with 2:10 left, affording BC High with the opportunity to run out the clock.

ON THE SIDE BUT OUT FRONT


After the game, the injured Preston Cooper led the BC High Eagles across the red CM emblem to shake hands. He says that even though he is not playing, his teammates have helped make it easier by being encouraging.

“They’ve been great to me, supporting me throughout my injury, so I am happy for them," Cooper said. "I’m going to be there to support them no matter what.”After the game, in the team’s huddle, they gave a chant in his honor.

EAGLE EYE


Moynahan came up with the interception late in the game, but it was very deliberate.

“Coach said watch the rear route, which he ran," Moynahan said. "Coming out, I figured they’d were going to run the exact same play so I just went to the corner of the end zone, he threw it up and I just tried to out jump him.”

Moynahan’s first take away on the morning was a failed fair catch by Catholic Memorial with 9:09 to go in the second quarter.

“Coach always said get to the ball and stay in front of it,” added Moynahan. “That’s just what I was trying to do."

STUFFING
At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, A.J. Doyle usually had his way in between the tackles, muscling for a yard or two almost at will. On fourth and inches, Snee and Johnson split the center, clogging the A gaps and, along with Jameson McShea and other Eagles, stopped Doyle from the first down and set up the Knights’ sole touchdown on the day.

“I knew [Snee] was going to shoot the other side, I pinched in, grabbed his legs and then everyone came in and ran him over,” Johnson said.

BIG FOOT
Six-foot-three, 210-pound junior kicker Jackson Bockhorst got three calls to put it between the posts and he answered them all.

“In practice, he’s been working everyday getting better and better the whole season,” Ramey-Doe said. “[Today] was just like practice for him.”

RUNNING RAMEY-DOE
Although it doesn’t appear in the box score, Ramey-Doe’s 23 rushes for 100 yards were key for the Eagles, and even topped the Knights’ 90 total yards during the game.

“The [offensive] line, they’re always doing their job. I just have to follow them and trust the holes."

BC High -- 3 3 0 7 -- 13
CM -- 0 0 0 0 -- 0

1st quarter
BC – Jackson Brockhorst 31 FG

2nd quarter
BC – Jackson Brockhorst 35 FG

4th quarter
BC – Luke Catarius 1 run (Brockhorst kick)

At halftime of the 50th annual Turkey Bowl between Catholic Memorial and BC High, the Knights will honor longtime football coach and athletic director Jim O'Connor by dedicating the newly resurfaced turf field in his name.

O'Connor was the first football coach in CM history, building the program from the ground up in 1961. Coaching under the mantra of 'Poise and Class,' O'Connor remained at the helm for 19 years, guiding the Knights to three state championships, two of which were Super Bowl titles, before stepping down in 1979 with a career record of 146-44-6.

O'Connor also assumed the position of athletic director at Catholic Memorial from 1972 through 1992, served another ten years in the same capacity at Framingham High School before retiring, then joined the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) as the Tournament Director for football and the Division 1A 'Super 8' hockey postseason where he still works today.

Catholic Memorial will forever be his home, however, as he and his wife Mary live within minutes of the Baker Street campus.

"He and Mary have always been the face of Catholic Memorial," said Knights longtime hockey coach Bill Hanson, who was hired by O'Connor in 1974. "I don't care how many years they weren’t here, they are the face of Catholic Memorial. I've never felt differently about that. They have gone to more hockey games than any other two people I know. When he was at Framingham, I felt like he still was affiliated with CM and I looked at him in that regard the whole time."

It's hard to imagine a world in which O'Connor is not linked to CM, but if it weren't for a risk he took shortly after college, things could have turned out much different.

A LIFE DECISION IN THE MAKING
In 1961, Jim O'Connor was a fresh-faced graduate of Curry College working as a teacher and assistant football coach at Hull High School when a persistent old friend named Packy Hughes started contacting him about a potential job opening at a private school in West Roxbury.

"I had no interest at all," O'Connor recalled with a laugh. "I was in my second year at Hull and the head coach [Jimmy Wheeler] was leaving to take over at Weymouth High. People had told me I was going to move right into his spot so I really had no interest. I said to Packy two or three times that I had a good thing at Hull and if it works out I’d probably stay there for a while and try to do teaching and coaching thing in public schools."

Hughes persisted and ultimately talked O'Connor into meeting with Brother Joseph McKenna, who was desperate to start a football program at CM. While he was somewhat reluctant to leave the relative security of his job at Hull, Brother McKenna ultimately sold O'Connor when he looked him in the eye and said, 'I want a man that won’t apologize for excellence in academics and athletics. I want good students but I want to have good teams.'

That told O'Connor that he would have support from within the administration, and he finally felt comfortable about making the leap. It helped that his wife Mary was also excited excited to move closer to the city, as both grew up in Boston's Mission Hill and were graduates of Mission High School.

"I got right back to him after a day or two and took the job," O'Connor said. "They gave me a used dryer. Upstairs they had a laundry room with a washer and dryer that the Brothers used and they were getting a bigger dryer. They said they could give me a teaching salary but a coaching salary wasn't in the budget. But they had a used dryer they could give me."

"We bought a house about half a mile from (Catholic Memorial) and Brother O’Callahan helped me lug it into the house," O'Connor continued, laughing at the memory. "From that point on, every time Mary did the wash, the diapers came out damp because the dryer only went to a certain heating point."

BUILDING A PROGRAM
The Knights went 4-5-1 in O'Connor's first year, but entered the very first Thanksgiving Day game against BC High with a perfect 8-0 record on the line in year two. The games were held at Boston College in those days and drew tremendous crowds from both sides. CM won that day and went on to win its very first state championship the following week.

O'Connor would guide the Knights to three Super Bowls, including the very first one in 1972, which they lost. The Knights rebounded the following season to win the 1973 Super Bowl, then won it again in 1978, the last year in which the squad reached the postseason.

In his 19 years as head coach, the CM football team won seven league championships. O'Connor was named Division 2 Coach of the Year in 1978, and would be enshrined in the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1983.

Some of O'Connor's fondest memories involve coaching against the late Jim Cotter, who took over at BC High in 1964 and whose grandson, Bartley Regan, will be starting at quarterback for the Eagles on Thursday.

"In 1964, Jimmy Cotter took over as head coach after being an assistant to [former BC High coach] Ted [Gilligan]. Jimmy and I were great rivals and great friends and I think both of us were insistent on the fact that there would never be a problem between the schools, both on or off the field, and there never was."

A MENTOR TO A PAIR OF KNIGHTS COACHING LEGENDS
Since being hired by O'Connor to coach the Knights hockey team in 1974, Bill Hanson has presided over a dynasty that has won 20 Catholic Conference championships, 17 state titles and 13 Super 8 crowns and six national championships.

However, aside from several photographs of players and teams he's coached, the only affectation from all of Hanson's successes that he keeps close by in his office in the guidance wing at CM is a plaque given him after his Knights won back-to-back titles in 1994-95. The inscription reads as follows:

"Having the courage and class to remain on top is the severest test of a true champions character” - Jim O’Connor

Hanson spent two years as an assistant under former coach Paul O'Brien before O'Brien had to step down in lieu of a successful business he was running at the time. Hanson no previous coaching experience, yet O'Connor had no hesitation in tabbing him as O'Brien's replacement. in turn, Hanson admits to having learned a great deal from O'Connor, who became a friend and mentor over the years and remains so to this day.

"His personal skills and how he deals with people and makes everybody feel important," Hanson said of what he took from O'Connor. "You can really screw up and there was never hell to pay for it. He said things in a way that really made you understand what you did and whatever you did, you didn’t make the same mistake twice after talking to Coach."

Hanson went on, "He had that type of almost a mystical influence on people, especially me. I’m a pretty high strung guy and he knew all the right nerves to touch on me. He let me do what I knew best but he could pull the reins on me and say hey, this is the way you might want to do things. He never told you, he never said how you have to do it. He just taught you to think about things and look for a better way, and when you eventually got there, you knew it was Coach’s way."

Current head football coach and athletic director Alex Campea first arrived at Catholic Memorial to work for O'Connor as the junior varsity coach in 1977 at the recommendation of then-assistant coach Steve Fratalia.

"What impressed me when I interviewed for the JV job about Coach O’Connor was that he was so friendly, so open, so interested in me as a person and that I was so interested in coaching in his program," Campea recalled. "I could see that he was one of those guys who wanted people on his coaching staff that had a passion about football."

After several years, Campea left to become the head coach at Christopher Columbus High School and eventually moved on to coach at Bridgewater State before returning to CM in 1990, coaching the Knights baseball team to a pair of South sectional finals and three league titles.

In 2004, Campea returned to the gridiron and has been the Knights coach ever since while also holding the position of A.D. Like Hanson, Campea also proudly calls O'Connor a friend and mentor and never lets a day go by without utilizing some of the knowledge gleaned from his working alongside him.

"From Jim O’Connor, the thing that always stood out was the manner in which he was always prepared, day in and day out," Campea said. "He’s as organized a person as I’ve ever seen. The way he would talk to his team, the way he would prepare his team, the way he prepare practice schedules and making sure everyone knew what they were doing at a certain time."

He continued, "Organizational skills was one of the things that Coach O’Connor was always adamant about and I really feel as that's something I’ve made part of my makeup as far as being a football coach is concerned."

EXCITED TO HAVE THE KNIGHTS BACK IN THE TITLE HUNT
There is a buzz around campus as Catholic Memorial prepares to face BC High in the 50th Annual Turkey Bowl. The Knights and the Eagles are both 3-0 in Catholic Conference play and the winner of Thursday's tilt will go on to the Division playoffs and face Chelmsford.

The excitement of the season has brought many great memories back for the last man to coach CM to the postseason, and O'Connor likens this year's group his 1973 Super Bowl championship squad. That team was built around speed and a dynamic running back in David Singleton, someone whom O'Connor likened to current Knights star Armani Reeves.

But most of all, O'Connor is excited to see Catholic Memorial fighting for a chance to win a championship once again.

"It's a great experience for kids and I'm so thrilled that its happened this way," O'Connor praised. "The years have gone by and the kids in the school here, they don't know what the playoffs and the Super Bowl is all about. It's great to see the excitement amongst the kids in the school and amongst the team.

"Campy’s doing a great of taking one game at a time," O'Connor continued. "We used to call it 'play with poise and class.' I see a lot of it this year in the kids. They seem to be a team that makes the big plays. Teams have to have playmakers and they have four kids that certainly are playmakers. That's something special to, to have that."

JAMES R. O'CONNOR STADIUM
Adding to the excitement of the game will be the halftime ceremony in which the field will be officially renamed for O'Connor.

"It really hasn’t set in yet," he admits. "I've had kind of a very charmed career. Luckily I was scuccessful here and then at Framingham as an administrator for ten years. I look back on it and CM was just a great place for me. When I made that decision to leave Hull and to come here, it was risky. And yet I never had a bad day at CM."

As far as Hanson is concerned, its an honor that has been a long time in coming and is something he hopes will reinvigorate pride amongst students and alumni in the football program.

"I think its fabulous that he’s back and he’s going to visible here now," Hanson stated. "There’s a lot of guys that don’t know Coach. The younger generation, kids who are in their 20s and early 30s that are going to look back and say 'Wow, this is the guy who built the program.' I just hope a lot of his former players, and I'm sure they will, will be here. Thats really going to open up some eyes on Thursday."

And for the man currently charged with upholding his mentor's legacy both on the football field and as the A.D., Campea simply couldn't be prouder to be a part of it.

"I’m honored and privileged to have the opportunity to say that I’m part of the Catholic Memorial community that Jim O’Connor helped establish," says Campea proudly. "It was not just our athletic program. He was a teacher, he was a guidance counselor. Yes, football was where he put us on the map but he did so much to make this school successful both on and off the field. I find myself now sitting in the chair that he once occupied, which I feel very privileged to do."

WESTWOOD, Mass.-- Xaverian was able to stop Catholic Memorial on their first drive of Saturday's game, but after that, the No. 5 Knights pretty much had their way with the ball, defeating the No. 13 Hawks, 33-11.

CM quarterback A.J. Doyle had 12 rushes for 72 yards and one touchdown while throwing for 167 yards and three scores.

"A.J.'s a really good player, he's a great competitor, has got good size and runs hard," Xaverian head coach Charlie Stevenson said. "We would have like to try and tackle him a little lower."

Even when Doyle was not coming out of the backfield, he had numerous receivers who he could throw to, giving the Knights many offensive attack options and not giving Xaverian much of a chance to hold them for a prolonged period of time.

"The big thing was that we didn't make them go three and out at any point in time," added Stevenson.

LINEBACKERS IN THE CROSSHAIRS?
When most quarterbacks move out of the pocket, they are looking to avoid contact and if they make it to the linebacker corps will slide - but A.J. Doyle seeks out defenders and tries to hit them - while he is running the ball.

"I worry about the linebackers," CM head coach Alex Campea said. "He's not going to shy away that. He's going to make certain that he is going to get that extra yard."

Doyle did not slide once today and he makes it clear why.

"You see the size of me, I'm not afraid to get hit, I've never been afraid to get hit, I've played this way since I started Pop Warner," Doyle said.

Some players square up and brace for a hit from Doyle as he comes across the line of scrimmage while others yield to the 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback and let him go along his way.

HAMEL'S HANDS - A COACH'S DREAM



A.J. Doyle can run the ball or throw - and has plenty of receivers and backers to choose from. On Saturday, he found senior Brandon Hamel twice for touchdown passes. According to Doyle, he chose his target carefully and with good reason.

"Hamel knows how to get open, plain and simple. He can catch the ball in any spot, probably best hands on the team as well. He's not going to burn you with his speed but he's going to get open and you can count on him to make a catch."

Campea seconded the notion that Hamel has the best hands on a talented CM team as well as a good football intelligence.

"He's the kid who catches the snap from center when we're kicking field goals and PATs, he runs great routes, he always understands where he's supposed to be," Campea said.

BLETZER'S KEEN



Sophomore Kevin Bletzer was everywhere on the field today, coming up with an interception that set up CM's third touchdown, four tackles and a sack. As a sophomore, he is proving himself to be an asset to the team, but like any sophomore, he doesn't get any more credit than he deserves, maybe less since he is still coming of age.

"He's making some plays but he is still learning," said Doyle. "Once he gets to be a senior he's going to be a scary player."

Bletzer attributes his ability to make plays today to the game prep that coaches put in during the week.

"The coaches draw up this great game plan for us and I just do what I'm told and I'm there in the right place making tackles and making interceptions."

Bletzer also earned points for his Batman-esque face paint, but it doesn't earn him any respect from Campea...

CAMPEA DOESN'T CARE FOR COSMETICS
"As far as the face paint, these guys think that it's Halloween every time we have a game, they have a different kind of face paint. I tell them they can do whatever they want as long as they play the way they are supposed to."

CATH. MEM. (7-1) – 6 21 0 6 -- 33
XAVERIAN (5-5) – 0 3 0 8 – 11

First quarter
C – Armani Reeves 92 run (kick blocked)

Second quarter
C – Brandon Hamel 35 pass from A.J. Doyle (Michael Keane kick)
X – Jules Murphy 32 FG
C – David Berment 61 pass from Doyle (Keane kick)
C – Hamel 28 pass from Doyle (Keane kick)

Fourth quarter
X – Chris Calvanese 37 pass from Austin DeCarr (Mike Warren rush)
C – Doyle 12 rush (kick failed)