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Mon, Mar 05, 2018 05:30 PM @ Central Catholic

Team	1	2	3	Final
Hingham	1	0	0	1
Central Catholic	0	0	0	0

Backs against the wall: Central stifled by Hingham, falls to Super 8 losers bracket

Monday, March, 05 By Kyle Gaudette
Staff writer

LOWELL - It's not the chosen path it wanted to take to win a Super 8 championship, but Central Catholic still is used to playing elimination games.

Heck, last year's Super 8 championship game was as do-or-die as it gets.

But that is now the reality for the Raiders after Monday's 1-0 loss to Hingham in the Super 8 quarterfinals. Now, if the Raiders want redemption for last year's championship game loss, they'll need to make a run through the losers bracket.

"We know that if we lose one more we're out," said Central coach Kim Brandvold. "We have to compete a lot harder."

Central (22-2-0) is currently scheduled to play Pope Francis on Wednesday from the Chelmsford Forum. The start time for that game is still TBA, and may change due to the incoming weather.

Monday's game went a little differently than Central's 4-0 win over Hingham earlier in the season.

The Harbormen (14-4-6) scored just three minutes into the first period, and that goal stood for the rest of the game. After some funky deflections in front of the Central net, senior Jake Quilty was in the right place at the right time to deflect the puck into the back of the net.

"Instead of trying to make the simple play there, I think someone tried to stick handle through," said Brandvold. "And then I think it was just more of a fluke, hit off of a skate.

"But you get goals like that when you work hard around the net, and I think they did for most of the game."

Central had a couple of chances late after pulling goalie Matt Pasquale (16 saves). But Hingham goalie Robbie Kornack (25 saves) was there to turn them all away and record his ninth shutout of the year.

Perhaps Central's best chance came in the second period. Senior Eric Lester showed off his speed to get behind the Hingham defense for a clean look, but his shot went high and wide. The Raiders had their lone power play in the second, but multiple one-timers were snatched by Kornack's glove.

"I think we played very good team defense," said Hingham coach John Flaherty. "I thought we did a good job in the neutral zone to stop their speed. That was the goal, and then we scored enough goals ... which was one.

"You know you can't expect to shut them out, so I'm just really happy with the way we played."

Defensively, Central still played a solid game.

Defensmen Nick Foderaro, Raymond Galasso, Colin Ferris and Joseph Biddle all played well in front of Pasquale. One fluky bounce of the puck, however, was all it took.

While the loss stings, the Raiders are by no means out of it.

It just makes the path to the title a little more defined.

"If we lose we're out and if we win we get to move on," said Brandvold.

UP NEXT

Central will play Pope Francis in the losers bracket on Wednesday.

TEAM     SEED     RECORD     REGULAR SEASON

Central Catholic     No. 1     22-2-0     Won twice (both scores 3-1)     

Pope Francis     No. 7     17-4-3     Lost twice (both scores 3-1)

 

Hingham 1, Central Catholic 0

Hingham (14-4-6):     1 0 0 - 1

Central Catholic (22-2-0):     0 0 0 - 0

Super 8 Winners Bracket

Goals: Jake Quilty

Assists: Frankie Higgins

Saves: CC - Matt Pasquale 16; H - Robbie Kornack 25