St. John's can't shake off slow start as Pioneers eliminated by Xaverian in D1 hockey playoffs

CANTON — The St. John’s High hockey team was hoping the third time would be the charm.

Instead, it was thrice as nice for fourth-seeded Xaverian as it defeated the No. 13 Pioneers, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon in the second round of the Division 1 state tournament before a standing-room-only crowd at the Ice House.

The Pioneers (11-9-2) previously lost to the Hawks, 7-4 and 3-1, in Catholic Conference play. They trailed in every game against the two-time state finalists whose record now stands at 17-4-1.

“You never want to be behind against anybody, but especially against this team because they’ll come at you,” coach Mike Mead said. “They can roll four lines, and they’re aggressive on the forecheck, and then you allow them opportunities to cycle.

“It was a tough start, and it takes the wind out of the sails on the guys on the bench.”

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The Hawks scored 42 seconds after the opening faceoff when sophomore Jack Fitzpatrick netted his team-high 14th goal following a save by senior Dylan Fanale, who found out Saturday he’d start in net after starter Dante Sousa wasn’t medically cleared to play.

Sousa, a junior, was injured late in a first-round overtime win over Central Catholic on Wednesday.

“We knew Dylan would be up to the task and ready to play,” Mead said of Fanale, who made 11 of his 21 saves during an up-and-down, back-and-forth first period.

The Hawks broke it open with a pair of goals 11 seconds apart in the second beginning at 5:41, the first on a backhander from down low and the second on a lightning strike from up top. Their final tally came on a breakaway with 4:56 to play.

Freshman defenseman Ryder Bisson scored the Pioneers’ goal, converting on the power play from a tough angle down low following a nifty cross-ice pass from junior center Daniel Menyalkin to make it 3-1 with 8:11 gone in the second. Senior captain Luke Gerardi also picked up an assist.

The Pioneers won nine of their first 10 games before going 1-7-2 to close the regular season. Through it all, they remained committed to the cause and one another.

“Saw a lot of ups and downs throughout the year, and I think that can relate to every team in the MIAA,” Gerardi said, “but it’s a little bit closer to home when you’re on the team. I thought every single kid in that locker room worked his butt off in the preseason from tryouts to now.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group overall. Everybody in there is close, we’re all good friends, and we show up for each other every day.”

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Gerardi was a four-year varsity player who finished the season with a team-high 40 points. He was both a finisher and a facilitator, scoring 20 goals and setting up 20 strikes, and showcased his versatility by being deployed at center and right wing.

“He’s been a star player for us and a great leader this year,” Mead said.

Gerardi plans to do a postgraduate year at prep school as he aspires to continue his career in college. The Shrewsbury resident will leave St. John’s with plenty of great memories from his time on and off the ice.

“Just all the guys I played with,” Gerardi said. “I can’t be who I am today without the players from last year, Sean Farrell, Jack Beauregard. I can’t thank them enough for making me who I am today as a leader and as a player.

“And, yeah, being able to lead this group is an honor. We have great senior leaders like Connor McKenna and Brody Hoar, who are assistant captains, and (fellow seniors) Luke May, Andrew D’Angelo, and Dylan Fanale. I could not have done it without them by my side.”

While the Pioneers are losing six super seniors, all of whom were at least two-year varsity players, they potentially — this is high school hockey, after all, with the lure of juniors of prep schools — have a talented and deep cast of returnees.

They include, but are in no way limited to, Menyalkin, who was second on the team in scoring, junior forward Dom Reidy, sophomore forward Chase Warsofsky, sophomore Conor Secrist and Bisson on defense, and Sousa and sophomore Brady Chenevert in goal.

“We’ve got some core guys, and if they decide to return to us — and we’re always hopeful they return to us — if everybody stays and wants to continue this ride, we should be OK,” Mead said.

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Slow start hurts St. John's as Pioneers fall in D1 hockey playoffs