Arlington boys deal No. 1 Hingham first loss
BRIGHTON – Arlington boys hockey head coach John Messuri can’t emphasize enough the difficulty of its current stretch on the schedule, facing Catholic school powers and other tough nonleague foes before getting into the thick of the Middlesex League Liberty race.
Two days ago his team was right there in a one-goal loss to No. 2 Pope Francis. So, to edge out a 2-1 win over previously unbeaten No. 1 Hingham (6-1) Monday night at Warrior Ice Arena was a major lift for the No. 3 Spy Ponders (5-2).
“I think it gives you confidence that you can win a hard game,” Messuri said. “Coming off a one-goal loss in a hard game, you turn around and win a one-goal game in a hard game. That’s what it is. It’s going to be tight (in the playoffs).”
A matchup of this caliber had all the characteristics of the Div. 1 barn burner expected between two groups talented and hungry enough to meet at TD Garden.
Teams traded goals a few minutes apart in the first period. They then killed off their lone penalties from a high-flying second that saw neither team waver despite a string of opportunities. Defenses made signature blocks and cleared the few long rebounds Arlington’s John Snider (21 saves) and the Harbormen’s Mike Karo (16 saves) allowed to keep it even.
But with 7:19 left to play, JP Messuri’s shot led to a loose puck underneath Karo, and Cam Petrillo was there to force it in for the game-winner.
Hingham felt Karo was pushed into the net along with the puck for a controversial goal, but officials ruled the goal good after a brief discussion.
“Both teams are even, and we just got the one goal there that counted in the third,” John Messuri said. “I think it could’ve gone either way. They had chances going to the net. We had chances. The thing I’m most happy with our group is, we overcame a lot of adversity (from the loss to Pope Francis). Coming in here and putting up a good performance was big.”
JP Messuri (two assists) made a smart play in the first period to help give Arlington a lead just 3:57 into action, forcing a turnover in Hingham’s defensive zone and dishing it to Sean Patterson for his first goal. Not even four minutes later, Hingham’s Conal Mulkerrin found a soft spot in the neutral zone to get behind the defense, and a feed off the wall helped him get into open space and snipe the neutralizer from the left circle.
Mulkerrin won MVP for the Harbormen in a special game dedicated to Arlington’s Catherine Malatesta, who passed from cancer in 2015 at 16. Snider won MVP for Arlington for his continued domination between the pipes – including a couple notable saves in the final seconds.
That included a turnaround shot from the high slot that Cam McKenna got his weight behind through traffic, but Snider saw it the whole way to secure the win.
“(Snider) played an excellent game,” John Messuri said. “He squared up to the puck well, he’s been playing great all year. His save percentage has got to be something astronomical.”