CANTON — Statement made.

With all of its conference mates under the same roof for the Catholic Conference Showcase, the No. 1 Catholic Memorial boys hockey team further proved itself as a viable Div. 1 title favorite with a 5-0 rout of No. 2 Xaverian at Canton Ice House on Sunday.

A standout job through all three zones from the Knights (10-1-1) shut down a normally potent group, helping Jaxon Fleming (20 saves) hand the Hawks (9-2) their first shutout of the year.

Balanced and disciplined defense limited Xaverian to just 10 shots across the first two periods, backing two-goal performances from sophomore Landon Carlson and junior Dan Antonellis.

“(This win shows) that we’re the best of the best,” Carlson said. “And we can play as a team and beat anyone.”

The win comes within a long string of standout showings. But between a 2-0 win over No. 4 Hingham, a 5-3 win over No. 6 St. John’s Prep and a 4-1 grind past No. 14 BC High, this outing ranks at the top so far.

“I thought last week against St. John’s Prep was (our best), but I think we matched that,” said Catholic Memorial head coach Larry Rooney. “It was just a good offensive, defensive, good battle. Good sticks. Stayed disciplined, all in all, probably our best effort of the year.”

A sign of a big day came just 71 seconds in, as Carlson crashed on a loose puck and fired in a 1-0 Knights lead. Just over a minute later, Antonellis took his turn with a goal.

Xaverian hadn’t even notched a shot on net yet. But in a snap, Catholic Memorial had a 2-0 lead.

“I set the momentum for my team, I was happy to do that,” Carlson said. “We just kept on rolling after that.”

Xaverian didn’t get a quality shot on net over the first six minutes of play, while CM was well on the way to 13 in the opening frame.

It only took 6:32 into the second period for Carlson to net his second goal for a 3-0 lead, and defense again limited Xaverian to just five shots for a second straight period.

“Isn’t it a momentum change?” Rooney said of the two goals in the first two minutes. “You’re in their rink, big Catholic Conference showcase. To get on the scoresheet that early kind of settles things down and puts things back to even. … It fills the bench, and it fills the energy in the gas tank.”

Two of those big saves came in the second, including a rare Xaverian breakaway that Fleming stonewalled. His 10-save third period closed out an impressive all-around showing.

Carlson has now scored in four of the last five games, stepping up to fill a big role CM challenged him to. Will Alves scored early in the third to add to that, and Antonellis scored his second goal of the night with 3:18 to play to cap off the day.

Liam McKinney and James Baker again proved they’re two of the state’s top defensemen, while freshmen Kellan Murphy and Shaun Farrell stood out alongside them in yet another deep showing.

“The boys are coming together,” Rooney said. “Each individual player is playing a big role for themselves and for the team and they’re learning that that’s part of when you come to a place like CM.”

BC High rallies past St. John’s of Shrewsbury

The second game of the Catholic Conference Showcase put the loaded conference’s parity on display.

No. 14 BC High took advantage of a penalty-ridden performance from No. 3 St. John’s of Shrewsbury, rallying from a two-goal deficit to take a much-needed 3-2 win for its first win in conference play.

Max Ryan scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the third period, getting the Eagles (5-5) back to .500 while handing the Pioneers’ (8-3) their first Catholic Conference loss.

“It’s definitely a big win,” said Eagles head coach John Flaherty. “We’re competing hard, we’re right there. Today was an opportunity to take that next step forward, and I think we did. We bought in, we believed. Even down 2-0, we didn’t quit.”

St. John’s was whistled for nine penalties in all, and two of BC High’s goals in the comeback came on the power play.

Flaherty praised goalie Dominic Conte (21 saves) for keeping the team in the game and for preserving the win as St. John’s brought a storm in the final minute.

St. John’s Prep snaps skid against Malden Catholic

After losing three straight games in Catholic Conference play, No. 6 St. John’s Prep broke out of a small slump by beating Malden Catholic, 5-1, in the showcase’s finale.

St. John’s Prep wasn’t taking the Lancers — who beat BC High last week and tied Pope Francis — lightly, and rolled to a much-needed victory.

“We’ve been battling through a lot of adversity,” said Eagles head coach Kristian Hanson. “I thought the kids came out today with some emotion and took care of business, and competed hard. It was an important win for us in the conference. Anybody can beat anybody.”

All five goals came from different scorers as SJP led shots 39-13, started by JR Goldstein in the first period.

The Eagles got into a bit of trouble in the second with a five-minute major, but they were able to kill it off before adding another goal for a 2-0 lead.

“(That was) the turning point of the game,” Hanson said. “It’s a really important five minutes that I just commend the guys for how hard they worked, and never gave them an opportunity to set up.”

Chase Horenstein was the second goal-scorer, scoring the first of his career. Matt Greene’s first varsity goal didn’t come too much later, pairing with goals from Gavin Anderson and Anthony Petruccelli.