FRAMINGHAM – The stature of 5-foot-3 St. John’s of Shrewsbury sophomore Nico Santella is much completely different from that of 6-foot-3, former Dream Staff ahead Daniel Menyalkin (Bowdoin School).
And but, a 12 months after Menyalkin’s two golden targets powered the Pioneers to the Div. 1 state remaining, Santella’s state event legacy can be rising.
With a third-period hat trick in Wednesday evening’s Div. 1 state quarterfinal, by which he tied the sport, took the lead, and added an empty-net insurance coverage objective, the first-year varsity participant despatched a raucous pupil part right into a frenzy as No. 8 St. John’s dethroned reigning state champion and top-seeded Catholic Memorial with a 4-3 upset win at Loring Enviornment.
Returning gamers from final 12 months’s loss to the Knights wished this rematch. And regardless of trailing 2-1 after the primary two intervals, they’re shifting on to the Last 4 for a second straight 12 months.
When contemplating Santella’s golden targets in every of the Pioneers’ first two state event wins, how does head coach Michael Mead sum up that third?
“Nico Santella,” he mentioned. “First-year varsity participant, has stepped up in nearly each large recreation we’ve had. And he continued to do it once more. However it was resilient. As we mentioned popping out of the locker room between the second and the third, that group has misplaced twice all 12 months. … We knew we had been able to doing it and we simply had been in a position to show it once more tonight.”
Mead says each recreation main as much as this one was a constructing block, however an earlier comeback win over CM within the common season – additionally down 2-1 – was a giant confidence increase to tug off the upset.
They usually did.
Each goalies and defenses had been stellar, as Knights freshman Jaxson Fleming (19 saves) and St. John’s’ Colin McCarthy (26 saves) restricted the harm. Carter Richard tallied the sport’s first objective for the Pioneers late within the first, just for Christian Hinckle to right away reply, and for Will Alves to provide the Knights the lead.
St. John’s got here out with a fury within the third, although, which Fleming staved off initially. However an ideal feed from the nook from Jaydon Wrzosek to Santella on the backdoor publish with 7:56 left tied up the rating at 2-2. Santella was admired by a sea of purple within the pupil part when he jumped into the glass in celebration lower than two minutes later, after giving the group a 3-2 lead on a rebound objective in entrance with 6:09 to go.
Santella wasn’t anticipating to make this sort of affect in his first 12 months, however has proved clutch with now three game-winners for St. John’s thus far this event.
“It’s simply win or go dwelling,” he mentioned. “You by no means know when it’s going to be your final recreation, your final observe with this group. I’ve constructed a brotherhood (with) these guys and also you by no means know when it’s going to be your final one.”
Composure was additional examined of the group with 2:03 left, as a penalty finally arrange about 1:30 of 6-on-4 for CM.
McCarthy made a pair saves, and Santella netted an insurance coverage objective on an empty web earlier than CM scored once more with 10 seconds left.
“(The win) is nice,” Santella mentioned. “Needed to come again down 2-1, and simply battled again the entire recreation. Feels nice to knock these guys off, they misplaced to them final 12 months within the state championship. It feels good to maintain going.”
