Large in part to Johnny Tighe’s goal and two assists, his top-ranked St. John’s Prep Eagles flew to Sunday’s Division 1 boys hockey championship with a 4-0 victory over No. 4 Xaverian at Loring Arena in Framingham.
AJ Farese picked up his second consecutive shutout for The Prep, which outshot Xaverian by 32 on Saturday. Jake Vana, Christian Rosa, Brendan Powers also found twine.
The Prep takes on No. 11 Winchester next Sunday at TD Garden for all the marbles. Puck-drop is set for 5:30 p.m.
A few days earlier, with traditional rival Xaverian waiting for a dance partner in the Division 1 boys hockey semifinals, top-seeded St. John’s Prep faced a tough task in No. 8 Hingham, which sported a 15-7-2 record heading into Thursday night.
But three periods later, zero goals just won’t suffice. The Prep won the game, 3-0, and lived to see a few more days.
Mason Luciano wasted little time in this one, tucking a goal on his team’s first shot of the game (1-0).
Truth be told, it was a defensive thriller, as Prep’s next tally was late in the third period on an empty-netter, courtesy of Tighe (2-0). Vana scored shortly after past Hingham goalie Mike Karo (3-0).
Farese played well between the pipes for the Eagles, who now face a tough test in Xaverian, which defeated Franklin, 4-1, in its Elite 8 matchup.