BC High Tops Pope Francis in OT for Super 8 Title

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

BOSTON - The MIAA Division 1A tournament, better known as the Super 8, can be both exhilarating or devastating, depending on which side of the fence you happen to be on.

Both of those feelings came to light during the latter stages of Sunday night's Super 8  final held at TD Garden.

Looking to be the first team outside the I-95 corridor to walk away with the 1A title, Pope Francis had it within reach, but failed to secure it.

Leading by a goal with under a minute remaining, the Cardinals watched BC High storm back. Joe Dragon netted the tying goal with 50 seconds remaining in regulation, before Maverick Woods ended it with an overtime tally just two minutes in, giving the second-seeded Eagles a 2-1 victory.

Pope Francis Blows out Hingham to Advance to Super 8 Final

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - The ghosts of the past have finally been exorcised.

Since 2009, the Pope Francis hockey team (Cathedral High School in Springfield) has been a yearly fixture in the Super 8 tournament, either as a play-in team or a bonafide seed. Yet, throughout that time frame, this team has never quite been able to get over the hump, continuously coming up short in its quest to reach the championship game.

All of that now can be laid to rest.

With its convincing 6-0 victory over Hingham in Wednesday night's semifinal contest, the Cardinals have finally gained entry into the title tilt. No. 7 Pope Francis (21-4-3) will face No. 2 BC High (18-4-1) on Sunday for all the marbles at TD Garden at a time still to be determined. The Eagles are 2-0-1 versus the Cardinals this season, including a 6-1 whitewashing in the tournament's opening round.

Pope Francis Lives to Fight Another Day, Eliminates St. John's Prep from Super 8

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - The premise to withstand the pressure-cooker environment of the Super 8 tournament is that you want to be playing your best hockey during the postseason.

Certainly, Pope Francis is doing that.

As they continue to scratch and claw their way from avoiding elimination, the seventh-seeded Cardinals will live to fight another day following their 5-1 dismantling of No. 3 St. John’s Prep Monday night at Tsongas Center.

The Eagles end their season at 15-5-4.

Pope Francis Eliminates Top-Seeded Central Catholic from Super 8

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Chelmsford, Mass. - The game plan carried out by Pope Francis was set on stopping Central Catholic in its tracks. Twice during the regular season the Cardinals lacked strong defensive play, resulting in a pair of losses against the Raiders.

With an opportunity to redeem itself, Pope Francis did just that on a much bigger stage. Placing strong attention to detail inside the defensive and neutral zones, the Cardinals, playing on a smaller ice surface, were able to limit the top-seeded Raiders' scoring opportunities throughout the evening.

That, in turn, allowed Pope Francis to generate enough offense to take a 4-1 victory in a Super 8 elimination contest played Saturday night inside Chelmsford Forum.

In a true case of turnabout is fair play, this time it was the Cardinals sending Central Catholic home for the season after suffering a similar fate last year against the Raiders in this tournament.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) vs Andover in the Super 8

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

North Billerica, Mass. -St. John's (Shrewsbury) is still alive in the MIAA Division 1A "Super 8" hockey tournament, after defeating Andover 3-2 in an overtime thriller.

Scroll below for some great shots of the Pioneers' big win, taken by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

PHOTO GALLERY: Pope Francis vs Burlington in the Super 8

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

North Billerica, Mass. -We've already got a full recap of Pope Francis' 3-2 Super 8 win over Burlington up, and you can read that here.

Now, scroll below for some images from the elimination game, courtesy of our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Pope Francis Staves off Super 8 Elimination against Burlington

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Billerica, Mass. - Following its disastrous performance three nights ago, there was nowhere left to go but up for Pope Francis. Having played by far their worst game of the season, which resulted in a 6-1 loss to BC High on Thursday during in the opening round of the Super 8 tournament, the Cardinals found themselves on the brink of seeing their season coming to a halt in Sunday night's elimination tilt versus Burlington.

At the start, Pope Francis seemed to have a hangover effect from the beat down it suffered at the hands of the Eagles. But, once the Cardinals got back to their familiar form, they managed to do just enough to upend the Red Devils, 3-2, at Chelmsford Forum.

Pope Francis, the No. 7 seed, lives to play another day. It will face the loser of Monday's Central Catholic/Hingham contest on Wednesday, again at Chelmsford Forum, at a time still to be determined. The sixth seeded Red Devils close out their fine season at 19-5.

PHOTO GALLERY: BC High hockey vs Pope Francis in Super 8 Action

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

Our John McGuirk already has a full recap of BC High's big win over Pope Francis Thursday night, and you can check that out here.

But now, continue below for photos from the big game, snapped by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

BC High Skates Away from Pope Francis in Super 8

Photo by Eamon Convey

 By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - This wasn't how Pope Francis drew it up.

On the other hand, BC High followed the script perfectly. The Eagles started out strong and equally finished strong as they went on to punish the Cardinals 6-1 Thursday night in the opening round of the Super 8 tournament played inside Tsongas Center.

Following its one-sided display, there is no doubting BC High will be a force to contend with moving forward. The second-seeded Eagles, who have won four Super 8 titles in their history, toyed with the seventh-seeded Cardinals from start to finish, as they jumped out to a two goal first period lead and never looked back.

Pope Francis and St. John's (Shrewsbury) Prevail in Super 8 Play-in Games

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Billerica, Mass. - Up until this past weekend, St. John's (Shrewsbury) had no clue as to what its postseason course would be. The Pioneers went to the the MIAA Super 8 tournament seeding meeting last Saturday unsure if they did enough to earn a spot in the state's most prestigious high school hockey tournament, or if they would be cast off to the Division 1 tournament.

St. John's clung to the belief that its regular season resume was enough to get in, and the MIAA selection committee felt the same, awarding the Pioneers a Super 8 play-in game on Monday night. With opportunity now in its grasp, St. John's did not disappoint, as it blanked St. Mary's (Lynn) 3-0 inside Chelmsford Forum. Seeded eighth, the Pioneers (14-6-3) move on to play No. 1 Central Catholic (21-1) Thursday at Lowell's Tsongas Arena at a time still to be determined.

Central Catholic Holds off Pope Francis in Opening Round of Cardinal Classic; Malden Catholic Bests St. Mary's (Lynn) in other Semifinal

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

West Springfield, Mass. - The odds of scoring more than one goal against Matt Pasquale have been paper thin this season.

So after Central Catholic spotted its outstanding goaltender a two-goal lead, it appeared pretty safe that it would hold up. Despite some feverish third period play by Pope Francis, the Cardinals only managed to get one shot past the junior as the Raiders prevailed 3-1 Wednesday night in the opening round of the Cardinal Classic played at the Olympia Ice Center.

Central Catholic (20-1) will face Malden Catholic (8-8-3) in the championship tilt here on Thursday beginning at 4 p.m. The Lancers edged St. Mary's of Lynn in evening's other preliminary contest. Pope Francis will take on the Spartans in the consolation game at 2 p.m.

Host Cardinals Capture Pope Francis Invitational

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

West Springfield, Mass. - Rumors that Pope Francis may have hit the proverbial wall can now be laid to rest.

Oh sure, once the calendar flipped over to February, it was evident that the Cardinals were not playing with the same aggressive manor they are accustomed to, after starting the month with a tie and a loss. But the good teams find ways to rebound.

Case in point: On Saturday, in the championship of the Pope Francis Invitational, the Cardinals withstood New Jersey power Delbarton's best punches early, before making the necessary adjustments to emerge victorious in a convincing 3-0 triumph inside the Olympia Ice Center.

Successful Senior Day for BC High's Michael Grant as Eagles Top Pope Francis

By: Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

With ten straight wins under its belt, the Boston College High School Eagles (12-1-1) welcomed in the red-hot Pope Francis Cardinals (11-2-3) for a big time non-league matchup.

Pope Francis Continues Hot Start with Win over St. John's (Shrewsbury)

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Marlborough, Mass. - Clinging to a one goal after two periods, Pope Francis thought it had finally pulled away from a much-improved St. John's (Shrewsbury) squad after registering back-to-back goals early in the third.

However, both tallies were dis-allowed when game officials cited that the net had been loosened from its moorings on both occasions.

Being the veteran, and well-disciplined, team the Cardinals are, the frustration of seeing two scores wiped clean never seemed to faze them. Sure they were frustrated, but it never showed. Instead, Pope Francis simply regrouped and continued to play its attacking style.

Eventually, that would pay dividends.

Only a handful of moments later, the Cardinals found the back of the net twice (both legitimate this time) within a span of 14 seconds, propelling them to a 5-2 Catholic Conference West victory over the Pioneers Wednesday night at New England Sports Center.

Pope Francis too Much for Andover Late

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

West Springfield, Mass. - Over the course of the first period and some change, Andover continued to fight the good fight and stay within arm's reach of Pope Francis. But, midway through the middle frame and beyond, the Cardinals' maturity and experience would take over.

Netting three unanswered goals during the final 20 minutes, Pope Francis finally broke free to secure a 4-1 triumph Saturday at the Olympia Ice Center.

It took a little while before the Cardinals (10-1-2) began to develop some synergy and pull away from the gritty Golden Warriors. After being bottled up inside the neutral zone for much of the opening period and part of the second, the Cardinals (5-0-2 in their last seven games) reverted back to their fleet-footed skating style and quickness as a retort to Andover's defensive presence.

Pat Moriarty Prepares to Take Over Deerfield Academy Baseball

Coach Pat Moriarty with his family last season.  Photo by Dave Bloniarz.

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

SPRINGFIELD - When the opportunity presented itself, Pat Moriarty simply could not let it pass by.

Having spent nearly half of his life at one place, Moriarty, and his family, began to generate some discussion regarding life down the road and what lied beyond the hedges.

As if it were fate, a lifestyle altering opportunity did arise. Albeit much quicker than expected.

Last month, Moriarty, the longtime head baseball coach at former Cathedral High School, now Pope Francis High School in Springfield, was offered and accepted the same position at prestigious Deerfield Academy. A chance to coach at such a highly-reputable academic institution like Deerfield does not come about too often. So, once Moriarty discovered the head coaching position had become vacant, he immediately spun into action.

Taconic Baseball Edges Pope Francis in D1 West Pitching Duel

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

SPRINGFIELD - After the final out was recorded, and the traditional handshakes and goodbye hugs were done, Pope Francis coach Pat Moriarty took a stroll all by his lonesome across the Forest Park diamond one last time.

Wanting to spend a few minutes to gather himself, Moriarty had come face to face with the reality that he had coached his final game in a Cardinals uniform.

Having announced earlier this season that he, along with his family, will be moving to Deerfield Academy, where he will be taking over the head coaching responsibilities there beginning next season, Moriarty was trying to come to grips with it all.

Making things more difficult was the fact that his team had just been eliminated from the Division 1 Western Mass. tournament, falling to Taconic 1-0 Wednesday afternoon in eight innings.

Pope Francis Baseball Spoils Taconic's Perfect Season

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

SPRINGFIELD - Taconic knew it was on the verge of making history, but once the Braves realized they would be in for a major tussle against Pope Francis, that mindset quickly changed to survival mode.

In a game that embellished a playoff-type atmosphere from start to finish, it was the host Cardinals who came away triumphant, following Kevin Murphy's ninth inning, walk-off RBI single which gave Pope Francis a 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Forest Park.

St. John's (Shrewsbury) Baseball Runs Away from Exhausted Pope Francis

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

SPRINGFIELD - With the beginning of the spring season starting out in less than favorable weather conditions, many teams had no choice but to postpone some games, while left scrambling to find suitable make-up dates.

Which brings us to Pope Francis. Fair or unfair, the Cardinals were thrown into the fire this week. Beginning on Monday, a bit of re-shuffling of the schedule had them playing four games in four days.

Apparently Pope Francis athletic director John Goda must think Cardinals coach Pat Moriarty has enough arms within his pitching rotation to pile this many games on top of one another, instead of spreading them out over the next few weeks.  Pope Francis has just three pitchers that it can honesty rely on, and all were used heavily earlier in the week.

Facing St. John's (Shrewsbury) on Thursday marked Pope Francis' fourth game of this span.  It also marked a meeting between two Super 8 clubs from a year ago.

Fresh off a heart-breaking walk-off loss at Minnechaug late Wednesday night, the turnaround for the Cardinals would  no doubt be brief.

Moriarty had no choice but to dip into his thin well of back end hurlers, and it showed as the Pioneers rouged up four of them, en route to an easy 11-0 victory at Forest Park.

Pope Francis Plates Two Late to Beat St. Peter-Marian

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

WORCESTER - Wacky, crazy or insane.

Whatever adjective you choose, any would apply to Tuesday’s Pope Francis at St. Peter-Marian baseball game.

In a contest which had it all, from gritty pitching to timely hitting to a large number of miscues, and a plethora of base runners left stranded, the Cardinals ultimately found a way to prevail. as they scored two runs in the top of the eighth and held on for a 5-4 victory.