MIAA Massachusetts High School Hockey

Buddy Ferreira Classic Day 1 Recap

FALMOUTH--Match-ups are set for the second round of the 2017 Buddy Ferreira Classic, with the No. 1 overall seed in the Super Eight possibly up for grabs in one semi-final.

The BC High Eagles (12-2-4) and Hingham Harbormen (15-3-2) are currently Nos. 1 and 2 in MHL's RPI, separated by mere percentage points (BCH is at .646, Hingham is at .643). The Malden Catholic Lancers are sitting in third with an RPI of .640 and will certainly have a case to be made -- especially considering its 5-1 victory over BC High on Friday -- but there's no doubt the winner of tomorrow night's clash between the Harbormen and Eagles will have a legitimate claim to the top spot when seeding takes place on Saturday.

As for the rest of the field, here's what transpired yesterday:

Game 1: Hingham Harbormen 2, Austin Prep Cougars 1

AP suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday, and is now dealing with its first losing streak after Hingham climbed back from a 1-0 deficit to knock off the Cougars.

Jack Hennessey and Jeff Gordon scored for the Harbormen. Hennessey, Hingham's leading scorer, has been on fire of late. The senior has four goals in his last three games.

Dylan Reagan was brilliant in defeat in net for the Cougars (14-2-3), stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced.

Three stars: 3. Gordon 2. Reagan 1. Hennessey

Game 2: BC High Eagles 3, Duxbury Dragons 0

Misleading is the fact that this was the only game of the day decided by more than a goal.

Duxbury goaltender Lee Kennedy and BC High backup goalie Chase Congdon were engaged in a scoreless duel into the third period, when Eagles sophomore Thomas Kramer decided enough was enough and scored two goals in 22 seconds.

It was the first meeting between the teams since Feb. 20, 2014, also in Falmouth; on that day, the Dragons (10-8-2) knocked off the Eagles 5-2 to win the tournament and essentially seal their spot in the Super Eight.

Three stars: 3. Owen Callow (BC High) 2. Kennedy 1. Kramer

Game 3: Archbishop Williams Bishops 3, Reading Rockets 2

For the sake of the postseason, only one team needed points heading into Falmouth, and that would be Archies.

The Bishops (8-7-3) still need one more point to qualify for the playoffs, but they can breathe much easier today with two in the bag after holding off the Rockets (12-6-2).

Liam McCarthy scored on a breakaway for Archies in the first period, a 15-minute stretch absolutely dominated by the Bishops. But Reading weathered the storm and tied the game at 1-apiece in the second on a Brendan Donovan tally from Michael Tobin.

Jimmy Murphy put the Bishops back on top later in the period, and after a failed Reading power play which wrapped around the second and third periods, Ben Murphy stepped out of the box for Archies and scored on a breakaway for what stood as the game-winner.

It was far from the cleanest goal for Murphy, who mishandled the puck and he prepared to deke out Rockets goalie Matt Coughlin, but the puck slipped forward and between Coughlin's legs, over the goal line.

Tobin had another assist on Jay Gallagher's goal to pull Reading within one, but Archies survived to move on.

Three stars: 3. McCarthy (goal) 2. Tobin (2 assists) 1. Jimmy Murphy (goal, assist)

Game 4: Arlington Catholic Cougars 3, Falmouth Clippers 2

A pair of puck-moving defensemen were the story of this game, with Anton Metelev's Cougars (9-6-4) outlasting Cam Tobey's Clippers (11-7-1) to move on to the semis.

Falmouth controlled play for much of the first period but found itself trailing 2-0 after Thomas Milne and Cam Geary scored with under four minutes to go in the period.

Tobey scored the first of his two goals on an end-to-end break at 5:45 of the second, but Metelev countered a mere 28 seconds later to deflate all Clipper momentum.

Tobey found the back of the net again at 10:11 of the second on a power play, quickly atoning for a miscue in which he handled the puck over the wrong side of the blue line, but AC goalie Vasilios Papathanasiou kept Falmouth off the board for the entirety of the third to help the score stand up. AC and Archies will now play a rubber match after splitting their first two meetings in Catholic Central league play.

Three stars: 3. Geary (goal) 2. Tobey (2 goals) 1. Metelev (goal, assist)

Matchups for tomorrow's Buddy Ferreira Classic second round are now set. All four games will be streamed on My Hockey Live:

Duxbury vs. Austin Prep, 1 p.m.

Reading vs. Falmouth, 3 p.m.

Hingham vs. BC High, 5 p.m.

Arlington Catholic vs. Archbishop Williams, 7 p.m.

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