Framingham, MA – The 11th-Seeded Winchester Red and Black traveled down the Mass Pike to take on the third-seeded Catholic Memorial Knights at Loring Rink in Framingham. Winchester upset the #6 seed Arlington High School in Arlington to earn their ticket to the quarterfinals. Aiden Emerick got the start in net for Winchester tonight and Ryan Littlefield got the start for the Knights.
The play was even in the first few minutes as both teams found their way against each other. With 11:31 left, Caiden Brady deflected an Adam Krogmeier shot to make it 1-0 Winchester. The Knights pressed hard, especially late in the period, but Emerick was up to the task, making several saves on quality CM chances. The biggest was a chance in tight on a 2v1, where Emerick flashed his pad to preserve the 1-0 lead. That is how the frame ended. Shots were decidedly in favor of the Knights.
Catholic Memorial came out flying to start the second and had more terrific chances. It was a shooting gallery, but again, Emerick was there for the Red and Black. 4:46 into the period, he shut down a well-played Knights 2v1. Winchester started to push back and gained more time in the CM end. However, Emerick stopped a Knights breakaway with 5:22 to go to maintain the Winchester lead. Then, with 3:22 left, Luke Sardone hit the post on a rocket shot. In the same shift, Sardone redirected home a hard Krogmeier shot to give the Red and Black a 2-0 lead with 2:39 remaining. The period ended that way. Shots still favored CM.
Just 4:55 into the third the Red and Black passed a puck on a 2v1 that deflected in to give Winchester an early 3-0 lead. It seemed to deflate the Knights as Winchester kept attacking and carried the play for much of the final frame. Sardone was stoned by Littlefield with 7:06 left on a great save. Sardone, however, stayed with his rebound and ripped a puck home for his second. Winchester was up 4-0 with 4:30 left. Emerick stopped a clean breakaway with 1:53 left, but the game felt long over. The Knights would get a goal from Nick D’Olympio with the goalie pulled. The game ended 4-1 as Winchester moved to the Division I Final Four to face Marshfield or Arlington Catholic.
Three Stars
First: Aiden Emerick (Winchester)
Second: Adam Krogmeier (Winchester)
Third: Luke Sardone (Winchester)
Photo Credit: Murph
