Arlington locks up a return trip to Garden for Super 8 final
FRAMINGHAM — Arlington jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period of its third-round Super 8 showdown against Pope Francis Saturday night. And thanks to a superb 28-save performance from senior Nathan Brennan, the Spy Ponders held on to pull out a 2-1 victory at Loring Arena, earning a trip back to the MIAA Division 1A final at TD Garden for the first time since its 2017 title.
Pope Francis (15-5-2), which has advanced to the final each of the past two seasons, will play the winner of St. John's Prep/BC High for the right to face Arlington back in the final a week from Sunday.
Brendan Jones put the Spy Ponders (19-1-2) on the board at 6:55, then Ryan Davies doubled up on the power play at 8:09 to give Arlington the start it needed. Arlington hunkered down in front of Brennan to deny the Cardinals space from there. Ben Zaranek made 19 saves for Pope Francis.
"Nate was the difference for us, for sure," Arlington coach John Messuri said. "He was our MVP by a long shot in this game."
Brennan's save total may have been even higher if not for the amount of blocked shots the Spy Ponders racked up.
"Since the beginning of the season, coach told us that we were going to be the backbone of this team," Davies said. "We know that if we lock down, limit chances and limit teams to one goal, or no goals, we're going to be in great shape."
Pope Francis got on the board at 10:02 of the third when Connor Cognac's shot was blocked in front and trickled through to set up a frantic finish. Brennan made five saves in the closing three minutes to preserve the win.
Arlington will be the first public school to appear in the Super 8 final since its title in 2017, and is the first public school to make a second championship game appearance in the 30-year history of the Division 1A tournament.
"Basically, this says that it wasn't a fluke," Davies said. "We get great players in this school and we're carrying on a great tradition."
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