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The usual suspects

Fitting, that a public power like No. 10 Duxbury gave No. 5 Arlington Catholic a scare in Wednesday night's contest at Veterans Memorial Rink. While AC quickly erased an early 2-0 deficit against the Green Dragons and use its high-powered offense to take an important 4-2 win, the team may have been reminded of where its sole loss came from. No. 3 Reading, another public power, put the only blemish on AC's record (10-1-0) back in the finals of the Ed Burns Classic in Billerica with a 3-1 win on Dec. 28.

"They're a fine team," AC coach Dan Shine said of Duxbury. "I have a lot of respect for John [Blake] and his club. He's done a wonderful job since he's been there. They're a team that in March will be reckoned with. There's no question about it."

Whether or not Duxbury, with its current record of 8-4-1, will be voted into the Super 8 like it was last year is an issue for a later time. Last night, both teams battled it out in a penalty-ridden, rough affair that saw its share of frustration from both benches. Within two minutes midway through the second period, there were five penalties called. The referees made numerous trips to Blake's bench for explanations. Scowls ensued. Sticks were broken. The end result for Shine? A good test.

"It was a game that we needed," Shine said. "We've been scoring a lot of goals lately. Not that you ever want to be down two goals early like that but it was a game that we needed to show that we could be put in that situation and still win."

Arlington Catholic, while scoring a lot of goals, had not been totally tested in previous easy wins against St. Bernard's (8-0), Bishop Guertin (3-0), and St. John's of Shrewsbury (7-2). The Cougars, without Catholic Memorial or BC High on their schedule in the near future, look primed for the postseason.

"It was nice to be in a dogfight," Shine said. "Sometimes you wonder if your kids have that resiliency and can respond when they're behind. You wonder if they'll keep their composure and stay focused. When you're ahead 5-0 midway through a game, you don't have a chance to see that on the bench."

Also on Wednesday, No. 2 BC High continued to prove itself with a convincing 7-2 win over No. 7 Xaverian, while Reading took care of No. 16 Woburn (6-3-2), 3-0. The Rockets (8-1-3), recorded one of their three ties earlier in the year against the Tanners in Woburn, when a controversial no-goal call at O'Brien Rink went against Reading in the final seconds and sealed the scoreless tie. Reading, in front of a home crowd, was able to take an important shutout this time.