In a game meaning little more than momentum, Malden Catholic met Xaverian last night with both teams already guaranteed advancement into the Super 8 semifinals.
That didn't stop the Lancers from coming out hard and they outshot and outskated the Hawks in coming away with a 5-3 victory at Tsongas Arena in Lowell.
Malden Catholic (14-5-4), which finished 3-0 to lead the way in Bracket 2, grabbed the lead just under seven minutes into the game when Greg Crovo scored off a faceoff. He rocketed a shot from the left circle past Kyle MacDonald, who was screened.
Four minutes later, the Lancers struck again. This time, Zack Sheppard settled a bouncing puck in front of the crease and beat MacDonald for a 2-0 lead. Malden Catholic dominated the second period as well, outshooting the Hawks, 13-3, and tacking on another goal for a 3-0 lead.
"We played fantastic in the second," said MC coach Chris Serino, lauding the job done on Xaverian's offense. "The strength of our team is the defense."
Justin Sencabaugh got the second-period goal on a blue-line blast that got through traffic with 5:45 left.
Craig Carbonneau put a rebound past MacDonald 4 1/2 minutes into the final period to make it 4-0.
Xaverian finally broke through less than two minutes later on Matt Glennon's power-play goal, but Mike Carr tallied two minutes later to restore the four-goal advantage.
"I think it means a lot of momentum," said Serino. "To go in off a win means a whole lot more."
Malden Catholic will face Catholic Memorial in Wednesday's semifinals, while Xaverian will face Reading.
Reading 4, Waltham 1 - Riding high after stirring up the playoff field with back-to-back victories against perennial powers Catholic Memorial and BC High, the Rockets began their game against the Hawks knowing they were already in the semifinals as Bracket 1 champions.
"We wanted to win today's game," coach Peter Doherty said after his team's convincing victory at Tsongas Arena, its third in a row in the tournament.
That didn't mean Reading (23-1) - or, for that matter, efficient first-line center Michael Lozzi - was about to let up.
The senior played a part in each one of his team's goals, notching a hat trick and an assist.
Waltham came out firing in the first period, but Lozzi got the last laugh with just 5.7 seconds remaining, tapping in a rebound of defenseman Travis Busch's slap shot.
Lozzi scored again 9:26 into the second period, smoking a top-shelf shot from the slot.
Waltham (15-6-4) salvaged some pride 1:56 into the third period when Kyle Thomas scored the team's first goal since the final round of the Cape Cod Classic Feb. 21. (The Hawks had won in a shootout in their Super 8 play-in round game against Westford.)
St. John's Prep 4, Hingham 2 - St. John's Prep coach Kristian Hanson wanted another shot at Hingham after the 4-1 season-opening loss. Hanson got that chance yesterday, but the first-year coach wished the circumstances had been different.
"We didn't want to finish 0-3 [in the Super 8 tournament]," Hanson said.
The Eagles' first line of Colin Prior (two goals, two assists), Christian Cowles (goal, three assists), and Dan Haugh (goal, two assists) provided the offense as St. John's Prep doubled up Hingham at Tsongas Arena.
"The whole year that line carried us," Hanson said of the senior trio, which produced 85 goals and 49 assists this season.
The Eagles (13-7-3) finished the tournament 1-2, while Hingham (17-6-2) lost all three games.
Globe correspondents Steve Crowe and Jeff Powalisz contributed to this report.
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