Pope Francis rallies past Xaverian to capture programs first-ever state title (PHOTOS)

BOSTON Before Sunday’s MIAA Division 1 state championship game against Xaverian, Pope Francis coach Brian Foley encouraged the Cardinals to take 60 seconds and enjoy the bright lights at TD Gardens. Feel the moment.

It’s pretty surreal, but we just have to take it in and then put it behind us and play hockey, said Pope Francis Ryan OLeary, an Easthampton native.

What they did after that minute will last forever.

Well. 4 Pope Francis rallied twice against No. 7 Xaverian to win its first state championship, 3-2. The Cardinals became the first Western Massachusetts team to win a Division 1 state championship since West Springfield in 1952.

These kids are proud to play for their school, but also for the entire Western Mass. community, Foley said.

Senior forward Josh Iby scored his second goal of the game with just 25.2 seconds left to give Pope Francis the lead just before the whistle. Maurice Kearney fed him a cross, which Iby put into the back of the net.

That goal in 25 seconds [left] was relieved, but we knew they were going to attack us extra hard, said Pope Francis junior Zach Buffone, of Belchertown. It was stressful, but a sigh of relief when the puck went in.

No one sighed louder than Foley. He manned both of the Cardinals’ two recent trips to TD Garden in 2018 and 2019. Both ended in 2-1 OT losses against BC High, while the 2019 version went to four overtimes.

Not anymore, I just didn’t want to see (overtime) again,” Foley said.

It was the Cardinals’ last trip to the state championship game, though they were scheduled to play Arlingtonat the Garden in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled that year’s state finals. Pope Francis was named master along with Arlington.

We didn’t count it as a championship. Coach Foley talked about it and that he didn’t think of it as a championship, Buffone said. This was our way to reach everyone and get the state title.

Pope Francis won four consecutive one-goal games to claim the crown.

They just keep finding another way to win, Foley said.

The Cardinals (21-2-4) led for just the final 25.2 seconds. They trailed after just 8 minutes, 19 seconds when Xaverian turned over Pope Francis and Jackson Morse fed Devin Gosiak for a tipped goal that put the Hawks up 1-0.

We made a lot of uncharacteristic mental mistakes. There were certainly our fair share of mistakes, Foley said. But they smashed through it. The first period was a little loose, but we got out of there.

Pope Francis capitalized on Xaveria’s penalty barely two minutes later when Iby tapped home Jacob Jerell’s pass.

The Cardinals allowed a penalty kick early in the first 27 seconds of the second period, but Pope Francis goaltender Nick Ritchie (15 saves) read Joe DiMartino’s every move to keep the game 1-1.

Xaverian gave the Cardinals an even sweeter chance with 10:13 left in the second period when a double minor gave Pope Francis a four-minute power play. But the Hawks converted with Sean Conolly’s shorthanded goal, tapping home after a turnover.

We knew it was our fault. It was our mistake. “They didn’t score on us, we gave up scoring,” OLeary said. So we had to keep separating and play our game.

That meant a sharp pass that OLeary finished to tie the game again at 2. He tapped Nick Petkovich’s point pass into a wide-open net with 2:39 left in the second period.

“It was huge just because we worked so hard,” OLeary said. There was a little frustration on the bench just because the pucks weren’t going our way, the rebounds weren’t going our way, but we knew eventually we were going to get one.

They got two and added their name to a very short list.

“Going back to Cathedral, there’s such a great legacy and great players that come from all over Western Mass., and we want to continue and build on that,” OLeary said.

They are part of it now.

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.