March 10, 2026

Pope Francis boys hockey advances to title game on hat trick by Gabe Kolodjay

REGIONAL
By Steve Kiltonic

Photo courtesy Wendy Harrington, Pope Francis Preparatory HS

CHESTNUT HILL – The No. 7 Pope Francis boys hockey team advanced to the MIAA Division 1 championship game with an exciting 5-4 win over No. 6 Hingham on Sunday, March 8, at the Conte Forum on the campus of Boston College.

The victory sent the Cardinals back to the title matchup at the TD Garden for the first time since 2023, when they beat Xaverian, 3-2, to capture their first outright state crown. In 2020, Pope shared the title with Arlington after the final was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Harbormen struck first just 53 seconds into the game to take a quick 1-0 lead but junior Gabe Kolodjay got the equalizer four and a half minutes later then scored a second goal to put the Cardinals up 2-1 before the first intermission.

In the second period, Pope Francis took a commanding 4-1 lead with a third goal by Kolodjay and a goal by senior Liam Dolan. But Hingham mounted a comeback in the third period with two goals a minute apart in the waning minutes as the Harbormen closed the gap to 5-4.

The Cardinals were able to hold off a six-on-five Hingham advantage in the final two minutes to skate away with the victory. In addition to Kolodjay’s hat trick, senior Matt Regan had three assists and sophomore Whitaker Zinger added an assist.  Junior George Ramsey made 14 saves in net for Pope who outshot Hingham 22-18.

In the state tournament, the 18-5-3 Cardinals beat Belmont 5-0, St. Mary’s Lynn 4-0, and Marshfield 5-0 to reach the final against No. 8 St. John’s of Shrewsbury, a team Pope beat earlier, 3-2, in overtime back in December

The puck will drop 1:00 pm, Sunday, March 15, at the TD Garden and a large contingent of Pope Francis fans is expected to board several buses to make the trek to Boston to cheer on the Cardinals for their third title.

A video version of this story will be featured on “Real to Reel,” which airs at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22NEWS