Bishop Guertin's Connor Guibord,left, moves against Xaverian's Mike Winn during the Cards; 9-6 win on Tuesday night at Stellos Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – These are the games that can help define a season.

With the Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse program at a level above all but a couple of the other schools in New Hampshire’s Division I, wins like the Cardinals had 9-6 over Xaverian Brothers of Westwood, Mass. Tuesday in the chill of Stellos Stadium are the kind they savor.

“It’s a measuring stick and it makes us better,” Guertin coach Chris Cameron said. “We were scoring nine goals a quarter. We scored nine goals the whole game. They’re one of the top five programs in Massachusetts, to get them to come up here is a good thing. And then to win, …”

That’s a bonus. The Cards haven’t played these games in a while, probably since 2019. In 2018, they had six out of state games and won them all.

“Prize fight all the way through, I think we went all 12 rounds,” Xaverian coach Daggett Morse said. “Great fantastic atmosphere. You know it’s going to be a great test. You don’t make the drive to play someone who can’t whistle and watch. It’s a great test.”

One in which the Cards (4-0) captured thanks to a hat trick by Connor Bouvier, plus a defense that made things hard for their guests.

The game was tied 3-3 in the second quarter when, with 3:42 left, BG’s Caleb Yeung, a freshman, converted a pass from Kevin Broderick to put the Cards up 4-3, a lead they never relinquished. Bouvier got perhaps the game’s biggest goal with 38.1 seconds left in the half and a 5-3 lead.

The Cards followed that pattern in the third, saving their best with late goals after Xaverian (4-2) closed to within 5-4 on a goal by Dante Marioni nearly two minutes into the second half.

Carter Jozokos scored for BG with 2:11 left in the quarter, and Bouvier did his late period act again, scoring with 48 seconds left to put BG up 7-4.

They made it 8-4 on sophomore Tim Kiely’s goal 24 seconds into the fourth, and Guertin wasn’t going to fade. They added another by Aiden Laurendeau (his second, to go with an assist) with 3:49 left that basically clinched things at 9-5. Quinn Cepiel, one of BG’s top scorers, was kept off the scoreboard but contributed two assists.

“We like to play fast,” Cameron said. “And once I put the breaks on them a little bit I think it kind of backfired. But we did a pretty good job with the clock.”

Xaverian tried to come back, but Guertin’s defense forced turnovers and the visitors seemed hesitant at times to shoot. But, of course, the Cards didn’t make it easy.

“A game like this makes you have to play defense,” said Cameron, who lost one of his best defenders who was having a super game, Xander Dunsmoor, after a tough hit midway through. “A lot of times this year we haven’t had to play defense. To hold a team like that to six goals is pretty good.”

Guertin goalie Zach Connerty also gets some credit for that, a he collected eight saves, including a big one on Marioni to preserve a one-goal lead that then turned into a BG break and score at 6-4. Xaverian got two goals each by Ben Ryan and Jake Gilbert, plus singles from Connor Marioni and Cole Jette.

“At the end, tired mistakes, short-arming a couple of passes,” Morse said. “Those are good mistakes to make in a game like this in April rather than June, hopefully.”

June is what it’s all about for both teams.

“You could have two weeks of practices,” Cameron said, “and you’re not going to get better until you play a game like this.”