Peabody, MA – It was senior night (day?) here at McVann/O’Keefe Rink as we had a clash of two of the top teams in D3: the home team 11-win Lynnfield Pioneers and the visiting 10-win North Reading Hornets. This was a big game specifically for the Pioneers with a chance to lock in the CAL Title for the first time in 17 years. After navigating a parking lot configuration modeled after an MC Escher painting, we were ready for puck drop.
In the first period, Lynnfield put their foot on the gas right out of the gate, putting shots on net from all angles and pressuring defenders from North Reading at every turn. It didn’t take long for them to find their way onto the scoresheet. Two and a half minutes in, senior captain Chase Carney grabbed a puck behind the net and attempted a wrap but was denied at the left post. So he grabbed the puck again and tried the right post and it worked it perfectly: 1-0 Pioneers. North Reading created a couple of nice chances in the Lynnfield end but there were few rebound looks as they protected their net well. Eight minutes later the Pioneers were back at it again as Carney worked the puck behind the net and fed a wide open defenseman Drew Damiani in the slot who fired one up top to make it 2-0 Lynnfield. That would be our score after 1.
In the second period, the script didn’t change much, the Pioneers came out of the room en fuego and potted one in the first minute as Carney fired a shot into a crowd of bodies and it deflected home off a Hornet player to make it 3-0. About three minutes later it was senior forward Will Steadman who set up senior Aidan Burke in the slot for a one-timer: 4-0 Pioneers. North Reading gained a power play advantage a few minutes later but was unable to capitalize as Lynnfield was strong on the puck and used their length to their advantage. A few minutes later it was Carney again who busted in off the wing and fired a puck short side top shelf with stellar shot placement: 5-0 was the score after two.
In the final frame, interestingly the Pioneers started the period slowly and that allowed North Reading to capitalize. The Hornets has their most consistent pressure of the game early in this period, they were moving the puck with purpose and putting quality shots on net, forcing the goaltender to move on every look. About five minutes in, that’s where defenseman Cole Lopilato approached the left post coming off the wall and found sophomore forward Duncan Gulino on the backdoor with a tape-to-tape feed, spoiling the shutout and making it 5-1. Things began to get more and more chippy throughout the period and sure enough with six minutes remaining there was nearly a donnybrook with everyone grabbing a dance partner. The final few minutes would be played on the power play by North Reading as a major was assessed to Lynnfield with a couple of minutes remaining, but there would be no more additions to the scoreboard. Final score: Lynnfield 5, North Reading 1
Three Stars:
- F Chase Carney, Lynnfield
- D Drew Damiani, Lynnfield
- G Phineas Mitchener, Lynnfield