Nobody in the Newburyport girls hockey program would look at the team’s current record and say it’s where they expected to be at this point.
A couple of close losses have definitely hurt.
But even after a tough overtime setback to rival Masconomet on Wednesday night, 5-4, the signs of a turnaround are there for Newburyport. The Clippers (1-6-0) saw four different athletes from their first few lines find the back of the net when secondary scoring has been an issue, and 7th-grader Catherine Hajjar played well making her second start this season in net.
“I think the rest of the way we can complete in every game on our schedule,” said Newburyport coach Josh Freeman. “The girls have all had really good attitudes and good energy, they come in ready to work every day. What’s been nice is that the older girls have been really supportive of the younger girls on our team. It would be really easy to sort of go off track with the record that we have. But our upperclassmen leaders have done a great job of keeping the room together.”
And, yes it’s cliché, but Newburyport is truly a couple of bounces away from having a few more wins.
Wednesday was the second time this year that the Clippers fell in overtime, with the other coming against Marblehead back in mid-December. They also were within a goal against a good Division 1 opponent in Andover before allowing an empty-netter, and nearly completed a home-and-home sweep against Stoneham.
So, it’s close to clicking.
And Newburyport was definitely in position to get a win over its archrival.
Senior captain and two-time Daily News MVP forward Olivia Wilson scored the team’s opening goal, and the Clippers saw both Mackenzie Riley and Reese Beauparlant find the back of the net for the first times this season. The Clippers had to kill off two seperate 5-on-3 situations in a penalty-filled second period, but still managed to take a 4-2 lead into the third thanks to a goal from Joely Middleton.
But Masconomet came storming back.
“(Masconomet) just kept chipping away,” said Freeman. “They were able to get the game into overtime, then got a nice bounce right off the bat. It was off a faceoff, and the puck went to the boards and might have deflected off the ref and snuck behind our defense. Their forward beat us to it, and made a beautiful move to score.”
The Clippers will now try to get back on track when they travel to Beverly on Satuday evening (5:30 p.m.).
“The girls battled hard,” said Freeman. “They gave their best effort, we just didn’t get the breaks. The first period we had 8-to-10 good chance to sort of pull away, but their goalie played great. But I’m really proud of them. We’ve been struggling to put the puck in the net, but we got four goals from four different players in this one.”
Two more goals for Stickney as Amesbury beats Triton
It’s been quite the season already for Grady Stickney.
The sophomore was at it again on Wednesday night, scoring two more goals to lead Amesbury to a 6-2 win over rival Triton. Which means through just nine games so far this winter for the Redhawks (6-3-0), Stickney is already at 15 goals — after scoring 16 a year ago as a freshman.
Owen Bartniski also scored twice during the victory, and both Tommy Puorro and Lincoln Kime found the back of the net. The trio of Stickney, Kime and Puorro each had two assists, Jack Kusler and Evan Murphy added helpers, and goalie Vincenzo Foster made 17 saves to pick up the win.
Amesbury will now travel to play North Reading on Saturday afternoon.
Good bounceback for Sullivan, Newburyport hockey
This was much needed for the Newburyport boys hockey team.
Following lopsided setbacks to talented North Reading and Dartmouth teams their last two times out, the Clippers needed to find a way to get back into the win column. Thankfully, they were able to do just that on Wednesday night, getting a hat-trick from sophomore Jack Sullivan to get past Rockport, 5-3.
Owen Mongeau and Henry Waddell were the team’s other scorers, and assists went to Luke MacIsaac (3), Mason Varay, Waddell and Charlie Tramontana. Sophomore goalie Sean Murray made 18 saves for Newburyport (4-4-0), which will next travel to Lynnfield on Saturday for a noon puck drop.
Near triple-double for Bailey in Newburyport win
Facing tough non-leauge competition, Ava Bailey looked right at home.
The returning Daily News All-Star would finish with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists on Wednesday night, leading Newburyport to a 58-37 victory over Tewksbury. It’s the type of numbers that the junior has been putting up all season long, according to coach Tim Mahan, who said of Bailey, “She’s been playing great basketball.”
Then elsewhere for the Clippers (5-3), Clara Thompson poured in a game-high 18 points during the win, and fellow junior Morgan Rouba was also in double figures with 10 points.
“A great non-league battle against a really tough team,” said Mahan. “Clara Thompson and Alexandra Yavarow were dominant inside, and both Brooke Lawton and Morgan Rouba continue to play great.”
Pelletier nearing 100, but Pentucket downed at Essex Tech
Wednesday wasn’t the greatest night at the office for the Pentucket hockey team, which traveled over to Essex Tech and lost, 5-1. But after scoring the team’s lone goal, Chase Pelletier is now just two points away from reaching the illustrious 100-point career mark.
Pelletier will have a chance to reach that milestone on Saturday when the Panthers (3-4-1) host Rockport with a 5 p.m. puck drop. He also is very much in reach of passing the program’s all-time leading scorer, Richie Hardy (PRHS ‘21), who finished with 127 career points.
Triton wrestling falls to Lynnfield
The majority were competitive matches, but the Triton wrestling team finished on the wrong end of a 54-27 dual-meet score to Lynnfield/North Reading on Wednesday night.
The Vikings got pins from Ben Imlach at 144 (1:59) and James D’Amato at 190 (1:49), as well as other wins from Riley-Anne Tarmey at 106 (6-5 dec.), Braydon Lawrence at 138 (forfeit) and Mike Haidaczuk at 285 (forfeit). Up next, the Vikings (2-8) will try to get back into the win column when they travel over to Keefe Tech on Friday.
“I was very pleased with the effort of James D’Amato,” said Triton coach Shawn McElligott. “He’s been practicing hard lately, and it showed. I was also pleased with the effort of Thomas Henebury, who had a great match against one of their best.”