HAVERHILL — It’s almost as if there’s a predetermined blueprint for when the Masconomet and Gloucester boys hockey teams meet. The game is guaranteed to be feisty, full of emotion, and contested right down until the scoreboard clock reads 0:00.
Saturday night at the Valley Forum didn’t deviate from that script.
The host Chieftains emerged victorious on Senior Night, taking a 3-2 decision over their Northeastern Conference rivals. In doing so, they swept their season series from the Fishermen after having been swept the year before.
“We always get in the right mindset when we play this team,” said senior left wing Ben Merrill, who notched his team-leading 17th and 18th goals in the win. “Sometimes we play down to certain teams, but that’s never a problem against Gloucester.”
“These are the games that always end up being fun,” Masconomet (11-5) head coach Andrew Boepple added.
John Miga, a junior center and one of the Chieftains’ top defensive players, scored the game-winning goal five-and-a-half minutes into the second period. With the game tied and the Fishermen on the power play, he blocked a shot by Brett Cunningham near the blue line, gathered the loose puck and was off to the races, sliding a shorthanded tally past goalie Nick Tarantino.
“We’ve been stressing to the guys to shoot along the ice, like John did there perfectly,” said Boepple. “Any time you get a shorthanded goal it’s big, but in that situation it was especially huge for us.”
Gloucester (8-7-1) had multiple chances to tie the game in the final minute-and-a-half with Tarantino (30 saves) pulled for an extra skater, but missed two potential open nets and had two other solid bids turned away by Chieftains keeper Chris Sacco.
More pressing in the eyes of head coach Derek Geary, however, was his team’s lack of composure at inopportune times, forcing them to kill penalties as time ticked away instead of being on the attack.
“It was embarrassing. We lost any semblance of team,” said Geary. “Why are we engaging in after-the-whistle stuff? To be up 2-1 after one period and then take a penalty after the period ends … we just can’t have that. The whole team was culpable, including myself for a too many men call against us.
“These are the type of games we’ll see in the playoffs, so in that regard we failed a test tonight,” added Geary. “But to play the way we did and still only lose 3-2, well, from a binary win/loss silver lining perspective, there’s that.”
The contest featured multiple 5-on-3 power play opportunities, yet neither team was able to cash in. It even featured a sequence late in the first period when Sacco (32 saves) saw his skate blade snap off during a play out front; he was replaced by backup Dylan Brothers for two minutes before returning and playing the rest of the game — wearing one of Brothers’ skates in place of his own.
“We’ve talked a number of times of how Chris is better than his numbers (3.29 GAA, .905 save pct.) might reflect,” said Boepple. “It’s not him; it’s been our defensive commitment in front of him more often than not. He made some big saves (Saturday) to keep us in the lead.”
Masconomet opened the second period with 1:49 of a two-man advantage and a fresh sheet of ice, but couldn’t score. Not long after getting back to even strength, though, Merrill and Miles Mireault broke out 2-on-1 and into Gloucester territory, with Mireault drawing the defenseman his way before sliding a pass to Merrill in the crease for a one-timer that tied the game at 2-2.
Merrill, who will head to Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. next year in hopes of becoming a pilot, flew down the left wing side to get his team on the scoreboard in the first period, cashing in on an Alan Weitzman pass to give Masco an early lead with a sharp wrister from 20 feet out.
“I play half-season (fall hockey) with a lot of those Gloucester guys, so we’re friendly,” said Merrill. “But when we face each other, it’s all business.”
The Fishermen tied it, then took the lead, before the period ended. First, junior Chris Dailey gathered up a Chris Karvelas shot in the paint and knocked it in off Sacco’s left skate. Then with 23 seconds left in the opening stanza, Cunningham collected a loose puck and batted it home 5-hole for his team-leading 17th goal and a 2-1 GHS lead.
“You’re always hoping to learn from your mistakes,” said Gary. “So now we can see what the dark side is like and if we want to go down that road. Or, we can take a good hard look in the mirror, realize there’s only four games left in the regular season, but that we’re a good team and that if we trust in each other, rebuild that trust and play good, disciplined hockey, we can make a run.”
Masconomet 3, Gloucester 2
at Valley Forum, Haverhill
Gloucester;2;0;0;2
Masconomet;1;2;0;3
First period: M, Ben Merrill (Alan Weitzman, Anthony Cerbone), 3:40; G, Chris Dailey (Chris Karvelas), 5:56; G, Brett Cunningham (un), 14:37.
Second period: M, Merrill (Miles Mireault, Brady Forde), 2:14; M, John Miga (un), shg, 5:58.
Third period: No scoring.
Saves: G, Nick Tarantino 30; M, Chris Sacco 32, Dylan Brothers 3.
Records: M, 11-5; G, 8-7-1.