At the very last second of the middle period in Wednesday night’s home clash with Lynnfield, the Gloucester boys hockey team surrendered an unfortunate goal that broke open a scoreless tie at Talbot Rink.
Then late in the third stanza, after Gloucester had reclaimed the lead, the Pioneers struck again with a backbreaking empty-netter in the final minute to send things into overtime.
It was a pair of bad breaks for a Fishermen squad that had been skating hard all evening and realistically carrying play for the majority of the contest. But it didn’t make them stop believing.
After receiving a crisp pass from Sam Sanfilippo, Cade Cooper would ultimately send a game-winning tally five-hole just minutes into the four-on-four extra frame to give his team a thrilling 3-2 victory.
“Those were some real tough goals to stomach emotionally, especially that one with zero seconds left on the clock (in the second),” said Gloucester head coach Derek Geary. “So that’s a stinger, but that’s why you get 10 minutes in between periods to kind of regroup and I thought overall we had more chances throughout the game.
“I thought if we kept playing with our speed and our manner that we were going to get a bounce eventually,” he continued. “And our speed came through in the end.”
As for the winning goal, a laser of a shot from Cooper who waited patiently for the opening before letting loose, Geary felt it was a textbook finish to an emotional triumph.
“I had put Cooper’s line out there second to try to get him and (Colby) Warren not against their best player, and I don’t know if that was a factor but they were able to get the puck in their zone,” said Geary. “And then Sam made a heck of a pass and Coop had some real poise with the puck; he didn’t just throw it without looking, he kind of sized it up and went five-hole.
“So that was nice to see poise in that kind of situation and that’s what it takes to score a huge goal like that.”
Prior to Cooper’s decisive tally, and the last ditch game-tying goal from Lynnfield’s Anthony Calla to close out the third, Gloucester was in the driver’s seat thanks to a pair of goals from junior standout Lukas Albano.
Albano tied things up with just under six minutes to play in the third when he mashed home a rebound in front of the cage just after Lynnfield had killed a penalty. Albano would strike again just over two minutes later off a terrific set up from linemate Cam Amero on the power play.
Amero made a great push towards goal, wrapped around the backside of the net and flipped a pass to the open Albano who wristed it home. Gloucester tried to survive from there, but Lynnfield opted for the extra skater late by pulling its goalie with about two minutes to play, and they were able to find the equalizer.
Still, the Fishermen wouldn’t have been in position to even play for OT if it wasn’t for the aggressiveness from both Albano and Amero.
“Amero made a heck of a rush there on Albano’s second goal and it was a wonderful shot,” said Geary. “Lukas has shown some real offensive skill as the year’s progressed so it was good to see him with two huge goals — the two biggest goals of his career.”
Warren also turned in a standout performance, and really everyone that took the ice seemed to make an impact. It was one of those complete team efforts with multiple guys contributing, and Geary made sure to shout out some of those players who don’t always see significant time.
“We had guys getting more ice than they’d normally get, guys like Connor Curley and Braeden Perry,” said Geary. “So I thought that was nice to see. And even guys that have limited ice time, I mean Dylan De Haan only got one shift but he made a great effort there and that kind of lifted the bench.”
Defensively, Chris Dailey once again led a balanced effort while goalie Trey Marrone made some intelligent decisions throughout and finished with 20 saves.
“Trey’s been fabulous. He’s really played his A-game I feel like the last two weeks,” added Geary. “He’s been sharp, he’s been positionally sound, competitive … so well deserved win for Trey.”
Winners of three of its last four and four of its last six (only blemishes were a hard earned 3-3 tie at Winthrop and a 4-1 setback to league power Essex Tech), Gloucester will look to continue its strong play when they head to Valley Forum in Haverhill on Saturday to take on Masconomet. The Fishermen will then wrap up the regular season with rematches against Marblehead and Masco at home.
Gloucester 3, Lynnfield 2 (OT)
at Dorothy Talbot Rink, Gloucester
Lynnfield (6-9);0;1;1;0;2
Gloucester (8-7-2);0;0;2;1;3
Scoring summary
First period: No scoring.
Second period: L, CJ Anderson (Brendan Driscoll), 14:59
Third period: G, Lukas Albano (Cam Amero), 9:13; G, Albano (Amero, Kam Francis), ppg., 13:37; L, Anthony Calla, 14:10
Overtime: G, Cade Cooper (Sam Sanfilippo), 2:36
Saves: G — Trey Marrone 20
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.