NEWBURYPORT — The dam was eventually going to break.
It just had to.
With how well the Newburyport boys hockey team played during the first period of Saturday’s “Rivalry Rematch” against Triton, the fact that it was still a scoreless game at intermission was a borderline miracle. Even worse for the Clippers, about five minutes into the second, Josh Hersey got behind the defense on a simple clear-out, and roofed a breakaway — shorthanded — goal to give the Vikings a 1-0.
Was this about to be the day the Vikes broke the streak?
Yeah, not so fast.
The floodgates finally opened for Newburyport, which would find six different goal-scorers over the final 20-plus minutes to race past its archrival, 6-2. It’s the seventh straight win for the Clippers over the Vikings dating back to the 2020-21 season, and the third straight year they’ve swept the series. And with it, the Clippers have also clinch themselves a CAL championship — which was cause for postgame celebration.
But as far as beating Triton again, it’s becoming old hat for Newburyport.
“It’s obviously a big rivalry game,” said senior Jack Sullivan. “But at the end of the day, it’s just taking care of business. That’s our mentality.”
Even at the state level, the rematch was quite the showdown on paper.
Newburyport (9-3-1) came in ranked No. 5 in Division 2, while Triton (8-6-0) was similarly slotted at No. 5 in Division 3. When the two teams played back in December, it was your standard, back-and-forth rivalry game that the Clippers ultimately pulled out, 5-3.
But Saturday wasn’t as competitive.
The final tally showed a pretty massive shot disparity, with Newburyport holding a 46-14 edge. The Clippers dominated from the opening puck drop, and especially in the faceoff circle, with forwards like Kane Brennan, Tristan Joyce, Will Palermino, Luke MacIsaac and Owen Kreuz generating chance after chance. After the first 15 minutes had come and gone, Triton went to the locker room thrilled that it was still scoreless.
And the reason: Gavin Marengi.
Obviously, the final amount of goals doesn’t show that great. But that doesn’t reflect how well the junior goalie truly played, as he stood on his head on multiple occasions and made 40 saves amidst the onslaught.
“We got outplayed and outshot, and he was still a rock back there,” said Triton coach Ryan Sheehan. “You can only hold strong for so long. He was under siege the entire night, but he played well”
And it appeared it may be one of those special performances after Hersey gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
But not on this day.
A few minutes after the opening goal, Joyce fired a shot that bounced off a pad and trickled into the back of the net. The Clippers then got their own shorthanded goal when Kreuz buried his own rebound off a breakaway, and Palermino made it 3-1 after the second period when he kept hammering away in a scrum in front of the net, and the puck slammed home.
“We kept attacking and getting pucks to the net,” said Newburyport coach Paul Yameen. “We told them that it was going to come, just keep doing what you’re doing, and it finally did.”
And the dagger basically came early in the third.
Joyce did a great job drawing the defense behind the net, then fed a beautiful pass out front to Jackson DeVivo for the one-timer. The Clippers then scored their second shorthanded goal of the game when Sullivan similarly got behind the defense, walled off his defender and backhanded a shot top-shelf to make it 5-1.
“We’re a battle-tested team,” said Yameen. “That’s a big game for us, but we’re used to playing in big games in front of big crowds. We just take it in stride. We’re getting better as we go, and that’s our goal.”
Two-year captain Jack Lindholm would score on a 4-on-3 for Triton with 6:20 left to cut into the lead, but Colby Arel would respond on the other end with a power play goal.
“We’ve got to play more disciplined hockey,” said Sheehan. “(Newburyport) is a tough team and they’ve got some strong kids. They move the puck well, they’re deep and they’ve got good goaltending. It’s the best team we’ve played so far this season.”
And it’s a team that’s looking poised to make some noise in the postseason.
After falling to state powerhouse Canton two weeks ago, Newburyport has reeled off three straight dominant wins (4-0, 7-0, 6-2). Up next is a trip to North Reading on Wednesday with a CAL title already in hand, but the Clippers have their eyes set on bigger prizes this winter.
“We’re obviously going to play some tough teams and some good teams,” said Brennan. “So I think just keeping our structure and playing good defense, playing basic hockey and getting pucks to the net. Just take it one game at a time.”
Newburyport 6, Triton 2
Newburyport (9-3-1): 0 3 3 — 6
Triton (8-6-0): 0 1 1 — 2
Goals: N — Tristan Joyce, Owen Kreuz, Will Palermino, Jackson DeVivo, Jack Sullivan, Colby Arel; T — Josh Hersey, Jack Lindholm
Assists: N — Joyce 2, DeVivo, Henry Waddell, Arel, Mason Childs, Luke MacIsaac
Saves: N — Damien Lamb 12; T — Gavin Marengi 40