MIDDLETON — The race for Cape Ann League hockey’s top spot this season just got a whole lot more interesting.
Gavin Marengi, a senior goaltender for Triton Regional, stopped all 14 shots he faced in the third period and wound up with 31 all told as his Vikings came into the Essex Sports Center Saturday and upset host Essex Tech, 3-2.
The Hawks (12-2-1) had held a one-game lead over Newburyport in the CAL title chase, but now the two squads are tied with two league games remaining for Essex Tech (which did defeat the Clippers in both matchups this winter).
“We didn’t play badly … but we certainly didn’t play our best,” said Essex Tech head coach Mark Leonard. “Just too many mistakes, too many open nets we missed. And I honestly think they worked a little harder than us.”
Essex Tech, in just its second season as a Cape Ann League member, has two contests remaining against conference foes: Feb. 8 at North Reading, and Feb. 15 against Lynnfield (who dealt the Hawks their only other defeat) in the Martha’s Vineyard Tournament Feb. 15.
Triton, which lost to the Hawks badly (8-3) on home ice last month, improved to 10-5-1 with Saturday’s victory, with the team’s three captains (Josh Hersey, Connor Rumpf and Luke Sullivan) all scoring.
A Brett Granger snipe out front just 1:50 into the contest gave the Hawks an early lead, but Triton wasted no time in tying it. Hersey came down the right wing boards and wired a shot opposite corner over the shoulder of Essex Tech netminder Teagan Moreau (21 saves) to knot things up.
Senior captain Brady Leonard gave the hosts the lead back 10 minutes into the middle stanza. Camped backdoor to Marengi’s left, a tipped shot by Jaydan Vargas off a Riley Sobezenski blast from the left point came right to him, and he easily knocked it home for his team-leading 20th goal of the season.
But Triton got the equalizer with just 6.3 seconds left before the second intermission. Off an offensive zone faceoff, Rumpf grabbed an attempted clearing pass and quickly fired a shot on net that connected.
Using that momentum, the Vikings took the first and only lead 62 seconds into the third period. Sullivan threw a shot on net from the slot that worked its way under Moreau’s pads for a 3-2 lead.
“Huge goal to give up there at the end of the second,” admitted Leonard. “It gave them a big jump, and they came out flying in the third and scored quickly again. I don’t think we recovered from that.”
The Hawks will be back home Wednesday in a non-league battle against Beverly for their Senior Night. The festivities begin at 7 p.m.
“We just have to regroup, come back to practice Monday and try to fix our mistakes,” said Leonard.
Triton 3, Essex Tech 2
at Essex Sports Center, Middleton
Triton;1;1;1;3
Essex Tech;1;1;0;2
First period: ET, Brett Granger (Tyler McHugh, Michael Cann), 1:50; T, Josh Hersey (un), 2:21.
Second period: ET, Brady Leonard (Jaydan Vargas, Riley Sobezenski), 10:09; T, Connor Rumpf (Hersey, Luke Sullivan), 14:53.
Third period: T, Sullivan (Mason Colby), 1:02.
Saves: T, Gavin Marengi 31; ET, Tyler Moreau 21.
Records: ET, 12-2-1; T, 10-5-1.