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The Gloucester girls hockey team put up a good fight on senior night at Talbot Rink last night, but the Fishermen came up a bit short.

Peabody was able to get a game-winner in the third period to knock off Gloucester 3-2 in a tight contest. Mia Cohen and Margaret Muniz tallied the goals for the Fishermen, while Andrea Rovedo was fantastic in the Gloucester net, stopping 42 shots.

With women's hockey continually growing in popularity and girls co-op programs sprouting locally at Masconomet, Beverly, and Marblehead, several interested parties have been putting together the initial steps for a River Rivals co-op varsity program of their own.

When 2-13-0 Peabody set out to win each of its final five games, the Tanners weren't kidding. After last night's triumph over Shawsheen Valley, it's so far, so good.

"We really are hoping we can take the rest of the season," said Peabody coach Larry Minehan.

Masconomet girls hockey coach Bill Haines isn't sure exactly what has tilted his squad in the right direction lately. Perhaps it's been a bit of puck luck. Maybe it's just a matter of drawing some extra inspiration.

The River Rival Region may soon see a new sport that involves ice, skates, a puck and plenty of padding grace the region.

There is however one requisite: NO BOYS ALLOWED. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of the neighboring Northeastern Conference as well as the Cape Ann League, residents and family members alike have been pushing to create a girls cooperative hockey team for the Newburyport, Pentucket, Amesbury and Triton high schools.

As tough as it might be to fathom when looking at the 11-1 final score, there was a silver lining in Peabody's loss to Marblehead last weekend. During one of the most difficult stretches of their season, the Tanners have chosen not to focus on final scores but instead on getting as many players as much ice time as possible.

When Masconomet skates against Gloucester tomorrow night, they'll take the ice without having tasted victory in almost a month | since a Dec. 19 win over Lynn English. The Chieftains have had some hard luck in that stretch, which hasn't seen a game decided by more than three goals. If they're close but not quite there, what can the squad do to turn the tide in its favor?

It's going to be a memorable weekend for sports fans around the North Shore, without question. There's Saturday night's boys hockey showdown between Peabody and Gloucester, in addition to the usual weekend slate of on-ice match-ups. Who could forget that the Patriots will look to bring their perfect season to the Super Bowl in Sunday's AFC Championship showdown against San Diego?

Which teams (no matter what sport) have been the most surprising so far this season?

Leave your answers below. Make sure to list the sport along with the team you are talking about.

Captain Colby Amor and the rest of the Peabody girls hockey team didn't just want Saturday night's game against Gloucester for themselves. More importantly, they wanted it for fallen teammate Courtney Corning, who was honored in a pregame ceremony commemorating the one year anniversary of her death. With Corning's No. 4 jersey hanging behind the Tanner bench, Amor notched five goals | including the game winner on a breakaway with just 15 seconds left in regulation | to will Peabody to an emotional 6-4 triumph.