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The tournament bound Crusaders (12-7-1) shook off Monday's Carlin Cup defeat against Peabody by coming from behind to best Beverly. The visiting Panthers had a 2-1 lead in the third before the Crusaders struck with power play tallies from Mark Sparaco and Dale Crispin to snare the victory.

If this one game represented a fork in the road, you can plainly see how the Danvers and Beverly High hockey teams took very different paths.

Similar to the way their seasons have played out. Playing some of its best hockey of the year, Danvers continued on its late-season roll by scoring three times in the final period and owning all areas of the ice. Paced by junior Troy Thibodeau's hat trick, the Falcons turned a close game into a blowout by hammering the Panthers, 5-1, at the Rockett Arena.

Desperate for points in their quest for a tournament berth, the Panthers outshot host Winthrop, 27-15, but couldn't find the back of the net in a scoreless tie at the Larsen Rink.

Beverly (7-8-2) got 15 saves in goal from sophomore goaltender C.J. Cacciatore, while senior Alex Baker, moved up from defense to forward, generated several excellent scoring chances.

PEABODY | Coming off its worst loss of the season, the Peabody High hockey team felt an urgency to get back on track. But it knew the job wasn't going to be easy against a Beverly team that had beaten the Tanners last month.

First half analysis: No question there's talent here | far too much to have a five-game losing streak, as they are currently mired in. Too often, lack of discipline has hurt the Black-and-Orange, leading to trips to the penalty box and/or goals by their opponents.

SALEM | Bob Gilligan stepped out of the Beverly High hockey team's locker room in the bowels of the Rockett Arena after his postgame address to his club and reached for the game scoresheet.

"Let's take a look at the damage," Gilligan sighed. For the second time in a two-week span, Gilligan's Panthers didn't have any answers for a very talented Gloucester team.

Freshman goaltender Tony Walsh put forth a strong third period to earn his first career shutout in net for the Panthers (5-1-1) in a 5-0 shutout of Swampscott.

Making his fourth career start, Walsh stopped all 20 shots he faced while getting scoring support from Chris Bushey, Ryan Karp, Mitch Hamor, Jack Leathersich and Chris Freni. Three third period goals sealed the deal for the winners.

Without junior captain Josh Salah, one might think that the Gloucester hockey team would have trouble with previously unbeaten Beverly in the first round of the Cape Ann Savings Bank Holiday Tournament.

SALEM | It was a gift that not even Santa Claus could have given Kyle Irving. Only he could get it for himself.

And get it he did.

Irving treated himself to the first 2-goal game of his high school hockey career Saturday afternoon, paving the way for the unbeaten Beverly Panthers to skate past Peabody, 5-2, before a festive crowd at the Rockett Arena.

What didn't this game have?

There were big hits, big saves and big goals. There were plenty of power plays, a bevy of backchecking and a cavalcade of chances for both teams.

We saw a freshman forward score on a freshman goaltender; the lead see-saw back and forth like a broken teeter-tooter, and even a rare, rocket shot from center ice that beat one of the goaltenders cleanly.