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STONEHAM | Peabody High hockey co-captain James Noftle didn't say much after Lynnfield's Mike Connolly knocked him into the crossbar of an empty net with 46 seconds left in last night's Division 2 North quarterfinal.

Masconomet held two of the state's top scorers, Ryan Smith (55 points) and John Connolly (40 points) off the scoreboard, but were hurt by a pair of unassisted goals over the first two periods in falling to Lynnfield, 2-1.

After being bested by Newburyport in a 1-0 nail-biter earlier this season, Lynnfield co-captain Ryan Smith returned the favor Saturday, scoring twice to send Clippers fans home with a loss, 2-1.

"Ryan's one kid you don't want to see with a stick in the slot, uncovered." Clippers coach Paul Yameen said of Smith after watching him slip the game-winner past Anthony Federico's left skate with 1:59 left on the clock. "Both teams played well enough to win today. We came out on the short end."

We don't write often enough about Lynnfield | simply for the fact they are not part of our newspaper's coverage area and thus not included in our weekly stats. That's too bad, because the Pioneers are once again an excellent hockey club this winter.

If anyone knows how to remove the invisible shield that seems to cover opposing nets every time the Masconomet Regional hockey team plays a game, please contact head coach Bill Blackwell immediately.

Once again stymied by an inability to produce consistent offense | not to mention getting burned by an extremely talented Lynnfield offensive assault | the Chieftains suffered a 6-2 setback Saturday afternoon at the McVann-O'Keefe Rink.

St. Mary's defeated Lynnfield at the Kasabuski Arena Friday in the Division 2 finals of the Saugus Federal Credit Union Holiday Hockey Classic.

After two periods, the Pioneers held a 4-1 lead, but the Spartans answered back scoring five goals on seven shots in the third period to force the game into overtime. In the overtime, Gloucester’s Zak Borowski dug the puck out from behind the net and fed John Baldwin in the slot for the game-winner at 2:11 for a 7-6 win.

The Newburyport hockey team can breathe a sigh of relief. There will be no 0-3 start this season.

That seemed like a realistic prospect entering last night's tilt with Lynnfield | a team that advanced to the EMass. ivision 2 North final last winter and already outscored two opponents, 15-3, this season. With a North Reading squad that finished 12-6-5 last winter on the schedule for Saturday, the Clippers appeared to be destined for a three-game losing streak.

Opening night for the Amesbury High hockey program may not have taken place last evening if not for a drastic offseason move.

With participation numbers dwindling to an all-time low after a 3-16-1 season, Amesbury athletic director Elizabeth McAndrews was granted her request to form a cooperative team with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High by the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association.