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SALEM | Mike Cabral had a pretty good idea of what he'd be facing against the high octane Peabody High offense last night.

"They did everything I figured they would: storm the net, crash for rebounds, throw a ton of shots at me," Wilmington's all-league goaltender remarked. "They put constant pressure on me and kept me on my toes almost the entire game. I tip my hat to them."

SALEM | When you're in the state hockey tourney, you have to be on the attack from the beginning. Peabody didn't do that last night and it proved fatal to its chances in the Division 2 North semifinals.

It's simply a matter of what your preference is.

On the one hand, you have a team that has scored 101 times this winter, has five different players with at least 20 points and is stacked both up front and on defense. More than one coach has called them the deepest, most talented team in Division 2 hockey.

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.

STONEHAM | When the Peabody High hockey team fell behind by two goals with under five minutes remaining in last night's Division 2 North first round showdown vs. North Andover, most figured the end was near.

Their head coach, Mark Leonard, may have been on crutches after breaking his ankle during a game against the Bruins' Old-Timers this past weekend.

But the rest of the Peabody High hockey team was in tip-top shape | and they displayed that for all to see in yesterday's annual Carlin Cup contest against city rival Bishop Fenwick.

Defenseman and senior captain Pat Yeo scored twice (once while shorthanded) while junior center Elijah Cohen had two goals and an assist as Peabody knocked off host Revere Saturday, 5-2.

The Tanners, who improved to 14-5 overall, got a goal and an assist from sophomore Matt Rodgers in the win.

Turnabout is fair play, and the Gloucester Fishermen invaded Peabody's McVann-O'Keefe Rink last night bent on turning the tables on a lopsided loss to the Tanners earlier this season.

An inspired Gloucester squad did just that and dispatched Peabody 7-2 on the Tanners' home ice. It was an emphatic statement for a Fishermen team that came in winless in its last four games and in danger of giving up first place in the Northeastern Conference for the first time all season.

SALEM | It started out as a frustrating Saturday night for the Peabody Tanners.

By game's end, that frustrating feeling had turned to happiness.

A little over an hour later, that happiness became pure glee.

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.