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Call him Samson on Skates.

With stringy brown hair flying out of the back of his helmet | the kind of hairstyle that was de rigeur in hockey circles two decades ago | Elijah Cohen looks like a player born a couple of generations too late.

Last night's game against a struggling Winthrop squad was the last tune-up that the Gloucester boys hockey team would have before Saturday night's showdown with Peabody.

Thus, the goal for the Fishermen was to play a crisp, clean and dominant game against a far-inferior team. Especially, with Gloucester having full knowledge that the Tanners rolled past Winthrop, 9-1, last Saturday.

The Gloucester boys hockey team came into yesterday's game against Winthrop looking to stay out of the trap in more ways than one.

Primarily, the Fishermen were looking to knock off last place Winthrop and avoid falling into the dreaded trap game. Secondly, Gloucester was hoping to solve Winthrop's trap-style defense, which is when two defenders trap an offensive player in the corner or against the boards to prevent them from moving the puck to the middle of the ice.

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.

The Gloucester boys hockey program recently added a new player to one of it's most exclusive fraternities | the 100-point club.

Fishermen senior captain Andrew Fulford became the 11th player in school history to record 100 points for his career with three assists in last Wednesday's 6-1 win over Salem. Fulford currently has 102 points (54 goals, 48 assists) with 13 games still to play this season.

Josh Salah admits he "hates" being forced to watch from the sidelines, but takes solace in the fact he should be able to return before season's end.

For Justin Engdahl, however, there is no such solace to be found. His season is definitely finished, so he must find other ways to remain positive.

During the first half of the hockey season, it has been Gloucester's offense that has carried them to victory. The Fishermen have averaged close to five goals and over 35 shots on goal per game en route to an unbeaten record. In Saturday night's contest against Lynn, however, it was the defense's turn to shine.

The Witches (1-5) jumped out to a surprising 1-0 lead on a goal by Nick Jalbert 45 seconds into the game, but visiting Gloucester was too strong and scored six unanswered goals the rest of the way to knock off the Witches, 6-1, at Rockett Arena in Salem.

The Gloucester boys hockey team came into last Friday night's game against Martha's Vineyard with two goals in mind.

The first was to defend their home ice against a tough Vineyarders team.

The second was to take home the crown in the inaugural Cape Ann Savings Bank Holiday Tournament.

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.