RallyNorth.net

Masconomet Chieftains Boys Ice Hockey '07-'08

Sat, Jan 05, 2008 12:00 PM @ Lynnfield
Team 1 2 3 Final
Masconomet 1 0 1 2
Lynnfield 2 1 3 6

Lynnfield's firepower too much for Masconomet

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Monday, January, 07 By Phil Stacey
Sports editor

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.

"We're just not scoring, and that's frustrating. It's been our problem all year," said Blackwell. "I tell the guys every day in practice that goal scorers score goals; it's what they do. They don't make excuses. They go out and find a way to score. We need to find a way to do that."

Host Lynnfield had no problem ripping the twine, however. Rob Pedicini scored a hat trick, doubling his goal output for the season; Mike Connolly scored his 14th goal of the season and added two assists; and Ryan Smith, the leading scorer in the area with 31 points, notched five assists. The Pioneers (5-2-2) scored once on the power play and used their speed to collect two shorthanded goals in the third period.

Masconomet, however, had no such luck. While they did generate 27 shots, only a minority of those would be considered high percentage scoring opportunities. Lynnfield freshman goaltender Craig Cataldo | a second-year starter who led Lynnfield to the Division 2 North title game as an eighth-grader | usually had a clear view of the puck as very little traffic in the form of Masco forwards came into his area.

The Chieftains got a late first-period goal from junior Andy Roach that made it 2-1, a tip-in off of a rush down the right side from teammate Cam Greeley. But by the time Greeley scored his team's only other goal, the Pioneers already enjoyed a huge four-goal advantage midway through the third period.

"This team, they really know how to play hockey," veteran Lynnfield coach Vin Mirasolo said of his club. "Our offense can score with anyone, and we can play pretty well defensively, too. We knew that Masconomet was a very good skating team that's very well coached, so we wanted to jump out to an early lead and force them to catch up to us, not the other way around."

You can't fault Masconomet goaltender Mike DiGiorgio for his effort. The senior made 19 saves, but was victimized by poor defensive coverage in front of him. On two separate occasions, a pass from behind the Chieftains' net went to an uncovered Lynnfield player out front, who promptly one-timed a shot into the cage.

Desperate to score goals as they fell behind, Masconomet's umbrella setup on the power play also hurt as the Pioneers were able to break the coverage, skate up the ice the other way unencumbered and beat DiGiorgio for a pair of shorthanded strikes.

For Masconomet, a team that won the Cape Ann League title and reached the Division 2 North semifinals last winter, this is a team that needs to find its scoring touch if it hopes to return to the playoffs.

"It's going to take us finding out how to pull that cover off of net and dump in a bunch of goals," said Blackwell, whose team will skate against CAL foes Amesbury (Wednesday) and North Andover (Saturday) this week. "I think we have it in us | but we still have to do it. Until then, it's going to be a battle."

3 Story Comments

0         mascohockey

c'mon masco.. you guys can do it. we all know you can. you just gotta want it that badly and fight for it, work for it, dont give up on it, get it, earn it. its not a one man show anymore. you need to work together on and off the ice. dont dwell on it and put yourselves down, you guys know you can do it what the hell. its there waiting.. take it

Report! #1 01/07/2008 10:50 AM

0         shootandskate

I do not think this writer actually watched the games. The Masco team has no ofense becuase the team hasno system, They had some surperior players last year who were able to take over offensively, I acutally think the defense is the strongest part of the team but the goaltending has been weak, three soft goals last game. Anyone watching the game would see that there are few if any occasions where the Cheiftans have any siustained pressure , most of the goals are just like the announcers love to call " He shoots , he scores" there is seldom anyone is position for rebounds, and the team is small and fast yet they dont cycle the puck of forcheck aggressivley to take advantageof larger plyers who may not be as quick. this team looks like the LA kkings after gretsky left, without surperior talent the lack of systems and leadership is exposed. A team with great individual talent only needs the coach to open the bench door. Sorry I just call em as i see them, Next week i am on to the next stop, so this is my lst week on the North Shore, lets hope the team gets the direction it needs.

Report! #2 01/08/2008 06:06 PM

0         wheels1390

So I must ask, shootandskate, even though I'm not on the hockey team, what did you think of the Amesbury game.

Report! #3 01/09/2008 10:05 PM