RallyNorth.net

Clippers one win away from returning to tournament

Monday, February, 11 By Jim Sullivan
Correspondent

The Newburyport Clippers traveled to Lawler Arena in North Andover Saturday night looking to break a four-year curse. "This place has been a house of horrors for us," said Coach Paul Yameen. "We've been 0-3-2 (here) including our loss to Central Catholic last year."

Consider the exorcism a success as the Clippers skated home with a 4-2 victory over North Andover to put themselves one game away from a EMass. Division 2 North Tournament berth.

Saturday's meeting of 8-6-1 teams started when the Scarlet Knights' 6-foot-2 star center Ryan Sifferlen threw his weight around and scored the first goal less than five minutes in, assisted by Ryan Gillespie.

"The staff (and I) came into the season preaching patience," said Yameen. "We had some early problems with the mental aspect. But in the last month our playing has been more focused."

That focus began to pay off soon after, with the Clippers' Billy Boudreau deflecting a Knights' shot on the Port net and goalie Anthony Federico stopping a 3-on-1 assault. The shift back down to Newburyport's offensive end gave Collin Cusack a chance to slip one past North Andover goalie Tyler Morandi, assisted by Billy Eisermen and Calvin Fournier, to tie things up.

Eighty-five seconds later, Morandi saw his net breached again courtesy of Derek Freeman, assisted by Kirk Dillon and Gaven LaValley.

The second period saw Boudreau blasting a slap shot past Morandi's left side assisted by Freeman and Corey Ruane. At the other end of the ice, defenseman Kevin Ryan assisted Federico with a sliding save across the net.

"He's a quiet, stay at home defenseman," Yameen said of Ryan, who's making the transition from the football field to the ice. "It takes time, but he's coming along well."

North Andover made a comeback in the beginning of the third as Ryan Gillespie slapped one in top shelf assisted by Stephen Taylor. Federico kept the patience he's been taught, saving nine more shots including a bid from Sifferlen, charging in from center ice.

With less than five minutes to go, a scrum at the Knights' net opened up Morandi's left again, allowing Derek McCoy to slip one in past his skate, assisted by Freeman and LaValley, putting the game to bed.

"It's exciting to break the jinx," Yameen said of his team's previous run of bad luck at the Lawler. "Hopefully that's over with."

"(Newburyport) works hard. They out-worked us most of the night. They deserve to win" North Andover coach Denis Barrette said, comparing Sifferlen to McCoy. "These guys carry the torch. They're the best in the league. Great attitudes, great players."

North Andover also sits one away from qualifying for the tournament and will face North Reading on the road Wednesday night.

"We need to get desperate at 8 o'clock," Barrette said. "It'll be a dog fight for them. They're fighting for their tournament lives." Yameen echoed, adding "They're getting a couple of players off injury. They'll be ready." As for the way his season is shaking down, Yameen is pleased.

"We've shown we can adapt to either style," Yameen said. "We're fine on the big surfaces as well as the small. We've got a good, strong defense. We're a good skating team, top to bottom."