RallyNorth.net

Wed, Jan 09, 2008 05:15 PM @ Peabody

Team	1	2	3	Final
Saugus	2	1	1	4
Peabody	3	0	2	5

Peabody wins fourth straight, holds off Saugus

PEABODY | The Peabody High hockey team felt it had to come out strong last night against Saugus, which was unbeaten in its last three games.

Peabody coach Mark Leonard emphasized that point, hoping his team could take advantage of the fact that the Sachems were playing their third game in five nights.

"We wanted to jump out quick," said Elijah Cohen, who scored two goals for Peabody. "We needed to get some momentum going, get pumped up."

Led by James Noftle, who also scored two goals, and Cohen, Peabody was able to squeak past stubborn Saugus, 5-4, in Northeastern Conference play at the McVann-O'Keefe rink. Noftle had two assists to go with his two goals and Matt Rodgers was productive with three assists in the game's first five minutes.

For a while, Peabody made it look easy, building a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the opening period.

The prosperity didn't last for the Tanners, however. Saugus (5-4-1) roared back with goals by Ryan McManus and Derek Stretton in the final minute of the first period to slice the Peabody lead to 3-2.

Saugus tied it at 3-3 late in the second period on McManus' second goal of the game.

"We wanted to stay aggressive, start jamming the middle and spread out the offense from point to point," said Leonard, whose team improved to 7-2. "Saugus kept coming at us. We got lazy, sat back and allowed them to get back in the game."

Cohen and his teammates sensed that the game might be slipping away. They needed to make another push if they were going to win it.

With the team flying around the ice and using its speed, the Tanners put in two goals (Noftle's second of the night and Zack Brown's game winner at 9:43) and held off another late surge by Saugus, which got a goal from Mike Scuzzarella in the waning seconds.

Peabody's Jonathan Camara, who was between the pipes for the first two periods, finished with nine saves. Mac Shalin made six saves for the Tanners in the third period. Overall, Peabody outshot the Sachems, 44-19.

Cohen said he was just looking for accuracy on his shots. "I was just trying to get it on net," said Cohen, who upped his season total to six goals and 18 points. "I wanted to stay near the net to pick up rebounds."

Peabody will try to extend its winning streak to five games Saturday at Winthrop (1:30 p.m.).

"We're hoping for more of the same (aggressive style) in that game," said Leonard. "We want another quick start. We want to use our speed to advantage."