NOLAN DEGREGORIO had a goal and an assist in NR’s 2-1 season opening win over Rockport on Dec. 13. (File Photo)

 

By DAN ZIMMERMAN

SAUGUS — The North Reading High ice hockey season got off to a rousing start last week not so much for the offensive and defensive strategies, but rather the off-ice drama that unfolded following each of the two games.

Tempers flared in Gloucester soon after the Hornets won their season-opener over Rockport, 2-1, when an opposition parent loudly expressed his belief that a collision which sidelined goaltender Aaron Crompton was intentional. And days later, in the aftermath of a 6-2 North Reading defeat in Saturday’s home opener at Kasabuski, emotions ran high and officials were berated by spectators for whistling a combined 18 penalties, clearly impacting the outcome of the game.

“One hundred percent,” said North Reading Coach Brian McAuliffe, when asked if he felt the abundance of penalties played a role in the end result. “But that’s on us, on the team. At times, we lost our heads and didn’t keep our cool. It’s not all on the referees. We just have to learn from it, get better and make certain it doesn’t happen again.”

In the season-opener last Wednesday, North Reading capitalized on Rockport’s lack of discipline, scoring a pair of goals while skating on the man advantage. After a scoreless first period, Christian Lava and Tommy Gazda broke in two-on-one early in the second with Gazda finishing the odd-man rush for the first Hornet goal of the season. Picking up an assist on the power play goal was co-captain Nolan DeGregorio who, minutes later, made it 2-0 with a rising wrister from the right point. Duncan Gulino claimed a helper on what later proved to be the game-winner.

“It’s something we practice a lot,” said McAuliffe, when it was pointed out that special teams had accounted for the North Reading offensive output thus far. “With the nature of this league, a lot of goals will come on the power play.”

Rockport halved the deficit as Aidan Clark beat Hornet netminder Charlie Cooper, shorthanded. Cooper made 29 stops in all.

As the second period came to a close, Gulino was skating hard to the net when he was tripped up from behind and collided heavily into Crompton. The sophomore goalie sustained a knee injury. A brawl ensued and several players were ejected, including Gulino and co-captain Max Forristall. Both received a one game suspension and were not available when the Hornets hosted Northeast on Saturday night.

In that eventful game, there was seldom a time when the penalty boxes weren’t occupied by one or more players. While the infractions were even at 9 apiece, Northeast enjoyed a pair of 5-on-3 opportunities, scoring on each. Of the 8 total tallies recorded in this turbulent contest, all but one was a power play goal.

Northeast claimed a 1-0 lead midway through the first frame but it wasn’t long before DeGregorio answered with his second of the year, from Lava and co-captain Tyler Morello. In response, the Knights reeled off three unanswered and held a 4-1 lead as the third period got underway. Tommy Gazda knocked in his second of the year, from DeGregorio, but Northeast was overpowering, adding two more in the waning minutes.

“Losing two of our best players on a suspension was a challenge this early in the season,” said McAuliffe. “Hopefully, we can use it as one of those character builders and learn from it.”

After a weeklong hiatus, North Reading will travel to face Peabody on the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 23, 4 p.m. at McVann-O’Keefe Rink.