NR beats Pentucket in opening playoff round
Published February 18, 2021
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
SAUGUS — At long last, after a season hindered by burdensome Covid-19 restrictions and limitations, spectators were finally permitted to occupy the stands at the Kasabuski Rink and take in a North Reading hockey game.
Representatives from the North Reading High School Hockey Boosters urged District officials to temporarily lift the restrictions, which was granted. A small delegation of parents, two to a senior player, were invited to attend the traditional send-off in person and all in attendance enjoyed a spirited bout between North Reading and Newburyport.
Despite maintaining a 1-0 lead well into the game and a remarkable afternoon’s work from netminder Martin Pierce, who turned aside 34 shots, North Reading fell just shy of the mark, 2-1. Coupled with a similar 3-2 defeat at the hands of Triton Friday night, which featured a pair of power play goals scored by Sal Schille, the Hornets wrapped up the abbreviated 10-game campaign with a 4-6 overall record.
With the regular season behind them, head coach Brian McAuliffe is upbeat about his team’s chances for a deep run in the Cape Ann League playoffs, which began Monday with a Hornet 7-2 defeat of Pentucket in the opening round.
In that game, goals scorers included Andrew Daley, Schille, Frank Brachanow, and both Nick Pasquale and Jonathan Patch with a pair of tallies each. The second from Patch was the ultimate game-winner.
“I think we’re finally coming together as a cohesive unit and peaking at the right time as we start the playoffs,” the coach said. “Coming off one-goal games against co-league champions Triton and Newburyport speaks volumes about how far this team has progressed.”
McAuliffe was alluding to the earlier match-ups with two of the tougher programs in the CAL. In the first meeting with Triton, for instance, the Hornets never really had a chance in a 3-0 blanking. And in the two earlier games with Newburyport, North Reading suffered lopsided defeats of 5-0 and 6-1. But this past weekend, in rematches with each opponent, the Hornets were always within arm’s length of an upset win.
“You certainly don’t want to make excuses, but when we met these teams earlier, we were missing key elements of our club,” McAuliffe explained. “We had a lot of guys out. I know everyone is dealing with that, but I get the sense that we were hit a little harder than some.”
On Saturday afternoon, after distributing bouquets of flowers to their mothers and mugging it up for the cameras, the North Reading players got down to the business of hockey. No surprise here, but the Clippers pounced almost immediately, spending long, unrelenting stretches in the offensive zone. The Hornets were back on their heels, unable to transition on offense. Fending off what could have been a disastrous first period was Pierce, who saw a dozen bids and kept his team in it.
“We’ve had stellar goaltending over the last couple of nights – all season, really,” said McAuliffe. “With Marty tonight and Sam (Elliott) last night against Triton, I couldn’t ask any more from our goalies. They’ve had such poise in net and they’re big time players.”
Midway through the opening frame, North Reading claimed a 1-0 lead on Andrew Daley’s third of the season, from Patch. Stunned, the Clippers redoubled their efforts but the Hornets made it stand up for some time.
“It’s always good to get the first goal, especially against a team like that,” said McAuliffe, whose nine-year-old daughter Lily was on hand to sing a stunning rendition of the National Anthem prior to the festivities.
After a penalty-free opening 15 minutes, one got the sense that the officials might just let them skate for the entire game but 3:39 into the second, Matt Ryan had no choice but to tackle a Newburyport forward who broke in alone along the right wing. Taking the penalty was likely a goal-saving decision but 15-seconds into the ensuing power play, Newburyport’s Colin Richmond beat Pierce to tie the game. A goal from Ryan Archer, with three minutes remaining, put the Clippers in front, where they remained.
“A couple bounces either way tonight and we might have had different results,” said McAuliffe. “If we’re able to skate like this in the playoffs and progress, there’s a good chance we’ll see them again. If we can bring our level of play up a little bit more, it’s certainly attainable.”
North Reading traveled Wednesday to face No. 1 Triton in the semifinal round of the CAL tournament (results in after press time). The winner plays Friday against the winner of No. 2 Newburyport vs. No. 3 Lynnfield.
