SENIOR CAPTAIN Dan Sullivan (11) scored a goal in the first period during the Pioneers’ 6-5 loss to Saugus in the first round of the Kasabuski Christmas Classic on Dec. 29. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Blue and Gold hockey team concluded the past week-and-a-half with a victory, a tie and two losses.
The Pioneers (1-3-2) defeated Cambridge Rindge and Latin 7-1 on Dec. 27.
Assistant captain Dan O’Leary scored the locals’ first goal 4:53 into the first period, assisted by sophomore John Percoskie. Senior captain Cam Rondeau scored the locals’ second goal on a power play with 11:23 remaining in the first period, assisted by O’Leary. Senior captain Dan Sullivan gave the Pioneers a 3-0 lead with 9:10 remaining in the first period, assisted by Percoskie and O’Leary.
Junior Greg Miles scored the Pioneers’ fourth goal 7:04 into the second period, assisted by juniors Rob LoConte and Derek Crampe. Rondeau scored the Pioneers’ fifth goal 8:50 into the second, assisted by Jack Ganter and Percoskie. Cambridge scored a goal with 8:02 remaining in the second.
Lynnfield scored two goals during the third period. Sullivan scored a goal 10:46 into the third period, assisted by Crampe. O’Leary scored a short-handed goal with 6:30 remaining in the game, assisted by Sullivan.
“I give our guys a lot of credit,” said Pioneers head coach Jon Gardner. “Our bus didn’t show up and we ended getting to the rink 15 minutes before the puck was supposed to drop. Fortunately, we had a fast start and got a good win.”
Falls to Saugus
The Pioneers fell 6-5 to Saugus in the first round of the Kasabuski Christmas Classic on Monday, Dec. 29.
Saugus took an early 1-0 lead halfway through the first period. Sullivan tied the game at one late in the first period. O’Leary gave the locals a 2-1 lead with 24 seconds remaining in the first, assisted by senior Brent Donovan.
Lynnfield committed several defensive breakdowns during the second period, enabling Saugus to score three unanswered goals in the frame. The Sachems tied the game at two 89 seconds into the second period. O’Leary gave the Pioneers a 3-2 lead 3:38 into the second period.
Saugus rattled off three more goals during the second period, taking a 5-3 lead after two.
The Pioneers bounced back during the third period. Percoskie scored a goal in the beginning of the third period, assisted by assistant captain Mike Look. O’Leary tied the game at five with just over five minutes remaining in the third.
Unfortunately, Saugus scored a goal with 1:38 remaining in the third and pulled out the 6-5 victory.
“We just decided we weren’t going to play any defense,” said Gardner. “We gave up three breakaways for the first time this year. I think the kids fell asleep at the wheel and were still thinking about their Christmas presents.”
Ties Wakefield
The Pioneers tied Wakefield 1-1 during the consolation round of the Kasabuski Christmas Classic on Dec. 30.
The Warriors controlled play in the first period as they outshot the Pioneers, 9-4, and had the puck in the Lynnfield zone most of the time. Lynnfield scored the lone goal of the period at 12:56. From the right post, an open Ganter knocked the puck past Wakefield goalie Ben Yandell while crashing the net. Percoskie and LoConte earned the assists on the play.
Wakefield’s goal came at 7:20 of the second period off a scramble in front of the net, which Gardner said had appeared to be “kicked in.” From the left post, senior forward Zach Salamone knocked in the loose puck for Wakefield’s first goal of the year.
The third period was pretty evenly played as Lynnfield held a slight edge in shots, 9-8. Both teams were trying to get the game-winning goal but neither did.
“We played better,” said Gardner. “We had a strong defensive effort and we kept Wakefield at bay.”
Loss to Triton
The Pioneers fell 3-1 to Triton on Jan. 3.
The Vikings had a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. O’Leary scored a goal with 4:13 remaining in the third period, assisted by Crampe. Unfortunately, the Vikings scored an empty netter with 38 seconds remaining in the game.
“It was a good back-and-forth game but it’s disappointing we gave up two short-handed goals,” said Gardner. “We had Triton hanging on for dear life at the end of the third period.”
Upcoming games
The Pioneers travel to Masco on Wednesday, Jan. 7, beginning at 7:50 p.m. Lynnfield hosts Pentucket-Georgetown on Saturday, Jan. 10 at noon. The locals host North Reading on Wednesday, Jan. 14, beginning at 8:15 p.m.
— Jim Southmayd of the Wakefield Daily Item contributed to this story.
