THE HOCKEY TEAM had plenty of reasons to celebrate after winning the 18th annual Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Tournament in Martha’s Vineyard last weekend. The Pioneers defeated Martha’s Vineyard and Westwood during the tournament. (File Photo)

THE HOCKEY TEAM had plenty of reasons to celebrate after winning the 18th annual Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Tournament in Martha’s Vineyard last weekend. The Pioneers defeated Martha’s Vineyard and Westwood during the tournament. (File Photo)

By DAN TOMASELLO

MARTHA’S VINEYARD — The Pioneer hockey team captured the 18th annual Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Tournament in Martha’s Vineyard last weekend.

“I am incredibly proud of our guys,” said Lynnfield head coach Jon Gardner. “We knew we were out of the state tournament when we headed down to the Vineyard but for our guys to bounce back and do what they did this weekend shows our guys have a lot of character.”

The Pioneers clinched the tournament championship after defeating Westwood 2-1 in the finals on Feb. 22. Westwood is currently ranked as the number one seed in the Division 2 South state tournament.

The first period was a defensive battle between both teams. Westwood scored its only goal of the game with 28 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Pioneers tied the game at one 3:42 into the second period after sophomore Johnny Percoskie scored a goal, assisted by junior Rob LoConte and freshman Tyler Murphy.

Lynnfield and Westwood were jockeying for position during the third period. LoConte won a face-off halfway through the third period and connected on a pass to senior captain Dan Sullivan, who buried a shot past Westwood’s goalie, giving the locals a 2-1 lead.

The Pioneers played tough defense down the stretch and hung for the 2-1 victory.

“I have been involved in hockey for 32 years and I have coached for 14 years and this was the most satisfying weekend of hockey I have been a part of,” said Gardner. “It was beyond a team effort. I have to give our guys a tremendous amount of credit. It was impressive what our guys did.”

Gardner said Sullivan, senior captain Cam Rondeau and junior Jack Ganter played very well against Westwood.

Thriller over Martha’s Vineyard

The Pioneers defeated Martha’s Vineyard 3-2 in overtime in the first round of the Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Tournament on Feb. 21.

The Vineyarders scored the first goal of the game with 4:39 remaining in the first period. LoConte scored a goal with seven seconds remaining in the first period, tying the game at one.

Martha’s Vineyard took a 2-1 lead with 4:25 remaining in the second. Sullivan tied the game at two with 12 seconds remaining in the second period after he was set up by assistant captain Dan O’Leary.

The third period was scoreless, forcing overtime. The Pioneers and Vineyarders couldn’t capitalize offensively during overtime, which forced the game into a shootout.

The game was still deadlocked at two after the shootout concluded, which forced sudden death. Assistant captain Mike Look scored the game winning goal during sudden death.

“It was the most exhilarating hockey game I have been a part of,” said Gardner. “Our guys played smart in overtime and our goalie, Dave Langone, made some big saves. The captains came up big for us.”

Stung by Hornets

The Pioneers were eliminated from the state tournament after falling 4-0 to North Reading on Feb. 19.

The Hornets scored their first goal five minutes into the second period. North Reading scored its final three goals during the third period.

“We were pleased with how we played but we made some mistakes against a good North Reading team and they made us pay,” said Gardner.

Ties Gloucester

The Pioneers tied Gloucester 5-5 on Feb. 18.

Sullivan scored two goals and had an assist. Percoskie, O’Leary and Look each scored one goal. Juniors Matt Miller and Derek Crampe had an assist.

“We had 40 shots on net and could have scored 10 goals,” said Gardner. “Gloucester is a hard working team but we would have liked a better result than a tie.”

Season reflections

The Pioneers concluded the 2014-2015 season with a 7-9-5 record. Even though the locals didn’t qualify for the state tournament as the Pioneers had hoped, Gardner said he is proud of the way his team played down the stretch.

“We set a goal of making the tournament, which is what we have been building toward since we (Gardner and his brother Jason) took over the program,” said Gardner. “We dug ourselves a hole in the beginning of the year and we went on a couple of big runs but we came up short. I am proud that our guys, especially the seniors, were able to finish the season on a high note.”

The team will be graduating six seniors this year: Sullivan, Rondeau, Look, Nick Davis, Brent Donovan and Quinten Hurley.

“These guys have been through it all since we took over the program,” said Gardner. “They have been instrumental in building the program back up. We are going to have some big skates to fill. We are going to miss them.”

With a promising core returning next year, Gardner hopes the Pioneers will be able to end its three-year state tournament drought.

“We were only one win away from getting into the tournament and I think the ending to the season will carry over to next year,” said Gardner. “We are expecting to be in contention for a spot in the tournament.”