LYNNFIELD’s region of the Div. 3 boys’ hockey bracket. The No. 4 Pioneers host No. 29 Norton on Wednesday night, 8 p.m. at McVann-O’Keefe Arena. (MIAA.net)
After press time: Lynnfield defeats Norton 4-3 in OT (Feb 28)
For updated bracket details, click here.
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High boys’ hockey team found out when their first playoff game will take place last Saturday when the MIAA Division 3 state tournament pairings came out.
The 4th-seeded Pioneers will play Norton on Feb. 28 at the McVann-O’Keefe Rink in Peabody in a first round game. Face-off is at 8 p.m.
Lynnfield enters the game with a mark of 10-9-1. Norton, seeded 29th, has a record of 12-9-1 after beating No. 36 Ludlow in a double overtime preliminary round game on Monday.
If the Pioneers beat Norton, they will take on the winner of the Danvers-West Springfield game this Saturday (March 2) back at the McVann-O’Keefe Rink at noon in the Round of 16.
Heading into the playoffs Will Norton leads the Pioneers in points as he has 26 with 12 goals and 14 assists. Jarret Scoppettuolo and Owen Considine are both tied for second with 25.
Scoppettuolo has a team-high 19 assists to go with six goals while Considine has 16 goals and nine assists.
Jack Carpenter scored 12 goals while Tim Sullivan netted nine.
“We have had good, balanced scoring this year,” said Lynnfield head coach Jon Gardner, as his team came in second place in the Cape Ann League Kinney Division behind Newburyport going 5-4 overall in league play.
First-year goalie, Mike Marenghi, will be in net on Wednesday. He was 8-7-1 in between the pipes this year.
Looking at the division, there is no clear-cut favorite according to Gardner.
“This is the most open field that I can ever remember in Division 3,” stated Gardner. “Nauset, Shawsheen Tech and Scituate are looking like the three teams that could be tough but I think that there are 10 or 11 teams that have a realistic shot to win it.”
