Published in the February 10, 2016 edition
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
PEABODY — A new tradition will begin on Presidents’ Day for the girls’ varsity co-op hockey team.
The Peabody Tanners, which is comprised of players from Peabody, Lynnfield and North Reading high schools, will compete in the inaugural Peabody Cup game against cross-town rival Bishop Fenwick High School.
The puck drops at 11 a.m. at the McVann/O’Keefe Memorial Rink on Lowell Street in Peabody on Monday, Feb. 15. The two teams will compete for the honor of bragging rights and the championship team will be presented a commemorative Peabody Cup trophy to display in their school’s trophy case until next year’s championship game.
The idea for the game originated with Bishop Fenwick girls’ head coach Doug Anderson. Given the rise in popularity of ice hockey for girls, Anderson told the Villager he thought it would be appropriate to start this tradition during the renewal of the rivalry between the two Peabody boys’ hockey programs as a way to also promote the girls’ team.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Carlin Cup, which is the boys’ championship game held to honor the memory of Charlie Carlin. Carlin, a graduate of St. John’s Prep and BC, was a legendary figure as the first hockey coach at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. He introduced the program to Peabody High in 1947 and coached the Tanners until his death in 1972.
From 1987 to 2011, the Carlin Cup was played between Peabody and Bishop Fenwick. A new series began between Peabody and Beverly for four years starting in 2012. In 2016, the rivalry between the Bishop Fenwick Crusaders and the Peabody Tanners is being renewed.
The boys’ cup game will be the second game played in next Monday’s double header and will start at 2 p.m., after the girls’ game.
“We’ll have a team MVP from each team on that day after the game,” Anderson said of the Peabody Cup competition.
Raffles to help Denna Laing
In addition to a great double header day of hockey, the event will feature a variety of raffles with proceeds benefiting the Denna Laing Fund. Laing, 24, is a Marblehead resident and member of the inaugural National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) as a forward, playing for the Boston Pride. During the Outdoor Women’s Classic at Gillette Stadium on New Year’s Eve, she stepped on her stick, slid head-first into the boards and suffered a severe spinal cord injury.
The two teams are planning to arrange a special tribute to Laing on the ice during the game as well. Updates on Laing’s recovery can be found at www.dennalaing.org.
“It will be great day. It will be a nice day of hockey,” Anderson said, adding, “I know Lynnfield girls represent very good players from Peabody, especially Elise Murphy, who is their leading scorer.”
But Anderson’s Crusaders are also benefiting from the talents of a Lynnfield resident, sophomore goalie Marina Mirabella, who Anderson described as “a very talented player.”
“I don’t know if she’ll be playing in this game, because my other goalie is a senior, but she has done a nice job for us and she’s our goalie of the future,” Anderson said of Mirabella.
Game updates
The Tanners gained the upper hand on the Crusaders during the last meeting between the two teams on Jan. 29, shutting out Fenwick 2-0.
The team also tied Marblehead 2-2 on Jan. 24 and had back-to-back losses to Masconomet (3-1) and Winthrop/Lynn co-op (4-1). The Tanners’ current overall record is 5-9-1.
They traveled to Medford Feb. 10 and to Leominster/St. Bernard’s in Fitchburg on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1:50 p.m. The final two regular season games will be played on home ice at McVann/O’Keefe Rink against Quincy/North Quincy on Wed., Feb. 17 at 5:15 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 20 against Oakmont at 4 p.m.
