MATTHEW “SPEEDY” YOUNG scored two goals in a row during NR’s victory over Rockport on Feb. 1, Senior Night at the Kasabuski Arena. The Hornets, ranked 24th in Div. 3, have five games left to finish strong in a bid to make the state tournament. (Eric Evans Photo)
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
PEABODY — “Oh, the weather outside is frightful,” the lyric from the famous song “Let it Snow,” was a fitting characterization for the prevailing sub-zero temperatures that engulfed the region last weekend. But ice cold was also an apt description of the North Reading hockey team when they paid a visit to McVann-O’Keefe Rink to face Lynnfield in the season rematch.
Lynnfield, currently ranked No. 2 of 45 Division 3 clubs with a record of 12-0-1, dealt the Hornets a 6-3 defeat on Saturday to add to a 9-3 result in the earlier meeting between these rivals. The Pioneers knocked in three goals in the first and duplicated the count in the second before respectfully easing off down the stretch.
“I thought we hung with them physically, matching them hit-for-hit,” said North Reading Coach Brian McAuliffe, who fell to 6-9 overall with five regular season games remaining. “And down just 3-1 after the first period, we were still with them. But Duncan (Gulino) and Christian (Lava) are both out. When you’re missing two of your top forwards, we knew it was going to be an uphill battle.”
The game certainly wasn’t all doom and gloom for the North Reading faithful who braved the conditions, both inside and outside McVann. With two-minutes remaining in the first period, for instance, Luke Baker found the back of the net with an off-balance shot from the right circle. And midway through the second, Hornets scoring leader Rob Daley added his 17th goal of the season. But perhaps, the tally of the afternoon belonged to fan-favorite sophomore Michael Pittore, who tapped the first of his career five-hole in the midst of a late power play.
“I can’t say enough about the character of this group,” said McAuliffe. “There’s no complaining; no getting on each other, even after games like this. There’s so much positive energy and it helps us to bounce back after losses.”
Speaking of responding to a tough loss, North Reading handed a stubborn Rockport club a convincing 6-2 defeat to open February action, 48-hours after falling to Newburyport in a 10-0 defeat.
“Newburyport came out flying; they were skating like a D1 team,” recalled McAuliffe. “Early on, they took it to us and there was no clawing back in that one. The game with Rockport was just what the doctor ordered.”
Actually, it took some time for North Reading to get on track. Daley led the way with an individual effort midway through the first frame, tracking down a rebound and depositing the go-ahead goal behind Viking netminder Jack Crompton, but for the most part, the Hornets were a bit sluggish.
“I thought we had a good first period but couldn’t finish on a few,” said McAuliffe. “I told them to keep doing what they were doing but let’s finish. In the second, we started to put the puck in the net.”
Putting pucks in the net were Tyler Morello with goal no. 8 of the season, Daley with his second of the day and Matthew “Speedy” Young with back-to-back tallies, his 2nd and 3rd goals of the campaign.
“We’ve seen this Rockport team before and what we did at the time to defeat them,” said Young, referring to a 5-1 Hornet win over the Vikings in early January. “We were confident but we didn’t want to be overconfident.”
Rockport picked up a pair in the third period but any thoughts of a prolonged rally were diffused by Thomas Gazda with his 3rd.
“Coming in today, we knew there were going to be a lot of distractions,” said Young, referring to the traditional senior sendoff prior to the final home game. “A lot of fans came out to support us on senior night. It was great to play in the Kaz one last time.”
North Reading will be on hiatus, returning to visit Northeast Tech in a makeup on Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Beyond that, the Hornets will visit Triton (Feb 15, 7 p.m.), travel to Hamilton-Wenham (Feb 18, 7 p.m.), before heading to Cape Cod for their annual two-day visit to the Jeff Hayes Tournament (Feb 20-21), marking the regular season finale.
“We are currently 24th in the Division 3 hockey rankings,” shared McAuliffe. “The top 32 teams earn a berth in the tournament. We’re in decent shape but need to keep working hard over the weeks ahead.”