A new league for Peabody boys hockey team

After knocking on the door of contending for a Division 2 North title, the Peabody hockey team finally took that step last season in becoming one of the top teams in the division.The Tanners won 12 games in the regular season and then beat Lincoln-Sudbury in a shootout in round one. Peabody then gave defending state champion Gloucester all it could handle in the quarterfinals, coming within a millimeter of forcing overtime when Matt Sucharewicz hit the post in the final minute of regulation of a 5-3 loss to the Fishermen.Fortunately for North Shore hockey fans, that game at Salem State last March was just an appetizer for what is to come this season as the Tanners will drop the puck in the Northeastern Conference this season after plundering the Greater Boston League for the better part of a decade.The move to the NEC’s North division with Gloucester, Danvers, Winthrop and Beverly is something that Tanner coach Mark Leonard is excited about.”It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Leonard said.”Everytime we’ve played them in non league games, we’ve had huge crowds. We are really excited about the rivalries and the close games. And I’m sure everybody will be gunning for us.”If Peabody is going to make another run come March, it will have to adjust to life without a core group of seniors that made a lot of noise for the Tanners.Gone is the team’s leading scorer in Ken Brownlee (35 points) as well as 100-point career scorer Matt Sucharewicz along with defensemen Kevin Macchione, Craig Bovio and Randy Popp, all of whom saw plenty of ice time in 2006, along with starting goalie Max Karas.But the cupboard isn’t exactly bare of talent in Peabody as the Tanners return 14 players from last season’s team.Leading the returnees is senior forward James Noftle, who posted 11 goals and 16 assists last season.Junior Elijah Cohen has been plagued by injuries in the last two seasons, missing time with a broken ankle and an injured wrist.Last season, Cohen returned to the lineup with force, finishing the season with 12 goals and 23 points, including two markers in the quarterfinal loss to Gloucester.”I don’t think anybody’s seen him play his best yet,” Leonard said about Cohen.”He played well all summer and he’s healthy. That’s the big thing.”Joining Noftle and Cohen on the first line will be junior Matt Rodgers, promoted from the Tanners very deadly third line of a season ago.Two of those third liners, Andrew Bucci (2-3-5) and A.J. Parker (6-3-9), move up to the second line and will be counted on more than ever. Joining them will be Zack Brown, who had nine points while splitting time between the top two lines last season.”We really do have a good skating team this year,” Leonard said.On defense, the Tanners will rely on a trio of experienced veterans. Senior Patrick Yeo was a GBL all-star last season and became one of the top blueliners on the North Shore, finishing with 15 points.”I think he will be one of the best defensemen in the NEC,” Leonard said about Yeo.He will be joined back there by Luke Moran and Taylor Shalin, who moves back from forward after a 10 point season in 2006.In goal, the Tanners will go with senior John Camara, who was Karas’ back-up last season.The Tanners will play in the Salem State hockey jamboree on Saturday before opening the season on December 12 with a game against Salem at Rockett Arena.”We love playing in that building and the big ice really suits us well,” Leonard said.Along with the Tanners NEC schedule, Peabody also will have non-league games with Medford and the annual Carlin Cup game with Bishop Fenwick. The Tanners also will travel to Haverhill during Christmas break to compete in the Haverhill tournament against the likes of North Andover and Haverhill, two of the favorites in D2 North.”Every game is going to be a dogfight,” Leonard said.