Hockey Roundup: Peabody boys edge Saugus in thriller

In a midseason matchup of two of the North Shore’s better teams, Peabody and Saugus squared off at McVann-O’Keefe Arena on Wednesday night. The crowd in attendance was not disappointed as the Tanners won a tight game, 5-4.”We earned a good win against a good team,” said Peabody coach Mark Leonard.Within the first five minutes of the game, the line of James Noftle, Elijah Cohen, and Matt Rodgers scored three goals. Cohen netted two goals and Noftle the other as all three worked in unison to assist on each other’s goals.Not to be outdone, Saugus came storming back as Ryan McManus and Derek Stretton scored within the final minute of the period to bring the Sachems to a 3-2 deficit heading into the first intermission.After Saugus tied the score at three in the second period off McManus’ second goal, the third period turned into a back-and-forth and well-played game.Peabody grabbed two goals behind Noftle and Zack Brown within the first five minutes. Saugus pushed to get back from down 5-3; however, Mike Scuzzarella’s goal with roughly 30 seconds left proved too little, too late.Scuzzarella finished with a goal and two assists.”They (Saugus) made it a game,” said Leonard. “All of their goals came in the final minute of each period to keep them in the game. That got them right back into the game.”Prep 3, BC High 1At UMass-Boston, the Eagles (5-2-1, 1-1 Catholic Conference) came up huge against the undefeated defending Super 8 champions. Christian Cowles put St. John’s on the board 13:53 into the first period (Steve DiCarlo assist) and Eric Danilchuk made it 2-0 midway through the second period (Nick Riccio, John Sokolski assists).BC came back to make things interesting on a John Heffernan goal 3:28 into the final frame, but The Prep iced the win on an empty-netter by Cowles with one second remaining.Prep coach Kris Hanson said his team came out strong in the first two periods, but BC High gave the Eagles everything they could handle in the third.”To win like we did against a team like this helps build confidence,” Hanson said, adding he’s hoping his team can sustain the momentum when it faces Catholic Memorial on Saturday at Harvard’s Bright Center (1:30).”We’re happy with how we played, but we don’t want to get complacent,” he said. “It’s only January. This is only the eighth game of the season.”Prep goalie Kyle Pettoruto had 15 saves through the first two periods and 10 in the third. BC High is 4-1-2, 1-1 Catholic Conference.Swampscott 6, Methuen 4At Rockett Arena in Salem, it was the Keith Morgan show for the 4-3-3 Big Blue. The senior forward scored five times, including four on the power play, to get Swampscott back in the win column.Swampscott trailed 2-1 after one before Morgan went on a spree, scoring four of the next five goals after Alex DiDonato’s tally. Ben Wollersheid had three assists while Danny Rakoc, Justin Massey and Jake Donahue had two helpers each.Gloucester 5, Beverly 2At Rockett Arena in Salem, the Fishermen (8-0-1) picked up their eighth consecutive win since an opening-night tie with Revere. Jeremy Fanning led the way with a hat trick to help complete a season sweep of the Panthers.Connor Ressel and Mark Buotte had the other goals with defenseman Nick DeCoste picking up a pair of assists.Marblehead 4, Winthrop 1At Rockett Arena, Andrew Bates scored two goals and assisted on another as the Magicians (4-6) earned a needed win. For Marblehead, Chris Donohue scored and Eric Fader recorded two assists and an empty-net score at the end of the game.For Marblehead, Aaron Reny stood on his head, making 28 saves.The lone Winthrop goal was scored by Ken Hodgkins.GIRLS HOCKEYEnglish 3, Medford 0At Medford, English scored a goal in every period to up its record to 2-4 heading into a matchup with Beverly on Saturday. Vanessa Carruccio scored the first two English goals and McKenzie Clarke added the third. Lindsey Barker had a pair of assists and Ashley Fiandaca and Chelsey Bartlett had single assists. Amanda Witunsky reco