Hockey Roundup: Lynnfield boys triumph in Fairleigh Dickinson tourney

The Lynnfield hockey team hopes that history will repeat itself after winning the Fairleigh Dickinson Tournament in Martha’s Vineyard over the weekend.The last North Shore team to win on the Vineyard was Saugus in 2003; the Sachems went on to win the first of their back-to-back Division 2 state championships after beating Lynnfield in the North final.Lynnfield bested Plymouth South, 3-2, in Sunday’s championship game after outlasting Martha’s Vineyard, 2-1, Saturday in a game that needed a shootout to determine the winner.”It’s good for us to go down and play in a good tournament against quality teams,” Lynnfield coach Vin Mirasolo said.The Pioneers’ (13-2-5, unbeaten in the last 16 games) top trio of John Connolly, Ryan Smith and Rob Pedicini did most of the damage in the two games.Connolly had three goals and an assist while Smith had a goal and four assists to become the first area player to reach 60 points this season with 21 goals and 39 assists. Pedicini added two goals in the title game, including the game-winner, and an assist.Against the Vineyarders, Connolly’s first-period goal looked to be enough for Lynnfield until Joel Rebello tied the game with 3:18 left in regulation. After a scoreless overtime, Evan Hammersley, Smith and Connolly scored in a shootout to put an end to things.Against South in the final, the game was tied at 1-1 after one before Pedicini scored twice to put the Pioneers ahead for good.”Vineyard is one of the top teams in the south and it was a good game for us,” Mirasolo said.Lynn 4, Latin Academy 3At Connery Rink, the Jets spotted Latin Academy a 2-0 first-period lead, got one back in the second, and stormed to three goals in less than a minute in the third.”We went on a little bit of a roll (in the third period) and put some picks in the net,” said Joe Conlon, who is acting as co-coach (along with Mike Deering) in Al Melanson’s absence. “Luckily for us, they were going in.”Bucky Surette had two goals and an assist to lead Lynn; Billy McDaniel and Jeff Porter had the other goals and an assist.Lynn (7-9-3) wraps up its season at home Wednesday against Somerville.St. Bernard’s 2, St. Mary’s 0At Connery, the Spartans (10-7-2) had plenty of chances but couldn’t find the mark against the Saints, who grabbed a piece of the CCL Large title.Peabody 5, Revere 2At Revere, the Tanners (14-5-0) rebounded from Wednesday’s loss to Gloucester with a win over the Patriots (8-7-3).Patrick Yeo and Elijah Cohen each had a pair of goals to pace Peabody. Cohen added an assist. Matt Rodgers had a goal and an assist; James Noftle had two assists for Peabody.Paul Pelletier and Jay Sasso took care of the goals for Revere.Winthrop 2, Saugus 1At Winthrop, the Sachems’ (8-6-3) Ryan McManus scored with 9:14 left to even things at 1-1. But Joe Casey scored for Winthrop just under two minutes later for the game-winner.Fenwick 6, Pope John 2At Peabody, the Crusaders (11-6-1, 6-2 Catholic Central League/Small) exploded for four third-period goals. Mark Sparaco, Pat Doliber and Dale Crispin combined for four goals and six assists. Sparaco had the four goals while Doliber dished out four assists.Jordan Mizioch and John Angelesco also had goals with Angelesco adding an assist for the Crusaders, who play Peabody today (2) in the annual Carlin Cup game at McVann-O’Keefe.St. John’s 4, Spr. Cath. 2At Wilmington, the Eagles’ terrific trio of Colin Prior, Chris Cowles and Danny Haugh all picked up a goal, along with defenseman Nick Riccio, while Cowles had three assists and Prior and Haugh each had two assists.G’ster 4, Danvers 0At Salem, the Fishermen (12-4-2) exploded for three second-period goals against the 10-6-2 Falcons. Brett Biondo and Jeremy Fanning each recorded three-point games. Biondo had a pair of goals and an assist; Fanning had a goal and two assists. Paul Russo added two assists with Andrew Fulford also finding the net.In other action, Beverly was eliminated from state tournament contention with a 4-1 loss at Medford.GIR