Swampscott boys hockey team keeps good news going, tops Marblehead

SALEM – The Swampscott hockey team came to Rockett Arena on Saturday needing a win over Marblehead to clinch the Northeastern Conference’s South division title, the first conference title for any Big Blue hockey team.But before it even took the ice, Swampscott got a little help from Winthrop as the Vikings beat Saugus, 2-1, to clinch the South title for the Big Blue. Swampscott then proceeded to go out and methodically wear down the Headers en route to a 3-0 victory that ran Swampscott’s unbeaten streak to 13 games.”I’m very proud of the guys,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “They earned this. They’ve worked hard from the preseason on and have done a great job all year long.”The win keeps the Big Blue undefeated against Division 3 competition, with their only losses coming against the large division of the NEC, and helps them in a quest for one of the top seeds in the upcoming Division 3 North sectional.It also was a sweet reward for a team that a year ago missed the state tournament by one point after losing its final three games.”This was one of our goals and we definitely learned a lot from last season,” Faia said. “We have a team that can make things happen and we’re excited about the tournament.”The Headers (10-10-0) didn’t make life easy for Swampscott on Saturday, though, as they came out and controlled the play for most of the first period. But stellar goaltending from Tyler Gallagher, who hadn’t played in nearly a month, and a couple of missed chances by Marblehead kept the game scoreless.”Marblehead came out hard in the first period and took it to us. But we got out 0-0,” Faia said. “And we knew that we had to play a lot harder and we did it.”Swampscott began to turn the tide in the second period when it killed off a Colby Wollerscheid cross-checking penalty early on. And just over a minute later, the Big Blue got on the scoreboard.John Pelletier’s drive from the right point was tipped past Aaron Reny by Danny Rakoc for his 16th goal of the season at 5:32.The Headers nearly tied the game late in the period but Alex Whitmore fanned on a shot with a wide-open net in front of him, preserving Swampscott’s lead heading to the third.”We just seem to get snake-bit every once in a while,” Marblehead coach Bob Jackson said. “Swampscott did a great job of taking away our ability to make good passes.”The Big Blue tacked on an insurance goal early in the third off the stick of sophomore Justin Massey, who took an A.J. Zarinsky pass and beat Reny stick-side with a wrist shot from the high slot at 4:43.From there on, Swampscott put on a defensive clinic as Gallagher stopped all seven shots he faced in the third period, and 21 for the game, while Anthony DiPietro put the crowning touch on the Big Blue’s title with his second goal of the year at 10:14.