Winthrop wins Newburyport tourney’s Fournier Division; Revere gets consolation

NEWBURYPORT – Sometimes, a team just has another’s number. Or in this case, if you’re Saugus and Revere, Winthrop has both of your numbers.The Vikings might not be heading to the state tournament next week, but you wouldn’t have known it on Wednesday at Graf Rink. Winthrop scored once in the first and third periods and used a brilliant 25-save performance from freshman Pat Feeley to blank the Sachems, 2-0, in the finals of the Fournier Division in the Newburyport Bank Ice Hockey Classic.After the game, Saugus coach Chris Connors wasn’t pleased with how his team performed.”I feel like we never got off the bus,” Connors said. “We had one guy that played for us (Wednesday) – that was (goalie) Paul Essery. He played out of his mind and the guys just hung him out to dry.”Winthrop’s Vinnie Eruzione was named the tournament MVP, but Feeley might as well have been with his play in two games. After holding Revere to two goals on Monday, the freshman was even better on Wednesday in beating Saugus for the second time in three meetings.”(Feeley) played great and hat’s off to them. They played well,” Connors said.Feeley and his teammates also were the beneficiaries of some good fortune, as the Sachems (9-7-2) missed three open nets and rang the post on two other occasions.”This was the Super Bowl of their season,” Connors said. “When you’re down two goals, you have to fight, claw and scrap to try and get back in the game, and I felt that we didn’t have that. There was no sense of urgency.”The Vikings (6-9-4) survived an early power play chance by Saugus and then wound up with a 2-man advantage of their own when Tyler Calla and Derek Stretton were sent off 33 seconds apart late in the first.Winthrop needed only 31 seconds to score on the 5-on-3 as Robbie Martino camped at the left post and tapped home Joe Casey’s cross-ice pass for a 1-0 lead after one period.The Sachems would control the play for most of the second period, but couldn’t find the mark. Twice, Saugus would fan on shots in front with an open net and then had Joe Vecchione’s wraparound attempt with Feeley down and out hit off a Winthrop skate to stay out of the net.Saugus continued to ratchet up the pressure in the third, outshooting the Vikings 8-3, but Feeley was more than up to the challenge.The stellar goaltending at one end was being matched step for step by Essery, who made several sprawling saves to keep his team close. But with 3:33 remaining, Ricky Boudrow blasted home a shot from the right point to give Winthrop a 2-0 lead and put Saugus away for good.”(Today) will be a grueling day, but we’ll right the ship and get ready for Dennis-Yarmouth on Friday,” Connors said.In the Fournier consolation game, Revere used three unanswered goals in the second period to pull away from Shawsheen for a 4-1 win that booked the Patriots’ trip to the Division 2 North tournament.After finding themselves in a 1-0 hole just 100 seconds into the game thanks to Corey Bruckler’s breakaway goal, the Patriots rebounded to tie the game on Jay Sasso’s deflection of a Chris Mastropietro drive from the blue line on the power play at 3:17.The Patriot power play gave Revere the lead for good early in the second as Sasso picked up his second of the game, and 16th of the season, off nifty passing from Paul Pelletier and Mastropietro at 1:25.Pelletier (2 assists) then set up Rich McLaughlin for the goal that made it 3-1 before he clinched Revere’s postseason trip with a goal of his own, assisted by Mastropietro (3 assists), at 9:25.Mastropietro, Pelletier, Essery, Derek Stretton, Feeley and Eruzione comprised the all-tournament team in the Fournier Division.