North Reading hands Lynnfield icemen first defeat in 16 games

READING – It seemed only right that in the final game of the regular season that decided who made the Division 2 North tournament and the match-ups for said sectional that the whole thing was thrown into chaos.For the first time in nearly two months, Lynnfield lost a game, ending a 16 game unbeaten streak, as North Reading scored three unanswered goals in taking a 3-2 win at Burbank Arena and booking their own trip to the postseason next week.The loss is a costly one for the Pioneers. Coming into the game, Lynnfield was the No. 2 seed and in line for a bye in the first round with a win. Now, the Pioneers will be the No. 5 seed and will play No. 12 Revere on Thursday in the first round in a rematch of an opening round game from last year, won by Lynnfield in overtime.”That certainly wasn’t the outcome we were looking for,” Lynnfield coach Vin Mirasolo said. “But give North Reading a lot of credit. It was a must win for them and their execution was superior to ours.”The Hornets (8-8-5) had a 3-1 lead with under six minutes remaining and then had to hang on as Lynnfield (13-3-5) scored to make it 3-2 and then pelted goaltender Garrett Topping with a bevy of shots. But he turned everyone of them aside to save the day.”Garrett was just unbelievable,” Hornets coach Frank Golden said. “He gives us a chance to win every game ? When we went up 3-1, I thought that we would get it done. But you saw after that last goal, that it was all Lynnfield.”The Pioneers started the game well, outshooting North Reading 11-4 in the first period and taking a 1-0 lead just 50 seconds in on John Connolly’s 25th goal of the season, assisted by Rob Pedicini.But Topping kept the game 1-0 exiting the first, giving his team a chance to regroup and come back in the second period.The Hornets turned the play around in the middle period, controlling most of the second 15 minutes while denting Craig Cataldo for two goals. Fred Hein got North Reading even at the 6:35 mark when he tipped home a Derek Marenholz blast from the right point.Just over three minutes later, Tyler Pascucci put the Hornets ahead when his shot hit off Cataldo’s shoulder and dropped just over the goal line behind the freshman keeper.The Hornet defense also shored things up in the second period, limiting the quality chances Lynnfield had to keep the lead at 2-1 heading to the third.”They played good team defense on us and kept us to the perimeter for the most part,” Mirasolo said.North Reading added an insurance goal early in the third when Pascucci’s shot from the left circle handcuffed Cataldo and the puck slid just inside the right post at 2:27 for a 3-1 lead.That goal, however, served as a wakeup call for the Pioneers as they took over the play in the third period, outshooting North Reading 12-4. But they couldn’t find the mark until there was 5:15 left.