Cresta’s late goal gives Swampscott win over Saugus

SALEM – With two goaltenders playing at their best, goals were hard to come by on Monday night at Salem State’s Rockett Arena in a Northeastern Conference South battle between Swampscott and Saugus.Sachem netminder Nick Hegarty and Swampscott’s Tyler Gallagher traded spectacular saves, but it was the Big Blue that came out on top thanks to freshman Gino Cresta’s goal with 2:22 left that gave Swampscott a 2-1 win.”Tyler came up big once again,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “He made big saves in key opportunities and he kept us in there.”For the Sachems, who fell to 2-1-0, it was a game that frustratingly slipped through their fingers. Despite being outshot, 22-20, Saugus had a boatload of quality scoring chances, with the epitome of its evening coming when Joe Vecchione rang the crossbar with 36 seconds left.”We are certainly disappointed as a team that we didn’t walk out of here with a point or two,” Saugus coach Chris Connors said. “We really never got untracked (Monday). We didn’t take pride in our backcheck and didn’t play as physical as we have been.”Before most of the packed bleachers had a chance to settle into their seats, the Sachems had already taken a 1-0 lead when Joe Vecchione fired home a Dan Groark rebound at the 16-second mark.That, however, would be the highlight of the period for Saugus as the Big Blue began to sternly test freshman goaltender Hegarty. And for most of the period, the Sachem netminder was solid as a rock.But with just over five minutes left in the first, a failed clear proved costly as Anthony DiPietro redirected Sean Lannon’s shot from the right point over Hegarty’s shoulder to tie the game at 1-1 after the first period.The second period saw the Big Blue offense come alive and both teams make regular trips to the penalty box. Vecchione had a sterling chance to make it a 2-1 lead for Saugus early in the second, but his shot at a wide-open net sailed just wide of the left post.Swampscott then took flight as Hegarty was called upon to make a pair of critical saves. The first came on Big Blue sniper Justin Massey, who was robbed with a great pad save by the freshman.Less than a minute later, Massey was turned away again when Hegarty flashed the pads to keep the game tied at 1-1 exiting the second period.”Nick played a phenomenal game,” Connors said. “He played like we expect him to.”The Sachems reassumed control of the game at the start of the third, keeping the Big Blue without a shot on goal for nearly six minutes. The problem was that Gallagher was doing a number on Saugus’ chances 200 feet down the ice.Gradually, however, the Big Blue gained a foothold and began to mount an attack in the Saugus end. And with just under three minutes left, Colby Wollerscheid found himself with a breakaway, but partially fanned on the shot.Seconds later, the Big Blue wouldn’t miss a chance to grab the lead. John Pelletier’s blast from the right point was stopped by Hegarty. So was Massey’s rebound bid ? but Cresta was able to tap a third chance across the goal line to make it 2-1.”We’ve been having trouble putting the puck in the net,” Faia said. “And (Monday) was another one of those games. We’re not burying our chances.”Saugus tried valiantly to get back even in the final moments. Defenseman Derek Stretton’s end-to-end rush resulted in a pad save by Gallagher with 1:23 left. Then, with Hegarty off for an extra attacker, Vecchione rang the crossbar following a face-off win to the right of Gallagher.