Third period proves unkind to Saugus

SAUGUS – Playing eight freshmen on a regular basis usually results in a few growing pains. And for the Saugus hockey team, that certainly was the case on Monday in the Saugus Federal Credit Union Holiday Hockey Classic.Holding a 1-0 lead entering the third period, the Sachems watched as Boston Latin rallied for three unanswered goals to overcome a 2-1 deficit and take a 4-2 win, advancing to tonight’s (6) championship game against St. Mary’s.”The better team won (Monday),” Saugus coach Chris Connors said. “Boston Latin played hard for three periods, (and) won all the 1-on-1 battles.”Penalties also proved to be a problem for the Sachems, who took 11 in total, leading to seven Wolfpack power plays and the eventual game-tying goal.”Penalties killed us. We were very undisciplined and that’s not like us,” Connors said.Matt Fraser gave the Sachems a 1-0 lead at 4:54 of the second period when he scored off a face-off to the left of Latin goaltender Jesse O’Neil.It stayed 1-0 until the 5:01 mark of the third when the Wolfpack drew even. James Doogan picked up a loose puck and fired a slap shot past Sachem netminder Nick Hegarty, who played admirably in the loss.Just over a minute later, the Sachems went back ahead as defenseman Derek Stretton made a slick feed across the ice to Fraser, who one-timed a shot from the left circle to make it 2-1.But the Sachems couldn’t hold on. Two seconds after killing an interference penalty, Saugus again was shorthanded when Paul Andrews was called for cross-checking.Just nine seconds into the man advantage, freshman Kevin Cotrone took a pass from Brendan O’Brien and rifled a shot over Hegarty’s shoulder to tie the game with 4:11 left.On the next shift, things went from bad to worse for Saugus when John Galofaro rushed up the right wing, got around a defenseman and fed a pass to Ryan Byrne for a one-timer and a 3-2 Boston Latin lead.Latin then completed the comeback with 54.6 seconds left as Galofaro scored into an open net.In the Division 1 semifinals, No. 1-ranked Malden Catholic steamrolled to a 9-0 win over St. Bernard’s, while Austin Prep saw a 4-1 third-period lead disappear before scoring with 2:22 left to win 5-4 over Westford Academy. The two will play for the D1 title today at 4.Saugus’ Mike Vecchione had two assists for MC in its win, while Peabody’s Alex Minter and Saugus’ Tony Serino each had a goal.