Third-period rally leads Saugus past Beverly

SALEM – After going through a part of its schedule that saw it face Northeastern Conference North heavyweights Revere, Winthrop and Peabody in a row, the Saugus hockey team came to Rockett Arena on Saturday desperately in need of a win that would help keep conference title hopes alive.But lo and behold, the Sachems found themselves in a 2-2 tie with Beverly late in the third period. That’s when seniors Matt Fraser, Joe Vecchione and Tyler Calla stepped to the forefront.Fraser scored twice in the last five minutes and Calla added an empty net goal with nine seconds left, assisted by Vecchione, to help salt away a 5-2 win and get the Sachems to 4-5-1 at the halfway point of the season.”Our leaders really stepped up at the end,” Saugus coach Chris Connors said. “We’re happy to come away with the two points and we needed it to stop the bleeding.”Just down the hallway underneath the bleachers at Rockett, it was a different story for those wearing Beverly colors as for the second straight game, the Panthers saw a good effort go unrewarded.On Wednesday, the Panthers led for most of the night only to surrender four goals in the final two minutes of a 5-2 loss to Swampscott. On Saturday, the Panthers had a 19-18 shots on goal advantage but saw another chance to get precious points slip away.”We didn’t play bad again, but we had a couple of breakdowns at the end,” Beverly coach Bob Gilligan said.In a game between two teams desperate to keep playoff hopes alive, it was the Sachems who came out hungrier, dominating the play for most of the first period. But Beverly goalie C.J. Cacciatore was able to hold the fort for a while.But with Mitch Hamor off for roughing midway through the period, Saugus finally broke the ice as Vecchione was able to stuff a Matt Fraser rebound inside the right post for a power play goal and a 1-0 lead at 7:51.The Sachems had a chance to extend the lead to two goals late in the period but Fraser’s rebound chance grazed off the outside of the right post, keeping it a 1-0 game after one.Beverly started the second period on a power play after Calla was called for charging with three seconds left in the first. And it took just 1:15 for the Panthers to get even as Brian Spencer finished off a pretty passing play by one-timing linemate Tyler Albano’s pass at the right post.Less than two minutes later, the Panthers’ first line was at it again. This time it was Albano and Spencer doing the passing as Jack Liacos fired home his ninth goal of the season at 2:56 to give Beverly a 2-1 lead.”Give Beverly credit, there were spurts in that game where they controlled the play,” Connors said.At the other end of the rink, Cacciatore was doing his best to keep the Panthers ahead as he stoned Saige Tait on a breakaway midway through the period. But penalties became a problem moments later as the Sachems found themselves with a 5-on-3 advantage for 36 seconds.Vecchione won a faceoff in the Beverly end back to Derek Stretton at the left point, who fed a pass across the blue line to Calla for a one-timer that sailed past Cacciatore to tie the game at 2-2 after two periods.”We had a good chat after the second and told them that we had to get to the traffic areas,” Connors said.Evidently the Sachems heeded their coach’s advice as they returned to dominating play in the third. But it looked like Cacciatore and the Panthers were going to escape with a point, but that wasn’t going to happen.Fraser gave Saugus the lead for good with 4:02 left when he finished off a Vecchione pass with a one-timer from the slot. Then, with 1:45 left, Fraser struck again when he snapped a wrist shot past Cacciatore to make it 4-2 before Calla iced it with his empty net marker.