Hegarty, Saugus blank Lynn; spoil Jets’ big to make tourney

LYNN – Though it was Senior Night for the Lynn Jets Saturday evening, they got grounded by a freshman from Saugus.Sachems goalie Nick Hegarty stopped every puck fired upon him, as Saugus blanked Lynn, 3-0, at Connery Rink. The loss eliminated the Jets from the post-season. They needed to win Saturday and then beat Fenwick Friday to make the tourney.”We really don’t have anyone to blame but ourselves,” said Lynn coach Joe Conlon.”We put ourselves in this position, and we were very inconsistent all year.”As a result of both the victory, and Marblehead’s come-from-behind tie with Swampscott, Saugus earned a spot in the postseason, as both schools ended up tied for second place in the NEC South.Though Lynn came out firing, attacking the Saugus zone early, the Sachems used a transition to move ahead, 1-0, in the game’s first moments. Senior forward Anthony Cucuzza netted the first of his two scores, tapping in a feed past the left side of Jets goalie Craig MacDaniel.The Jets (7-10-2) had a solid chance to tie it minutes later, but Hegarty thwarted winger Chris Surrette, who was planted right at the Saugus doorstep. Saugus also had its opportunities to add to its lead, but MacDaniel stoned winger Sage Tait after he swooped in on a breakaway.The Sachems (7-7-0, 7-10-1) took advantage of a pair of Lynn penalties late in the period to double their lead. The Jets were whistled for infractions just over a minute apart late in the opening stanza to create a 5-on-3 edge for Saugus. Three minutes remained in the two-man power play when Tait took a pass from teammate Derek Stretton, who was positioned in back of the Lynn net. Tait, right in front, flicked the puck past the goalie for the score.Saugus came out storming the Jets zone when the puck was dropped for the middle period. The Sachems went back on the power play just less than two minutes in, and their best opportunity during it came on a blue line blast from Stretton, which bounced off the left pad of MacDaniel and off to the left side.”I thought this was our best effort of the year, since the beginning of the season,” said Chris Connors, coach of the Sachems. “Both teams were desperate, and our guys answered the bell. We played a complete game.”Cucuzza added his second goal near the end of the period, when he took a feed from linemate Tom DiFraia in the Lynn end, skated in on MacDaniel, and flipped the puck over the left shoulder of the goalie for the game’s last score.”Our third line did the job for us tonight,” said Connors of his foursome of Cucuzza, DiFraia, McKinney, and teammate Rob Snow. “It was a third line by committee in a way. They really came through for us.”The Jets came to life in the third period, as the squad had several chances to score. Surrette had a breakaway early, but was stopped by Hegarty.Lynn came close to scoring a fluke goal with just under five minutes remaining. A shot ricocheted off the boards in back of the Sachems net, and slid back out towards the goal. Hegarty attempted to cover up, but the puck went under his arm. It was poked at by a Lynn forward, but Hegarty got to it in time to keep the shutout intact.”All season long, we’ve had trouble putting the puck in the net, and we didn’t have the chances to do so tonight,” added Conlon. “And on the few chances that we did have, we were unable to capitalize on them. We didn’t get enough shots.”