Marblehead icemen tie up Swampscott

SALEM – Even though a conference championship wasn’t on the line Saturday at Salem State’s Rockett Arena, the Marblehead and Swampscott hockey teams played like there was one on the line.The Big Blue, who will most likely be the No. 2 seed when the Division 3 North pairings are released on Saturday, had a chance to insure their place in the tournament with a win and looked to be doing so with a 3-1 lead in the third period.But the Headers rallied with a pair of late goals, capped by Ryan Dempsey’s marker with 2:20 left that resulted in a 3-3 tie in the final Northeastern Conference game for both teams.”Swampscott is a great team and to get a point here is big for our tournament spot,” Marblehead coach Bob Jackson said. “The kids didn’t quit and I was proud that down 3-1, they fought back.”Just down the hall underneath the bleachers in Salem, the mood was a little different for the Big Blue, who had already clinched the NEC South title but wanted to end on a good note.”The guys played hard but we had a couple of bad decision plays that resulted in goals,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “Give Marblehead credit for battling back.”From the beginning, the Headers (11-6-3) were putting constant pressure on Swampscott goalie Tyler Gallagher. But the junior was more than up to the challenge.He robbed Colby Bates on a pair of chances at the top of the crease and then came up with a spectacular stop on Chris McLeod’s 2-on-1 bid a minute later.”Tyler has been solid all year. He gives us a chance to win,” Faia said.Aaron Reny, who was playing his final game on home ice, matched Gallagher’s solid play at the other end of the rink. But just after a Swampscott power play expired, Reny and the Headers would find themselves behind.The Big Blue’s (12-3-4) third line came up huge as Tom Ball made a centering pass to Sean Lannon for a shot that squeezed between Reny’s pads at 11:14.Lannon’s goal sparked what became a wild and crazy final five minutes of hockey.Just 18 seconds later, Anders Gundersen picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated into the Swampscott zone and beat Gallagher with a nifty backhander to tie the game at 1-1.Nine seconds after that, Gundersen found himself in the penalty box for hooking and it took all of 47 ticks for the Big Blue to go back in front.Justin Massey picked up the rebound of a John Pelletier shot and ripped a wrist shot over Reny’s shoulder for his 12th goal of the season to give the Big Blue a 2-1 lead after one.”For some reason we were sluggish in the first period,” Jackson said.Things settled down in the second period as Gallagher and Reny returned to form. Gallagher came up with the period’s biggest stop, stoning Ryan Dempsey’s shorthanded breakaway with 5:00 left, keeping the Big Blue ahead entering the third.Things began to look even better for Swampscott on the first shift of the third period when it took advantage of Gundersen losing an edge, allowing A.J. Zarinsky to convert off a Massey pass to make it 3-1 at the 19 second mark.”We had a two goal lead and should have been able to hold that,” Faia said.Zarinsky’s goal turned out to be just the wake-up call the Headers needed as they controlled the play for the rest of the game.Defenseman Ben Koopman cut the lead to 3-2 with 8:35 left when his blast from the right point found its way past a screened Gallagher. Yet it still looked like Swampscott might escape with the win until an ill-timed turnover resulted in Dempsey scoring off a McLeod rebound to tie the game.Swampscott then had to survive a late chance by Jake Kulevich at the left post with 11 seconds remaining.