MIAA Boys Hockey: NEC sweeps top three seeds in D2 North

So much for the inclination that the Northeastern Conference is having a down season.When the Division 2 North tournament begins on Tuesday, teams from the NEC will call the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds home.Winthrop, champion of the NEC North, earned the No. 1 spot and a first-round bye with Peabody also earning a first-round bye following a 17-3-0 campaign that placed it No. 2 in the draw.”It’s all about answering challenges now,” Winthrop coach Dale Dunbar said. “And we have to answer them.”Revere completed the NEC’s sweep of the top three spots with a 15-2-3 mark that earned it a date with No. 14 Watertown on Tuesday night (6) in Woburn.”We’ve had four or five kids that really turned the corner this year and have changed the whole team,” Patriots coach Jim Palumbo said.Led by NEC North MVP Chris Mastropietro (21-19-40) and fellow all-stars Nick Dimare and Jay Sasso, Revere racked up the most points (33) in the program’s history this season.If Revere gets by the first round, it will face the winner of the Masconomet-Lynnfield game in Friday’s quarterfinals.The No. 6 Chieftains and No. 11 Pioneers have already met twice in league play this season, playing to a tie and a Masco win.Lynnfield (9-8-4) has been down this road before, reaching the North final two seasons ago. Pioneers coach Vin Mirasolo knows that his team has its work cut out against Masco.”They are probably the hottest team in Division 2 North right now and are very dangerous,” Mirasolo said. “The thing we point to is that we’re the type of team that has been in all close games.”Lynnfield will look to sophomore goalie Craig Cataldo to help shut down a Masco attack that boasts a 37-point scorer in Andy Roach and a 30-point scorer in Tom Brazil as well as high-scoring defenseman Keaton Cashin.On the same side of the bracket sits the No. 2-seeded Tanners, who await the winner of No. 7 Lincoln-Sudbury and No. 10 North Andover in the quarterfinals.Peabody boasts the top offense in the tournament and is led by Andrew Bucci, Elijah Cohen and Matt Rodgers, who finished as the top three scorers in the NEC this season.”The kids have really worked hard for this,” Peabody coach Mark Leonard said.Peabody also tied a school record this season by winning 13 consecutive games.The other side of the bracket features the two North finalists from last season – Wilmington and Tewksbury – along with the top-seeded Vikings and a pair of local teams in Saugus and Bishop Fenwick.The Sachems (9-10-2) earned their place in the big dance by finishing tied for second in the NEC South and will play the reigning North champion, Wilmington, in a 5-12 game on Tuesday (8) in Woburn.”Certainly, we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Saugus coach Chris Connors said. “But two weeks ago, pretty much everybody counted us out and these guys believed in each other and worked hard. And I love the way this team is playing right now.”Saugus is led by senior forwards Matt Fraser and Joe Vecchione along with defensemen Derek Stretton and Tyler Calla.The Crusaders, seeded ninth, claimed the Catholic Central League title for the first time since 1996 this season. They will be rewarded with a chance to play one of the more intriguing opening-round games against No. 8 Newburyport on Tuesday (7:30) at Salem State’s Rockett Arena.Fenwick is led by seniors Mark Sparaco, whose 45 points rank him tied for fourth in the area going into the tournament, and Dale Crispin (34 points), along with goaltender Craig Forrest.But the Crusaders will have their hands full with a Clipper team that posted one of the most impressive wins by a Division 2 squad this season when it beat Super 8 contender Malden Catholic late in the regular season.Newburyport had five players named to the Cape Ann League all-star team and is led by 45-point scorer Kevin Holmes.The other opening-round game pits last year’s sectional runner-up, Tewksbury, against North Reading.Division 1 NorthThe St. John’s Prep hockey team had hoped to be one of the teams consider