Revere hockey falls in semifinals

STONEHAM – The Revere High hockey team saw its tournament run come to an end with a 2-1 loss to Lincoln-Sudbury Tuesday in the Division 2 North semifinals at Stoneham Arena.The Patriots knew heading in they would have to keep Lincoln-Sudbury’s Connor Quinn, who had scored all four of his team’s goals against Peabody in the previous game, under wraps. They also had their work cut out trying to find a crack in Warrior goalie Liam McInerney’s armor.Although Quinn, who scored all four of his team’s goals against Peabody, only burned the Patriots once (plus an assist on the game-winning goal), he was a force every time down the ice. McInerney handled just about everything Revere could dish out, with the Patriots’ only goal coming in the second period when Nick Andreani slipped one through on a scramble in front of the net.”I thought we were even the whole game,” Revere coach Jim Palumbo said. “Both teams had chances and both goalies were nothing short of spectacular on some of their saves. It was an exciting game. It just didn’t work out for us.”Revere goalie Nick DiMare, who faced 26 shots, was equally impressive. The game was scoreless at the end of the first period, but the Warriors broke the ice 35 seconds into the middle frame on Quinn’s goal.”He came around the round, had the puck. I think they were looking for him to penetrate,” Lincoln-Sudbury coach Peter Elenbaas said. “He had a little opening and just fired a wrist shot that went blocker side top corner, which I think is always a great shot for a lefty.”The one-goal lead held up until late in the period, when Andreani came up with the equalizer. Jay Sasso and Chris Mastropietro had the assists.Quinn proved he’s a load even when he’s not putting the puck in the net when, with 5:41 remaining in the game, he carried the puck into the zone and was hauled down trying to cut to the net. He managed to get the puck to Jonathan Lewis, who, on the delayed penalty, managed to beat DiMare for the game-winner. Both teams got an unexpected breather when the rink fire alarm went off and the game was put on hold for about 10 minutes while the malfunction was dealt with (the rink was not evacuated).Mastropietro, who threatened all night, had a nice bid with under two minutes left, but the shot went over the net. Palumbo pulled DiMare with a little over half a minute remaining (there was a faceoff in the Revere end with 46 seconds remaining), but the Warriors fended off the late attack. Although Revere managed to get a final faceoff in the Lincoln-Sudbury end with eight seconds remaining, a Warrior got a stick on the puck and poked it out of the zone to run out the clock.”Their goalie (DiMare) is very tough in the crease, covering the puck, stopping the puck. We’re honored to beat Revere. They’re an outstanding team. They played us extremely tough,” Elenbaas said.Revere finished its season 17-3-3, with the only two regular-season losses coming against Winthrop.”I’m very proud of the way we played all year,” Palumbo said. “We just kept getting better and better. We kept working at it. One goal just wasn’t enough (tonight).”Lincoln-Sudbury (16-4-3) will play Newburyport (16-4-4) in the Division 2 North final Thursday at the Chelmsford Forum (6:30).