Winthrop defeats Marblehead at Frozen Fenway

BOSTON – For the Marblehead and Winthrop hockey teams, getting the chance to skate at Fenway Park on Saturday was the chance of a lifetime. And the two teams didn’t disappoint the 3,000-plus fans who braved the elements on a brutally cold Saturday night in the Hub.Playing through a case of awe, the Vikings took Marblehead’s best punch in the first period and then scored a pair of second-period goals to take the lead, one that goaltender Pat Feeley made stand up in a 2-0 win.Click here for a photo gallery.”To play at Fenway Park is just unbelievable,” Winthrop coach Dale Dunbar said. “Marblehead took it to us pretty good early on and we kind of weathered the storm and got good goaltending like we usually do.”The Magicians (6-2-0) held a 20-16 shots on goal advantage for the night, but Feeley made several clutch stops in the opening period to keep his team in the game until the Winthrop offense found its stride.”We’ve had a hard time finding goals,” Marblehead coach Bob Jackson said. “We’ve scored once in each of our last two games and you can’t win doing that.”Marblehead had a 9-4 shots on goal advantage in the first period as both goaltenders had to deal with lighting conditions that were less than ideal.”It was tough to pick the puck up,” Jackson said. “And it was especially tough for the goaltenders. We kept telling the guys to get shots because it was going to be a challenge to see them.”Of the nine shots the Headers got in the opening period, none was better than Austin Haley’s point-blank chance late in the first, but Feeley came up with a sterling glove save to keep the game scoreless after one.Off the faceoff to begin the second period, Marblehead was called for icing and Winthrop took advantage of the faceoff in the Header zone.Alex Hamilton won the draw cleanly back to Jake Rand at the left point. The defenseman teed up a slap shot that went past a screened Tony Cuzner to give Winthrop the lead 10 seconds into the period.Dunbar admitted afterwards that his team probably was a little awed by the entire experience in the opening period.”It’s like kids waiting for Christmas. You know it’s coming and you can’t wait for it,” Dunbar said. “And sure, we were probably a little awed at the start. But we settled down nicely after that.”Later in the second, Joe Scarfo took a Brendan Loomis pass and whistled a wrist shot past Cuzner to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead after two.In the third, the teams were forced to play running time as the allotted ice time ticked away. And the Viking defense was on its game, shutting down the Headers throughout the final 15 minutes.