Jets are tourney bound

LYNN – The third time proved to be the charm for the Lynn Jets hockey team on Friday at Connery Rink.After coming up short in their first two bids to clinch a spot in the Division 3 North tournament, the Jets finally were able to seal the deal as Jordan Morelli scored twice and Craig MacDaniel posted his second shutout of the season in a 4-0 win over Somerville.After barely missing the tournament the past two season, Friday’s win was a sweet reward for a Jets (11-6-1) team that currently sits second in the Northeastern Conference/South standings.”It’s been three years for this program and 100% of the credit for this goes to the kids,” Lynn coach Joe Conlon said after his team gave him the obligatory Gatorade bath. “They have worked so hard and deserve this.”Despite taking eight penalties in the game, the Jets were never really in serious jeopardy of seeing another tourney clinching chance disappear. Lynn faced an early 5-on-3 disadvantage yet still managed to take the lead when Morelli scored the first of his two goals, assisted by Terry Finnegan and Demetrius Polk.Later in the first, Bucky Surette doubled the Lynn lead when he converted off assists from Jeff Porter and Mike Duggan to give the Jets a 2-0 lead after one.That momentum carried right over to the second when Porter struck at the 10 second mark, assisted by Kyle Martin. And with MacDaniel on his game in goal, those three goals were seemingly going to be plenty of insurance.”It was a long week in this locker room chasing that point,” Conlon said. “But everyone stayed together and worked together.”Any doubts that it was going to be a night for the Jets to celebrate got erased at 5:47 of the third when Morelli scored his second of the night, finishing off a 2-on-1 with John Finnegan.From there, it was the Jets defense that shined, easily preserving MacDaniel’s shutout and the landmark win for the program.