Marblehead hockey gunning for D3 North title

They were picked by most people to be in the Division 3 North final before the year began, but Marblehead and Concord-Carlisle both knew that preseason predictions are about as good as fool’s gold.Yet, when the puck drops tonight (5:40) at the Chelmsford Forum, there will be the Headers and Patriots meeting with a title on the line for the second time in three seasons.For the No. 3 seeded Headers, getting to the final was a relative breeze. After dispatching Rockport in the quarterfinals, Marblehead tied the school record for wins in a season (19) with a dominant 3-0 win over Shawsheen in the semifinals on Thursday.”We kind of used what happened to us last year as motivation,” Marblehead coach Bob Jackson said. “The kids remembered what it was like after losing to Shawsheen last season and didn’t want that to happen again.”Marblehead will be facing a Concord-Carlisle team that has mowed its way through the opposition this season to the tune of a 22-0-2 record and four wins over teams that played in the Division 2 North sectional.Led by a high-powered offense, C-C dominated Lowell in its tourney opener before struggling with the Lynn Jets in a 5-2 semifinal win on Thursday. Even though he saw the Patriots have a hard time on Thursday, Jackson knows his team needs to be on its game tonight.”They are very strong up front with three good lines,” Jackson said. “We’re going to have to play one of our best games of the year.C-C is led by a pair of 50-point scorers in Mike Van Siclen (25-28-53) and Robbie Snook (23-27-50), while Mike O’Brien has been red hot down the stretch and in the first two tournament games. That potent offense will meet one of the stingiest defenses in Division 3 all season.Led by goaltender Tony Cuzner’s nine shutouts and six stellar blueliners, the Headers have only 23 goals in 24 games.”We are very lucky to have six very good defensemen,” Jackson said. “And they’ve all been playing well for us in the tournament.”Marblehead has a pretty talented offense of its own, led by Ryan Dempsey’s 38 points. Defenseman Jake Kulevich leads all area backliners with 33 points and Chris McLeod has netted 15 goals for Jackson’s team.”We’ve really picked up the scoring in the second half of the season,” Jackson said. “And we’re going to need that against Concord.”