Hockey: Winthrop rallies late to steal tie with Saugus

For the third consecutive game, the Saugus hockey team had a lead in or entering the third period. But for the third time this season, the Sachems couldn’t finish the deal.Leading 3-0 after a period, the Sachems saw Winthrop score once in the second and then twice in the final six minutes of the third, capped by Chris LeBlanc’s tying goal with 61 ticks remaining to finish in a 3-3 tie at Kasabuski Arena on Wednesday.Click here for a photo gallery.”We need to learn how to finish games and win right now,” Saugus coach Jeff Natalucci said. “We stopped working after the first period and Winthrop never quit, to their credit. They kept coming at us and we didn’t respond.”The Sachems (0-0-3) started well as Saige Tait scored five minutes in, assisted by Dan Groark. Mike Kotowski doubled the lead at 11:25, assisted by Kurt Rodrigues, who also had the assist on Drew Oxley’s goal with six seconds left in the first.Winthrop (0-2-2) notched the only goal of the second when Jake Rand converted off a Mike Paulson assist at 9:20. It stayed that way until the 9:35 mark of the third when Joe Scarfo tallied a shorthanded goal to make it 3-2.The Vikings got all the way back when LeBlanc scored, assisted by Nick Clewer and Dan Eruzione.”Three games and three third period leads that we’ve let get away,” Natalucci said. “Learning to win right now is the big issue for us.”Arlington Cath. 4, St. Mary’s 4At Connery Rink in Lynn, the rematch of last year’s Division 1 North final was entertaining as the Spartans (2-0-1) got a hat trick from Bobby Mullins to overcome a 2-0 deficit after the first period.”I was proud of the way the kids didn’t quit and kept coming back,” St. Mary’s coach Mark Lee said. “We dominated the last two periods but we had a lot of opportunities turned away.”Mullins got the Spartans on the board early in the second period before the Cougars took back their two-goal lead. Brendan Mageary scored late in the second and Mullins netted another early in the third to make it 3-3.The Cougars pushed back in front at 4-3 before Mullins completed his hat trick at 8:55 of the third.Revere 5, Swampscott 3At Cronin Rink, the Big Blue (0-3) drew first blood on a goal by Gino Cresta in the first period, but Revere’s Cam Whelan tied things up in the second period. Swampscott went up 2-1 on a goal by Robert Serino, but once again, Revere had the equalizer (Marco Mazzarelli from Joe Corbett). Revere pulled away with three unanswered goals in the third period, the first by Corbett, followed by goals by Brandon Mastropietro and R.J. Tiorano. Swampscott’s Matt Nunzio scored with 22 seconds left for the Big Blue.”We came out and controlled the first period, but we got out of our game. Turnovers turn into goals,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said.Peabody 4, Gloucester 0At Talbot Rink in Gloucester, the Tanners (3-0-0) shook off a sluggish start to pull away in the final two periods.Rob Houghton had a goal and an assist while Ryan Noftle dished out two helpers as Peabody scored twice each in the second and third. Connor Purcell, Eric Costa and Tom Marmiani had the other goals while Derek Savage needed only eight saves in the shutout.Beverly 6, Somerville 3At Veterans Memorial Rink in Somerville, the Panthers (2-1-0) got a hat trick from defenseman Mitch Hamor and four assists from Connor Irving in the road win.Hamor also had an assist in the contest while Ryan Cally and Kevin Lally also had goals. Andrew Irving had a goal and an assist as well for the Panthers.Hingham 4, St. John’s 4At Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, the Eagles (2-0-1) got a pair of goals from Sam Kurker and one each from Joe Currie and Jon Farrow but let an early lead get away against the defending Super Eight champs.”It certainly was a game that could have gone either way,” Prep coach Kristian Hanson said. “We would have liked the two points but it certainly is an important point early in the season.”