Comeau brilliant, but Jets lose to Beverly

SALEM – Beverly player after Beverly player came off the ice shaking his head in disbelief on Thursday at Rockett Arena at the goaltending virtuosity of Lynn’s Nick Comeau.The Jets senior netminder did everything but carry the sticks to the bench on Thursday to give his team a shot to beat the NEC North power. Comeau turned aside 40 shots but Mitch Hamor beat him twice and younger brother Matt added a goal in the third period as the Panthers picked up a 3-0 win over the Jets.”We had opportunities to score a lot of goals and (Comeau) shut us right down,” Beverly coach Bobby Gilligan said. “He is one of the best goalies in the league and Joe (Conlon) had his team ready to play (Thursday).”Despite the shots on goal being a lopsided 43-8 in favor of Beverly, the Jets (6-15-1) were very much in this game most of the way.”Nicky was great (Thursday),” Conlon said. “We play a lot different in front of him. We know that if we make a mistake that Nick is back there to make the save.”Beverly’s (14-5-1) sheer speed and talent was on full display from the outset as it seemed like the puck never got out of the Jets zone in most of the first period. Comeau was pelted with 19 shots in the opening 15 minutes while Beverly’s Tony Walsh had to handle only two.The Panthers, though, would come away completely frustrated after the first period as Comeau turned aside a handful of point blank chances to keep the game scoreless.It was more of the same when the second period kicked off as Beverly started with 29 seconds remaining on a power play and then embarked on a 12 shot barrage against Comeau while Walsh only had to face a single puck.Twice it looked like the Panthers had sure goals ready to go on the scoreboard but Comeau made saves that would make NHL goaltenders take notice.His best of the night came with Beverly on a power play as Troy Cabral took a Mitch Hamor pass at the right post but Comeau flashed the trapper to rob the senior forward. Two mintues later, Hamor had his own chance from nearly the identical spot but Comeau again made a spectacular glove save.”A couple times there we thought we had sure goals but (Comeau) made great saves,” Gilligan said.”We never really got a lot of screens in front of him and he’s going to stop everything he sees most of the time,” Conlon said.Late in the period, the Panthers perseverance finally paid off on the scoreboard as with a delayed penalty coming against the Jets, Mitch Hamor snapped a shot past Comeau with 2:48 left to send Beverly to the second intermission with a 1-0 lead.Early in the third, the Jets came breathlessly close to drawing even as John Finnegan rang a shot off the left post behind Walsh.Just under three minutes later, Matt Hamor one-timed a Brenden Mitchell pass by Comeau for a 2-0 Panthers lead.Mitch Hamor’s empty netter with 17.6 seconds remaining closed things out.”Our goal coming in was to be in the game going to the third,” Conlon said.”We had some chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net.”The Jets are in the state tournament by virtue of finishing second in the NEC/South.