Danvers dooms Lynnfield in OT, 2-1

SALEM – Transitioning off a near miss at one end, defenseman Chris Milne fed Pat McBride through neutral ice, McBride shuttled a diagonal dish to Joe Strangie at the top of the right circle and the sophomore threaded a shot into the far corner to give Danvers a 2-1 overtime win against Lynnfield in Division Two North Sectional action at Rockett Arena Monday night.”It’s a nice win and, like I just told the kids, a complete team effort. We got a lot of contributions with guys blocking shots and making the little plays. We kept the puck out of the net at one end, made a nice transition and came down and scored,” said Danvers coach Kevin Brown.The No. 16 Falcons (10-6-5) will now face top-seeded Wilmington, the Cape Ann League champion, Wednesday night at Woburn High (6 p.m.). The loss brought the curtain down on the career of five-year goalie Craig Cataldo (28 saves) and four other seniors for No. 17 Lynnfield (9-8-5).”No matter who you are, it’s somber when your career is over. Our five seniors worked hard. I thought Craig was our best player tonight. He can hold his head high – he played a great game,” said Lynnfield coach Vin Mirasolo. “My only disappointment tonight was that this was not our best game. We lacked energy and Danvers had great energy and did a great job in our zone.”The teams spent a good portion of the first period probing for areas to exploit. Lynnfield struck first, seconds after Danvers junior goalie Seth Kamens (14 saves) gobbled up Matt Kelly’s testing bid with 6:09 left in the period. On the ensuing faceoff, Chris Lang drew the puck cleanly back to Shane McRae, whose quick shot from the top of the left circle handcuffed Kamens and broke through for a 1-0 lead at 8:57. It would be his only mistake of the night.Danvers’ best chance came in the waning seconds of the period when Milne intercepted a breakout pass in the neutral zone and moved in for a 25-footer from the right side that Cataldo smothered.Kamens bracketed Danvers’ tying goal with nearly identical second-period saves on Lang in the second minute and Chris Davis at 12:09, both bearing down from the left wing.The Falcons’ first line produced the equalizer with a stellar shift midway through the period. Cataldo stopped four shots, but not the fifth as Jack McCarthy wheeled unimpeded out of the left corner to the slot before sliding a 15-footer through Cataldo’s 5-hole at 8:10.”That was such a great shift. They were on the ice longer than usual, nearly a minute and a half, but they just kept cycling. That was just a great effort,” said Brown.Both goalies held their ground during third-period power plays, then the Falcons’ PK held Lynnfield without a shot with the man advantage in extra time, leaving Strangie to settle it shortly thereafter.