Haley’s hat trick drives Marblehead past Jets, 10-1

SALEM – It was evident from the first shift Saturday afternoon at Rockett Arena that the Marblehead High hockey team was prepared to put the pre-season behind it and get on with the business of a Division 3 state title defense.The new-look Magicians scored on four of their first six shots in the game’s first 3:20 on the way to a 10-1 romp past the Lynn Jets. Senior captain Austin Haley’s second-period natural hat trick, Erik Powers’ two first-period strikes and Ian Maag’s four assists highlighted the onslaught. Magicians senior keeper and captain Mike Harper turned in a composed 16-save performance.Click here for a photo gallery of the game.”We had a tough pre-season. Bishop Stang, Beverly, Winthrop and Saugus all handed it to us pretty well. We know that the Lynn kids are hard-working and we talked about how important it was to get off to a good start (today),” said Marblehead coach Bob Jackson.”It’s a learning curve – we only have three seniors back, our captains (Haley and Harper) and Matt Cashman. We have a good group of juniors and sophomores but there is a re-education of how we need to work hard, especially in practice. Last year we had a group of seniors who took over and took care of business when it came to leadership,” he said.In regards to the Magicians wearing a target this winter, Jackson referenced the Boston Bruins’ early-season struggles.”Nobody’s going to give it to you – you’ve got to work hard, day in and day out,” he said.The Jets (1-1) thought they had scored on the game’s first shift but the whistle blew before the puck squirted into the cage from a goal-mouth battle.Marblehead’s first foray into the attacking zone produced the game’s first goal. Haley carried deep along the right wing and delivered a tape-to-tape strike to the hard-charging Powers for a tap into the open left side and a 1-0 lead at 35 seconds.Cam Rowe doubled the margin 26 seconds later, chopping the rebound of defenseman Liam Gillis’s shot up and over Jets goalie Mike Gately (28 saves). Joe Newall got into the act at 1:16, slipping a low-slot backhander inside the right post, and Powers completed the opening blitz at 3:20, beating Gately with a dart from the left circle.It was more of the same in the second period. Goals by the sophomore defenseman Gillis (a 4-on-4 strike at 2:53) and Ty Bates (at 12:44) bracketed Haley’s hat trick accomplished on consecutive shifts from the left of the crease (4:27), the right circle (6:01) and mid slot (8:53).Ryan McDonald scored the Jets’ lone goal with 1:42 left in the period, squeezing a slap shot from the left circle between Parker and the short-side post for his fourth goal of the year. Senior captain John Finnigan and senior defenseman Aaron Reddick drew assists.McDonald was a two-way force throughout while the smooth-skating Finnigan generated a half-dozen quality scoring chances. The Jets, looking to build off the momentum of a season-opening win against Revere, couldn’t match Marblehead’s tenacity or depth.Marblehead used the third period for extended on-the-job training and tacked on the final goal with 42 seconds to play.The Magicians take on Division 1 Newton North of the Bay State League tonight (Fessendon, 6) while Lynn resumes play Wednesday night against Swampscott (Salem, 8:10).