Winthrop boys hockey ousts Saugus

NORTH BILLERICA – The Winthrop hockey team certainly has picked the best time of year to find its best game.The Vikings sizzled on Tuesday in the Division 2 North semifinals as six different players scored goals and Steve Waites posted his third consecutive shutout to propel Winthrop to a 6-0 win over NEC North rival Saugus.Winthrop will meet No. 8 seed Wilmington on Monday (6) at the Tsongas Center in Lowell for the sectional title.”We’re starting to hit our stride,” Winthrop coach Dale Dunbar said. “We put so much pride in our defense and to not give up a goal in three tournament games says a lot about how we’re playing.”The Sachems got behind early and were never able to get going as seemingly every mistake they made turned into an odd-man rush and left goalie Nick Hegarty to fight off quality shots all game.”We talked for two days about not turning the puck over and we gave it away way too much,” Saugus coach Jeff Natalucci said. “And they will make you pay for any mistake like that.”The Vikings were on the ball from the start as they scored less than five minutes in when Jake McKinnon crashed the net and slid home a Mike Paulson rebound before he went headlong into the backboards.Less than 90 seconds later, the Sachems were shorthanded and Winthrop was on the attack. Jimmy Barker sent Chris LeBlanc and Mitch Paulson in on a 2-on-1 that Paulson finished off for his 10th goal of the year and a 2-0 lead after a period.The Sachems came out quickly in the second and forced Winthrop into taking a penalty at the 1:17 mark. But like Saugus had done in the previous round to Lincoln-Sudbury, the Vikings used the penalty kill to kill the Sachems’ chances.Dan Eruzione took a LeBlanc pass and made it 3-0 at the 1:40 mark. Less than a minute later, Matt Todisco forced a turnover at the Viking line and went on a breakaway, beating Hegarty clean for a commanding 4-0 lead.”We wanted to score first because that gives you momentum and gets your legs under you,” Dunbar said. “And to get those two shorthanded goals was big.”Saugus had a chance to get a goal late in the period but Waites slid across and robbed Kurt Rodrigues from point blank range.”We had some chances in the second period,” Natalucci said. “But those two shorthanded goals just killed us. If we could have scored on the power play, it could have changed things a little bit.”Winthrop kept right on coming in the third as Chris Page snapped a shot past Hegarty at 2:52 to make it 5-0. Less than a minute later, LeBlanc redirected Adam Lundberg’s shot on a power play for the game’s final goal.”Saugus is a good team and does such a good job at both ends of the ice,” Dunbar said. “But we’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.”