Strong Start Propels Jets to tournament championship

LYNN – Much like Thursday night against Salem where they scored four times in the opening period, the Lynn Jets (3-1) came storming out of the gates on Friday night in the Lynn Christmas Tournament championship. The host’s exploded for another four goal first period before cruising to easy 7-3 win over Northeast at Connery Rink.Kyle Devin opened the scoring just 5:19 in, with a rocket from just outside the blue line that beat Golden Knights goalie Rich Gerokoulis low, to the stick side. Devin added another at 3:26 on a one-timer from the point, courtesy of Dan Rustani. Eric Brazell picked up an additional assist on the goal.”Kyle’s got that big shot working tonight after being frustrated with it last night,” said Jets coach Joe Conlon of his offensive defenseman. “We stress getting pucks on net from anywhere and everywhere and he was able to do that tonight.”The damage didn’t stop there as the Jets got goals just 53 seconds apart to increase the lead to four. Ryan MacDonald squeaked one five-hole after a long rush down the right side boards before Steve Petkevitch found a loose puck in net-front traffic, prior to beating a helpless Gerokoulis.”I really hope these fast starts continue,” said a chuckling Conlon of his team’s strong opening period. “Hopefully we keep coming out of the shoots like we did in this tournament because it really sets us up nicely for the rest of the game.”Northeast’s Anthony Aresco got his team on the board with 17 seconds in the period.Much like Thursday’s affair with Salem, the Jets came out for the second period with a little less juice than the first but still managed to score first. Alex Amico camped out at the left side of the goal found a loose puck and cashed in.The Golden Knights (1-4-1) did their best to hang tough, getting a goal from Nick Manzi, who scored the shootout winner against Everett the night before. Northeast would outshoot Lynn in the period, but once again, Jets goalie Mike Gately proved to be the difference with several big stops in the period.”Northeast, much like Salem, is a team that’s not going to quit and they kept on working hard all night,” said Conlon. “Mike stood tall again tonight, especially in the parts of the game that we needed him to.”The third period saw Lynn tack on two more including MacDonald’s second of the night on a slick deke to the forehand after breaking in alone on Gerokoulis. Tyler Craig was credited with the final tally, which appeared to have been shot in by a Northeast defenseman.The Golden Knights got a goal with six seconds remaining from Shawn Curry before the Jets skated off with the tournament trophy.”Tonight was very similar to last nights game,” explained Conlon following the win. “We got off to a nice start against a team that keeps on coming at you. We were able to weather in though and it’s nice to take the tournament title home with us.”In the consolation game, Everett defeated Salem 6-4 after falling in a shootout to Northeast the night before. The Crimson Tide (2-3-1) got two goals from Steve Faia while teammate Reardon Sweeney added a goal and an assist. Salem (1-3-2) led 2-1 after one, getting goals from Danny Heck and Spencer Bergholz, but couldn’t hold the lead.