Fenwick overcomes much to defeat Saugus

PEABODY – Survival, recovery and reward.Bishop Fenwick has had a lot to survive in a brutal first-half schedule against the iron of Eastern Mass. hockey, in addition to challenging individual issues along the way.But despite the trials a 2-10 season can bring, the Crusaders soldier on. And with the return of freshman forward Mike Gallant from a broken shoulder and the continued healing of first-string defenseman P.J. Usalis (eight stitches in his hand), results like Wednesday night’s 3-2 victory over Saugus are the reward.”When you’re struggling as we have been, you’ve got to find ways to win,” said Fenwick head coach Dan Lynch. “We knew Saugus (at 2-8-1 going in) was struggling as well, so we looked at it as an opportunity. We needed our guys to play well for three periods.”And propelled by an energetic effort from its first line of seniors Drew Thibodeau (two goals) and Mike Napolitano along with junior Nick Finan (goal), Fenwick had just enough to topple the pesky Sachems.”It definitely felt good to win,” said Thibodeau. “For the last two seasons, (goalie) Pat (O’Leary) has been getting shellacked, and it felt good to give him some support (last night).”The offense was important but the timing was crucial for the Crusaders. Their first two goals answered Saugus scores from Nik Straticos and Nick Sweeney, and Thibodeau’s game-winner was a thing of beauty.”I made my move (pulling the puck through a Saugus defenseman and hopping past him) and basically had the whole right side of the net,” Thibodeau said of his second goal with 1:49 left in the second period. “I’ve been trying hard to work on my hands, and hopefully they’ll get even better.”From there, Fenwick had to survive a determined Saugus attack that produced 13 third-period shots including solid efforts from Victor DeMatteo and Anthony LoPresti (two assists). But O’Leary (26 saves) was up for the task, and the Crusaders prevailed.”This was probably our best game of the year as far as giving a complete effort,” said Saugus head coach Jeff Natalucci. “We had a couple of penalties that were marginal at best that ruined our flow a little bit, but we had our chances as well. We played a complete 45 minutes and I hope it’s something we can build on.”Fenwick’s effort was more impressive considering that junior Brian Corcoran’s mother is dealing with a serious illness, one the team and cheerleaders have honored the past two games by wearing pink shoelaces, ribbons and tape on their socks and sticks.”Brian, he always comes to work and he’s willing to bend over backwards to do what’s expected,” Thibodeau said. “He has the heart of a champion, especially with what he’s going through. I love him to death and I’d do anything for him.”