Hockey: Improving Peabody surprises Vikings, 2-1

The Peabody High hockey team has certainly absorbed more than its share of lumps this season. Yet the Tanners have continued to plug away and they were rewarded for their perseverance Saturday at McVann-O’Keefe Rink with a 2-1 upset of NEC North foe Winthrop.”It was a great game, very physical with tons of chances for both teams. (We) continue to get better every game and it’s a good win for the confidence of a young team,” said Peabody coach Mark Leonard following the first NEC North win of the year for the Tanners (1-3-2, 4-9-2).Senior defenseman Chris Minter delivered the game-winner with 6:38 left to play, breaking a 1-1 tie on assists from Cam Smullen and Matt McIsaac. Mike Vadala staked the Tanners to a 1-0 lead at 6:31 of the first period and that stood until 1:17 of the third when Winthrop (1-2-3, 7-3-4) pulled even on Mark Ferullo’s goal.Winthrop held a slight 33-31 edge in shots and both goalies excelled as the Tanners’ Joe Powers (32 saves) and the Vikings’ Ray Feeley (29 saves) matched stop for stop until Minter settled it.Marblehead 8, Revere 0At Rockett Arena, the brothers Koopman enjoyed a stellar day despite the best efforts of Revere goalie John Papasadora, who finished with 58 saves. Junior Tom Koopman scored two goals and assisted on a pair while freshman twins Matt, a forward, and Kyle, a defenseman, contributed a goal and an assist each.Senior Ian Maag also had two goals and two assists as the Magicians (5-0-0, 12-3-0) put four on the board in each of the final two periods. Senior Trip Franzese and freshman Tim Kalinowski rounded out the scoring on the winless Patriots.St. John’s Prep 3, Xaverian 2At Cronin Rink, the Eagles (7-1-0, 13-2-0) won their eighth straight and captured their first Catholic Conference title since 1994, when current coach Kris Hanson was SJP’s senior captain.Beverly 4, Saugus 0At Kasabuski Rink, the Panthers (6-0-0, 13-0-1) shut down the Sachems on goals from Jake Straw, Nate McLaughlin, Ryan Santo and Nick Albano. The shutout was the eighth of the season for the Panthers, who have allowed just a single goal to NEC North opponents. Saugus slipped to 1-4-1 (2-10-2).Salem 6, Everett 2At Allied Veterans Rink, the Witches spoiled the Crimson Tide’s Senior Night behind Spencer Bergholtz’s hat trick. Sam Petri added a goal and two assists for the Witches, who improved to 4-8-3 overall.GIRLS HOCKEYWinthrop/Lynn 0, Beverly 0At Larsen Rink, the Lady Bulldawgs became the first team to take a point from undefeated Beverly (12-0-1) this season, anchored by the stellar 36-save performance of eighth-grade goalie Gretchen Howard. The Bulldawgs are now 6-4-4 and within two points of tournament qualification.”Beverly is a very good team. They have a lot of speed and are very disciplined. I thought we played hard and did a nice job in the defensive zone but we really did not get a lot going offensively. We only had 20 shots,” said coach Tony Martucci.St. Mary’s 7, Abp. Williams 3At Connery Rink, the Lady Spartans (4-0-0, 11-2-2) celebrated Senior Night with a convincing victory that kept them on track for the Catholic Central League championship. St. Mary’s pulled away with three unanswered goals after Williams pulled to within 3-2 midway through the second period.Seniors Kaleigh Finigan (three goals, two assists), Alison Butler (goal, five assists) and Gabby Crugnale (goal) and freshman Samantha Callahan (two goals) accounted for the offense. Lauren Skinnion and Brittany McPherson split time in goal. Madison Molea and Brooke Bergeron were the other seniors recognized.Gardner 5, Marblehead 2At Rockett Arena, the Magicians (8-6-0) fell behind 3-0 in the first period and couldn’t recover. Hadley Woodfin had both Marblehead goals while Aly Hopkins and Sabrina Doughman both saw action in goal. Taylor Field had a hat trick for the visitors.Medford 7, Peabody 0At LoConte Rink, the Tanners (4-12-0) stayed with their hosts for the better part of two periods but surrendered three power play goals in the third