Jets double up Weston

LYNN – Sometimes it’s just good to win a game and move on.After a rugged 0-4-1 stretch against good Division 2 teams like Danvers and Winthrop, Division 3 Lynn came out with energy against non-league Weston last night and seized a two-goal lead. Though the fire flickered in the second period and was almost extinguished by penalties in the third, the lead never deserted the Jets. Finishing with a rush, Lynn took home a 6-3 victory to stay in the hunt for a postseason berth, standing at 7-7-1 and needing five points in its final five games.Click here for a photo gallery.”Coming in, we’ve had some tough luck,” said Jets head coach Joe Conlon. “We’re a little banged-up and the first period was exactly what we needed, to get the lead, to see a couple of goals get through, that was big for us.”Battling with a weakened back line only three men deep in freshman Bubba Comeau as well as juniors Brett Erelli and Pat Finnigan, Lynn broke open a 1-1 game late in the first period. First, junior Tony Uva sent a pass from the left boards to senior Steve Petkevitch all alone in the left circle, beating Weston goalie Cam Chioffi short side for a lead Lynn would not lose. A little over a minute later, Kyle Devin also beat Chioffi blocker side from the left circle.”I was more concerned with the Lynn team that showed up rather than the Weston team we were playing,” Conlon said. “I’m glad the Lynn team showed up in the first period. I just wish we could have carried it over.”Behind the size and determination of winger Jack Dennehy (two goals), Weston turned the tide in the final two periods, outshooting the Jets 31-18 and drawing within a goal twice. But the dependable goaltending of senior Mike Gately came through, turning aside 37 shots in all while stoning the visitors on a 41-second 5-on-3 power play in the final period.”We get the same thing from Mike every night,” Conlon said. “He’s always ready to play.”And it never hurts to get a break along the way. Early in the third, when Finnigan drove the puck into the offensive zone, it bounced off the corner boards out to the crease, then deflected off a Weston defenseman’s stick into the net to restore Lynn’s two-goal advantage.When asked if the Connery Rink ice was in good shape last night, Conlon said, “I just think there were some crazy bounces. That’s high school hockey.”That goal was key as Dennehy’s second goal three minutes later only reduced the lead, not erasing it. And when junior Ryan MacDonald (goal and two assists) ripped a patient wrister off Chioffi’s catching glove and into the net on Lynn’s only power play with 2:13 remaining, the game was over.”In the third period, we have to avoid penalties (Lynn had three in the final 15 minutes and four overall), we have to play smarter with the lead,” Conlon said.”We were in desperate need for a win and we got it,” Conlon concluded. “And now we’re on to the next day.”