ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
With his mom, Kristia, his sister, Sydney, and father, Michael looking on, Swampscott’s Nathan DeRoche drops the ceremonial puck between Lynn’s Jon Kosmas and Swampscott’s Louis Olivieri.
By HAROLD RIVERA
SALEM — Monday night’s hockey game at Salem State’s Rockett Arena between the Lynn Jets and the Swampscott Big Blue wasn’t just a contest between two of the top teams in the Northeastern Conference. Although the 1-0 win clinched the NEC South for the Big Blue, hockey took a back seat on Monday night.
The two teams worked together to host a fundraiser for Nathan DeRoche, a Swampscott seventh-grader who’s battling T-Cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. Swampscott Little League donated 200 green shirts with the words “NATHAN STRONG” printed on the back, all of which were sold before the game started.
“It’s unfortunate when it happens to someone, especially a young kid like Nathan,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “When we were approached with the idea we were all for it. Great cause, great kid, great family.”
Faia added, “It’s really great to see Lynn and Swampscott come together like that. Hockey’s one big family and that showed tonight.”
DeRoche, who played for the Swampscott Middle School hockey team last year, was also a member of the town’s District 16 All-Star Little League champions. Prior to the start of the game, DeRoche dropped the ceremonial puck as his family stood by his side. He was welcomed by a standing ovation and a wave of applause from the crowd.
“It was a tremendous effort by the Swampscott program and community,” Jets coach Joe Conlon said. “We had very good fan support. That was theme of the night, great sportsmanship.”
Swampscott wore bright green jerseys instead of its usual home whites as a part of the team’s “green out” effort. The color green is used to promote lymphoma awareness.
The game was scoreless until Mike Johnson beat Lynn goalie Jack Stafford on a wrister to give the Big Blue a 1-0 lead with four minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the first period. Emery Wollerscheid and Andrew Dove earned the assists on the goal.
“It started at the point, we got it to Andrew Dove and he got it to Mike Johnson who made a good play to put the puck in the net,” Faia said.
Down a goal, the Jets came out firing in the second period. None of that seemed to intimidate Swampscott goalie Dan Johnson, who stood tall each time he was tested.
With just over 13 minutes remaining in the period, Lynn’s Mike Clougherty raced out for a one-on-one with Dan Johnson but his shot was wide. Owen Downey followed suit with a slap shot but his attempt was saved. John DiFilippo tested the junior goalie with a shot from the left circle but that was also denied. Lynn trailed 1-0 after two periods.
“We wanted to test him (Dan Johnson) as much as possible but the kid stood tall,” Conlon said. “He’s having a good year, he’s a good goaltender. We just couldn’t get anything through from the point and that was the key. They did a good job blocking shots. We just couldn’t get one against them.”
Lynn continued to look for the equalizer in the final period. The Jets emptied the net with two minutes to play but Swampscott buckled up on defense and hung on for the 1-0 win.
Dan Johnson finished the night with 15 saves in the shutout effort.
“Danny’s been great for us all year long,” Faia said. “He comes up with the big stops we need, no different tonight. Once again, our team defense also played well.”
Lynn’s Stafford was also strong in net, finishing the game with 23 saves.
The Jets (9-3-2) will aim to bounce back on Wednesday when they host Bedford.
“There’s still a lot of hockey left,” Conlon said. “If we continue to bring this effort, we have a shot.”
Swampscott (14-2) will celebrate its NEC South crown before getting back to practice for Saturday’s game at Beverly.
