SAUGUS — The Saugus boys hockey team came into Thursday afternoon’s game against Winthrop hoping to end its season with a win on senior day. But the tournament-bound Vikings, looking to grab a win to improve their seeding, had other plans.
Behind a three-goal spurt in the second period the Vikings defeated Saugus, 4-2, at Kasabuski Rink.
Junior forward Ronnie Paolo scored both goals for Saugus. Senior goalie Nick Sanderson made 26 saves in net.
“We battled hard this season,” Saugus coach Jeff Natalucci said. “We put ourselves in some tough situations. I thought the guys fought hard throughout the season. We did some things to put ourselves in some tough situations, but it is what it is.”
The Vikings were led by two goals from junior forward Sam Yarrow and one each from senior forwards Tyler Marley and Steve Holgerson.
Neither team managed to crack the scoreboard in the first period. Winthrop’s best chance of the period took place midway when the Vikings were awarded a power play, but the Saugus penalty kill rose to the occasion. It was a busy period for Sanderson, who was named an NEC All-Star earlier this week, as he held off a pesky Vikings offense. The quiet first period ended scoreless.
Paolo scooped a loose puck and fired it into the back of the net to give Saugus a 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the second period.
From there, things took a turn for the worse for the Sachems. The Vikings found the back of the net three times in the span of a minute. Yarrow tied the game with 9:50 on the clock and gave the Vikings the lead 30 seconds later. With 8:56 left in the period, Marley padded Winthrop’s lead to 3-1.
“That changed the game,” Natalucci said. “We had a little lapse there and it cost us. It took the momentum away. I thought we built a little bit of momentum after we scored the first goal. That took it right away.”
The two teams exchanged goals in the early going on the third period. Holgerson took advantage of a one-on-one look at Sanderson in net and buried Winthrop’s fourth goal for a 4-1 lead.
Showing no quit, Paolo fired in a goal for Saugus to get the Sachems back in the game with 14:00 remaining. But the hill was a little too high for the Sachems to climb and Winthrop came away with the 4-2 victory.
“We talked about getting pucks in the net,” Natalucci said. “A bounce here, a bounce there and maybe we could’ve gotten it to 3-2. It just didn’t work that way for us.”
Saugus ends the season 6-9-5. Winthrop, 12-6-2, awaits Saturday’s state tournament pairings.
The Sachems graduate eight seniors from this season’s team. They are assistant captains Sanderson and Ryan Granara, captains Ryan Groark, Nick Moore and John Torres, Colby Murphy, Drew Worthley and Christian Heffernan.
“I’m proud of my seniors,” Natalucci said. “They battled. They’ve done everything I’ve asked of them for the past four years. It would’ve meant a lot to them to have come out of here with a win today but they’ve given me everything they had.”
