REVERE — The Lynn and Swampscott hockey teams needed no extra incentive to put forth their best performances Friday night in the Division 3 North semifinal at Cronin Rink. With a spot in the Division 3 North final on the line, both teams knew they had to bring their A games — and they did exactly that.
It was the No. 8 Big Blue, however, that earned the victory with a 3-2 win behind a pair of goals from Conor Donovan and 30 saves from goalie Dan Johnson.
“Going into the game we knew that our top line had to neutralize theirs,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “We were looking for our second line to chip in offensively and they did. That was huge. Dan, again, was unbelievable in net.”
Brett Benoit added a goal for Swampscott. Drew Olivieri, Dominic Codispoti and Zach Elwell each dished one assist.
For No. 5 Lynn, Andrew Patrie and Brian Clougherty each scored one goal. Sean Devin distributed one assist and goalie Jack Gallant made 12 saves.
“We have a great group of kids and you hate to see it end like that,” Roberts said. “When you go into the locker room and see kids crying after they poured everything they had, I just told them to hang their heads high. There’s nothing to be disappointed about with this group.”
With the goal, Clougherty, a junior forward, notched his 100th career point.
The first period set the stage for the physical game both coaches expected. An active period on the boards saw both teams set the tone with bruising hits. Lynn dodged the first bullet when Swampscott was awarded a power play five minutes in. The Jets penalty kill unit answered the bell to keep the Big Blue off the board.
With 4:32 remaining in the period, Lynn ended the scoreless drought. Patrie scores the game’s first goal with an assist from Devin, giving Lynn a 1-0 lead.
The 1-0 Jets lead stood tall at the end of the first period. Shots on net favored Lynn in the early going.
“We came out exactly how we wanted to,” Roberts said. “We were the more physical team in the first period. We were getting shots on Dan, we were crashing the net but he stole the game for Swampscott. We were getting to him and he was making the second chance saves. That was the difference.”
Period No. 2 was a reminder of how relentless Swampscott can be when trailing. Benoit tied the game at 1-1 when he raced down the ice and fired a shot into the net 42 seconds in. Midway through the period, Swampscott killed four minutes of a Lynn powerplay on a major penalty. The Jets couldn’t make anything of the opportunity and Swampscott took advantage. Donovan found the net with 6:36 to play, giving Swampscott its first lead of the evening.
Swampscott led 2-1 at the end of the second period.
“We got the nerves out of the way,” Faia said. “The way we played in the first period was completely not us. We settled down and got back to doing what we wanted to do.”
Needing a goal to knot things up, the Jets turned to leading scorer Clougherty to reel them back into the game. Clougherty fired a shot past Johnson with 13:53 remaining in the third period to even the score at 2-2.
“It was absolutely the biggest goal of our season,” Roberts said. “I didn’t want him pressing for that 100th point. In between the second and third period I told him, ‘here we are, give me everything you have.’ He put us in a spot where we tied the game and had a chance to win at the end.”
After seven minutes of maximum effort on both sides, Donovan lit the lamp for his second goal of the night with 6:01 to play.
Trailing 3-2, Lynn took a timeout with 1:25 and emptied the net but the late push fell short and Swampscott punched its ticket to Sunday’s (3) sectional final at Tsongas Center.
“This win shows a lot,” Faia said. “These guys have fought from the beginning. The main goal was to get in the tournament and win one game. We’ve won three. Guys are getting more and more confident and we’re looking forward to Sunday.”
The Big Blue will battle against No. 11 Wayland.
