LOWELL — The Swampscott boys hockey team has given coach Gino Faia plenty to be proud about through its Division 3 North tournament run.
But if there’s one thing Faia wanted to see his Big Blue improve on, it’s getting more shots on net.
Sunday afternoon in the Division 3 North final at Tsongas Center, No. 8 Swampscott generated 31 shots on net, in an aggressive effort from start to finish. The result was a 7-2 win over No. 11 Wayland, punching Swampscott’s ticket to Wednesday’s Division 3 state semifinal against South champion Hanover.
“We’re always talking about shots,” Faia said. “I think the guys sometimes try to make an extra pass or try to get in better position. This time, we just told them ‘make sure we get pucks on net.’ We wanted to let the goalie make plays and handle them, and we’d get something out of it.”
Brett Benoit and Drew Olivieri each scored two goals. Chris Henriques, a freshman, scored his first varsity goal, while Stevie Santanello and Conor Donovan also added one goal each.
Santanello, Dominic Codispoti and Jack Poska each dished two assists. Olivieri and Zach Elwell logged one assist apiece.
Goalie Dan Johnson made 34 saves.
As the first period progressed Swampscott emerged as the more aggressive team on offense and it paid dividends. Swampscott tested Wayland goaltender Ryan Nolan with 13 shots on net in the first period- two of them lighting the lamp. With 2:48 to play in the period, Henriques, with an assist from Codispoti, scored the game’s first goal to give the Big Blue a 1-0 lead. After the Warriors were penalized for tripping towards the end of the period, the Big Blue cashed in on the ensuing 5-on-4 advantage. Benoit wristed one past Nolan, with Santanello’s assist, bumping the lead up to 2-0 with 3.6 seconds to play.
That’s where it stood at the first intermission and the Big Blue went into the locker room feeling good after an ideal start.
“Our first periods, we’ve come out slow,” Faia said. “This is the first time (in the tournament) we’ve been able to come out and get a lead. The guys settled in and got into the flow of the game. We saw that we could compete with them and beat them, and our guys finished the job.”
Wayland sliced the deficit in half on Riley Bonner’s goal 40 seconds into the second period. Refusing to let the Warriors gain any momentum, Swampscott answered quickly.
With 12:54 on the clock, Santanello scooped a pass from Codispoti on a 2-on-1 breakaway and fired it into the net to make it a 2-goal lead again at 3-1. Swampscott’s lead increased to 4-1 when Benoit scored his second goal of the game, with 6:23 to play in the period, on Santanello’s assist. Johnson denied a pair of Wayland shots in the closing seconds on a Wayland power play.
“That’s Dan being Dan,” Faia said. “That’s why he’s one of the top goalies around. He’s an unbelievable athlete and goalie. We’ve relied on him and once again he came through for us.”
Ahead 4-1 at the end of two, Swampscott was in control.
Donovan joined in on the scoring when he lit the lamp seven minutes into the third period, on assists from Elwell and Olivieri. Down 5-1 with time winding down, the Warriors emptied their net in hopes of a late rally. Wayland got one back with a goal from Aidan Chitkowski but Olivieri’s pair of empty netters in the closing stage sealed the 7-2 win.
Swampscott now shifts gears toward preparing for Wednesday night’s (6) battle against Hanover at Stoneham Arena.
“We have nothing to lose here,” Faia said. “Hanover’s unbelievable. Obviously they’re the hands-on favorite to win the state championship. We’ll just go in, give it our best and see what happens.”
