LYNN — When the Lynn Jets opened their season against Somerville a month ago, they watched the Highlanders erase a three-goal deficit in the last period and settled for a tie. Lynn made sure that wouldn’t happen this time around.
Andrew Patrie logged a natural hat trick en route to a 7-4 win Wednesday at William P. Connery Rink.
“You definitely don’t see that often but Andrew’s been playing very well all year,” Lynn coach Mike Roberts said. “He’s solidified that first line. He’s stepped up big and allowed that line to continue to flow, which is really nice.”
Brian Clougherty followed suit with his own hat trick (and four assists) and Jaylen Porter (first varsity goal) netted one. Troy Petkevitch and John DiFilippo each dished two assists.
Goalie Jack Gallant made 26 saves.
Somerville featured four different goal scorers in Tenzin Gesar, Aidan O’Donovan, Jeremy Procter and Christopher DeSousa. Nicholas Cicerone, Cosmo Curtatone, Joseph Carey, Nathan Doe, and Aidan Johnson had one assist each.
The first period was all Jets from start to finish as Lynn controlled the tempo and sprinted out to 4-0 lead. Patrie took a picture-perfect feed from Clougherty on a 2-on-1 and lit the lamp for the game’s first goal. Three minutes later, Patrie scooped a free puck off an initial save and found the back of the net for the 2-0 Lynn lead. With 2:02 remaining in the opening period, Patrie deflected a Jets shot to boost Lynn’s lead to 3-0. A goal from Porter capped an ideal period for Lynn, with the Jets leading 4-0 at the first intermission.
Lynn carried its momentum into the second period. Clougherty joined in on the scoring with 11:46 on the clock, bumping the lead to 5-1. Somerville got one back on Gezar’s shot from the circle but Gallant buckled down from there. The senior netminder made 11 saves in the second period and the Jets carried a 5-1 lead into the second intermission.
“They got that goal to make it 5-1 and continued to attack,” Roberts said. “I know Jack faced 12 shots in the second period alone. In between the second and third period I wanted to reiterate that we can’t allow teams to come back into games.
“Fortunately Jack was on his game for us tonight,” Roberts added. “He’s come such a long way from last year and even the beginning of this year. He’s pretty solid between the pipes. Day in and day out, he’s going to give us a chance to win.”
A pair of goals from Clougherty (13:56 and 12:34 remaining) put Somerville on its heels in a 7-1 deficit. Showing no quit, the Highlanders closed the gap to 7-4 in the late stages but Lynn held on for the win.
“It’s a testament to (Highlanders) coach Kevin Wilson,” Roberts said. “He’s a good friend of mine. We bonded last year. They were my first game as a high school varsity head coach. He came in last year and offered me as much praise as he could. He pushes his guys for the full 45 minutes. That’s what you’ll get from them day in and day out. They were down 7-1 and still didn’t quit.”
The Jets (7-2-1) travel to Gloucester Saturday (6).
“If we take care of business Saturday there’s a possibility that a (Northeastern) Conference championship is still at stake there,” Roberts said. “Either way, we’ll go up to Gloucester with the same mindset. We’re looking for redemption. If we can go up there, play physical with them and match them stride for stride, I think we’ll have a good shot to win.”
