SALEM — Drew Olivieri’s hat trick and a rock-solid effort from freshman goalie Jack Russo propelled the Swampscott boys hockey team to a 4-2 win over Northeastern Conference rival Beverly Wednesday night at Salem State’s Rockett Arena.
Olivieri scored a goal in each period and freshman Ronan Locke added Swampscott’s fourth tally. Locke and Conor Donovan dished three assists apiece. Olivieri and Chris Barnes each logged one assist.
“Our first line accounted for all our goals,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “Those guys, Drew and Conor, are explosive players. They come to play night in and night out.”
Russo recorded 33 saves and kept Beverly, which defeated Winthrop in its season opener last week, off the scoreboard until the closing minutes of the third period. Austin Bernard and Andrew Mezza accounted for the Panthers’ scoring with a goal each.
“Jack was on,” Faia said. “He doesn’t lack confidence and he’s a good, solid goalie. He came to play. He made some big saves in that first period. I thought Beverly outplayed us and took it to us. We were up 1-0 but they took it to us. Jack kept us in there with some big saves.”
So far, so good for the 2-0 Big Blue this season.
“We’re practicing better, we’re working hard,” Faia said. “We still have a lot of new faces with playing time and all that. I think the energy’s good. The team’s working hard and I think that’s the best thing thus far.”
The Panthers wasted no time testing Russo in the opening period. A high-flying Beverly attack sent shot after shot in Russo’s direction but the freshman kept his net clean and opened the door for Swampscott to grab an early lead. Olivieri netted Swampscott’s first goal just over three minutes into the period. With Russo on his A-game, it remained 1-0 Big Blue at the first intermission.
“After that first period we knew we didn’t play our best,” Faia said. “Some of the other guys stepped up. We started playing harder and fighting for pucks, keeping it simple. We saw the results after that.”
Olivieri’s slapshot 50 seconds into the second period gave Swampscott a 2-0 lead. Beverly earned a penalty shot midway through the period but DJ Bachini’s shot flew high over the net. Swampscott made Beverly pay for the missed opportunity when Locke cashed in on a power play, putting the Big Blue up 3-0 heading into the third period.
Olivieri’s third goal of the night stretched the lead to 4-0 with 11:36 remaining.
Not so fast, said the resilient Panthers.
Beverly made the most of a slashing penalty and cut the lead to 4-1 on Bernard’s power play score with 4:46 to go. Three minutes later, the Panthers closed the gap to 4-2 when Mezza’s one-on-one wrister snuck into the top corner.
“Beverly made it interesting there,” Faia said. “We knew they were going to press and put it on us. We got away from our defense a little and tried to do too much offensively. I thought the guys responded well. It was a big win for us.”
But Beverly’s late effort was too little too late as Swampscott held its 2-goal lead firm for the 4-2 win.
Swampscott hosts Somerville in a non-conference battle Saturday (12:30) at Rockett Arena.
The Big Blue split a 2-game home-and-home series with the Highlanders last season.
“Somerville didn’t lose much and they’re a team that plays hard,” Faia said. “They battle, they fight. We expect a tough test. They’re a physical team. It’ll be a tough one for us.”
