CHELMSFORD — The magic simply ran out for the Swampscott boys hockey team Thursday evening.
After coming off a pair of upset victories in the early rounds of the Division 3 North tournament, the No. 13 Big Blue fell to No. 9 Lowell, 4-0, in the Division 3 North semifinal at Chelmsford Forum.
“We gave it everything we had, but that’s a good team we went up against and you’ve got to give them credit,” said Swampscott coach Gino Faia. “I wouldn’t be surprised if (Lowell) went on and won the whole thing from here. They’re big, they’re physical, they’re deep and they can really play.”
Jack Russo had a big game in net for the Big Blue, making 30 saves in the loss. Swampscott had several quality scoring chances throughout the game, but the Big Blue couldn’t cash in on any.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the effort we put out there (Thursday),” said Faia. “We settled down after giving up that first goal and got some good chances, but they made plays all night and it was too much for us to overcome.”
Swampscott actually got off to a solid start in the first period, sending three shots on goal in the opening minutes. But from there, Lowell took over. The Red Raiders used their team depth to keep pressure on Swampscott for the rest of the period, eventually taking a 1-0 lead on a goal from Owen Goulette.
Swampscott had one solid opportunity at the end of the period when Ronan Locke got in alone, but Lowell goalie Jake Viera came up with a huge save to keep the lead after one.
Things got worse for Swampscott in the second, as Lowell found the back of the net just 32 seconds into the period on a goal from Brendan DeMarco. The Red Raiders capped off the scoring in the second with just over five minutes to go in the period, getting a goal from Matthew Asselin to make it 3-0.
The Big Blue continued to press in the third period, but nothing came to fruition. Lowell stood firm and held Swampscott off until the final whistle. After one last goal from Lowell off the stick of Colin Pickett, the game was sealed.
With the loss, Big Blue seniors Drew Olivieri, Conor Donovan, Chris Barnes and Tyler Seller close out their Swampscott hockey careers.
“Drew and Conor have just been unbelievable for us over the past few years, and I think they were responsible for something like 90 percent of our offense this year, and then Chris and Tyler have been big for us on defense,” said Faia. “All of those guys have given a lot to the program, and we’re certainly going to miss them.”
As for the future, Faia feels content with the team that will be returning next season.
“We’ve got some good young players coming back and we also have some really good numbers in terms of freshmen coming out for the team now,” said Faia. “So the numbers are getting better and we’ll have some experience going into next year, so hopefully we can take that, build on it and make something happen.”
Swampscott closes out the season at 11-12-0.
