PEABODY — The Marblehead boys hockey team opened the 2021 season with a bang Monday afternoon, notching a 10-0 win over Northeastern Conference foe Peabody on the road at McVann-O’Keefe Memorial Rink. The Magicians were initially supposed to open their season Sunday afternoon against Danvers, but a last-minute cancellation meant that Marblehead had to wait one extra day to get its season going.
“The guys were pretty bummed after (Sunday), so it was a lot of fun to finally be able to get out there and play a game (Monday),” said Marblehead coach Chris Wells.
Marblehead’s offensive attack was spearheaded by senior captain Will Shull, who notched four goals and three assists in the win. Shull had a hat trick with one assist in the first period alone.
“Will just creates opportunities every time he’s out on the ice, and he certainly hasn’t lost a step since we last saw him,” said Wells. “That first line, with Will, Chris Locke and Connor Jalbert is going to be our go-to line this year, and they had a really strong game.”
Junior Hayden Leveroni scored two goals for the Magicians, while sophomores Chris Locke and Connor Jalbert each had one goal and two assists. Junior Eli Feingold had one goal and one assist and senior JT Monahan had one goal, while senior Charlie Titus and junior Aidan Jalbert each had one assist.
“We ran four lines and all of our defensive pairings for the entire game, which was a great thing for us,” said Wells. “It was really a great opportunity for guys to gain some confidence, find their roles early and really start to come together out on the ice.”
The Magicians scored early and often en route to victory, holding a 5-0 lead after the first period. The first goal came just one minute into the game, when Shull found Leveroni in front of the net to make it 1-0 Marblehead. Shull scored his first of the game five minutes later on a perfect feed from Locke, then Feingold made it 3-0 just 30 seconds later on an assist from Aidan Jalbert. Shull added two more goals in the final four minutes of the period to give Marblehead a 5-0 lead at the first intermission.
Things were very much the same in the second period, as Leveroni, Shull, Locke and Connor Jalbert each scored a goal in the frame to blow the game open. Monahan rounded out the scoring with a goal in the third period.
Peabody (0-1-1) hosts Masconomet Wednesday evening (5:10) back at McVann-O’Keefe Memorial Rink.
Marblehead (1-0) plays its next two games against Winthrop in a home-and-home series, first on the road at Larsen Arena Saturday afternoon (3) and then at home Sunday afternoon (2:40) at Cronin Memorial Rink in Revere.
“Winthrop is always a tough team that’s well-coached, so we know it’ll be a challenge,” said Wells. “We’re expecting two tough battles over the weekend, and hopefully we’ll be able to take some momentum from this win and bring it into Saturday and Sunday.”
