MARTHA’S VINEYARD — The Lynnfield boys hockey team (10-9-1) inched its way back above the .500 mark this weekend with a win at the annual Fairleigh S. Dickinson Tournament at Martha’s Vineyard Arena.
After defeating league rival Essex Tech 3-2 in overtime Saturday, the Pioneers clinched the championship with a 7-2 win over Hopkinton on Sunday. Senior captain Jack Carpenter and senior Jarett Scoppettuolo led the offense Sunday, with Carpenter netting two goals and three assists and Scoppettuolo adding a pair of goals alongside two assists.
“Ten wins and a trophy was the goal going into the tournament,” said coach Jon Gardner. “The boys delivered.”
Owen Considine (from Carpenter and Scoppettuolo) and Tim Sullivan (from Will Norton and Jake Connell) staked the Pioneers to a 2-0 lead in the first three minutes of play. Still just a 2-0 game with a little more than five minutes left in the first period, the Pioneers exploded for three goals in less than three minutes to blow the game wide open. Carpenter started the party at the 5:12 mark with Jack Neenan and Evan Rocha picking up assists. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Scoppettuolo made it 4-0 (from Carpenter and Considine). Fifteen seconds later, Considine (2 goals, assist) bumped the lead to 5-0. Carpenter and Connell picked up the helpers.
For much of the season, special team woes have plagued the Pioneers, but not on Sunday. Scoppettuolo (from Norton) scored a shorthanded goal with four minutes to play in the second period. Carpenter (from Scoppettuolo) capped the scoring with a power play goal with a little more than seven minutes to go.
Gardner said he feels the Pioneers are primed to make a good run in the MIAA Division 3 state tournament.
“They are battle-tested with the most challenging schedule we have ever put together,” he said. “Right now, it’s about rest, recovery and ramping it up for the real deal.”
On Saturday, Essex Tech pushed the Pioneers to the limit. The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period after goals by Chris Maher, from Peabody’s Brady Leonard (goal, assist) and Tyler McHugh, and Leonard, from Peabody’s Jaydan Vargas and Maher.
Carpenter (from Considine and Scoppettuolo) cut the deficit to 2-1 four minutes into the second period. With less than two minutes left in the period, Norton (from Neenan and Connell) netted the equalizer to make it a 2-2 game.
After a scoreless third period, Carpenter scored the game-winner, unassisted, at the 4:38 mark to punch the Pioneers’ ticket to the championship game.
“We came out with bus hands – if that’s possible,” Gardner said. “We spotted them two goals and we should have won this game 4-0. We just don’t make it easy on ourselves.”
Essex Tech (11-7-1) salvaged the weekend Sunday with a 4-3 win over host Martha’s Vineyard in the consolation game.
Leonard, the son of Tech’s head coach Mark Leonard, had a strong weekend with three goals and an assist. Mark Leonard, a former standout at Peabody High, said while he felt it was “another great game,” he thought the game against Lynnfield could have had a happier ending.
“I appreciate the refs letting them play, but the game was getting chippy and one or two penalties can stop that,” he said. “It was a great high school game with both teams having great scoring chances at the end. I’m never happy with a loss, but the boys played their hearts out.”
The Hawks, ranked No. 4 in the MIAA Division 3 power rankings, close out the regular season Wednesday against Latin Academy at Steriti Rink.
The Pioneers, ranked No. 5 in the Division 3 rankings, and Hawks now await the release of the tournament brackets on Feb. 24.
