LYNN — The Lynn Jets celebrated Senior Day in style, moving one step closer to qualifying for the Division 3 tournament with a 9-1 win against Leominster Saturday afternoon.
The Jets (9-9) need to win one of their final two games to punch a tournament ticket. They close with home games against Assabet Valley (Monday at 4 p.m.) and Bishop Fenwick (Wednesday at 2 p.m.).
The last time Lynn qualified for the tournament was 2019. The team reached the Division 3 North Sectional semifinals, losing to North champion Lowell.
“We lost to Assabet 4-1 early in the season, but we are looking to take this one,” said Lynn coach Brian Boisson. “Fenwick got us 5-0 a couple of weeks ago, so that will also be a good game.”
Against Leominster, 12 players factored in the scoring, led by A.J. Cook. He had a monster game with four goals. Nathan Silva (goal, 3 assists) and Kyle Furlong (3 assists) also had big games.
The Jets struck early, going up 1-0 less than a minute into the first period on a goal by Silva. Anthony Alessi (2 assists) picked up the sole assist.
With less than four minutes remaining in the period, Alessi came up with a huge defensive play, blocking a shot on a Leominster two-on-one to keep the Blue Devils off the board.
“That was a huge play,” Boisson said. “That set the tone for the game after getting our first goal.”
The second period was all Lynn, or, more accurately, all Cook. He scored at the 13:30 mark with assists coming from Alessi and Tyler Whitten. Five minutes later, he struck again, this time on a breakaway. Furlong and Julius Serino were credited with helpers.
Marc Poste scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway about 50 seconds later to bump the Jets’ lead to 4-0.
But they weren’t done.
Cook scored two more goals within a 12-second span — the first from Pedro Lopez and John Briggs; second from Silva and Furlong — to give the Jets a comfortable 6-0 lead heading into the final period.
“He (Cook) is one of our top seniors that we heavily count on every single game,” Boisson said.
John Doyle (from Silva and Lopez), Denim Dembro (from Doyle and Lopez), and Brian Boisson Jr. (from Silva and Furlong) added goals in the third period to make it 9-0.
Leominster’s Jacob Turner spoiled Lynn goaltender Cooper Goodman’s attempt at a shutout with about 20 seconds remaining in the game.
Prior to the action, the Jets honored seniors Silva, Alessi, Nicholas DeNino, Whitten, Rafael Ortiz-De La Rosa, Cook, and Furlong.
“Today was all about my seniors,” Boisson Sr. said. “Of my seven seniors, six of them have been with me since they were 8 years old. To watch those kids grow over the past 10 years has been something special.”
DeNino got the start in goal and played the first shift before being lifted in favor of Goodman.
“He (DeNino) has been sick with the flu and missed the last two games, so after the ceremony, we had him start the game and then took him out,” Boisson Sr. said.
Boisson Sr. said he was happy with the pace of play.
“We tell these kids: fast, physical, and forecheck,” he said. “That’s the way you win games and that’s the way you have success — and that’s what they did today.”
