LW_0130

JANUARY 30, 2020
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 9
By Daniel Kane
MIDDLETON — The St. John’s
Prep hockey team put forth one of its
best offensive performances of the year
Saturday, skating past Austin Prep in a
6-2 win at Essex Sports Center.
The Eagles fell behind early on but
quickly flipped the script, scoring three
goals in less than three minutes in the
second period to steal all the momentum.
“Putting six goals on the board is
something we’re not accustomed to,” St.
John’s Prep coach Kristian Hanson said.
“We’ve struggled to score goals over the
course of the year. It’s about continuing
to get better every time we step on the
ice and guys starting to accept roles.
Things tend to fall into place when you
work hard, accept those roles and play
your position well.”
Jake DiNapoli capped off the Eagles
three-goal surge in the second with a
shorthanded goal on a breakaway. Evan
Moore scored two goals and dished an
assist while Zachary McKenelley added
one goal and one assist. Ryan Webb and
Ryan Hart each scored one goal.
“(Jake) was just buzzing out there all
game,” Hanson said. “He never stopped
moving his feet, competes the entire time
and always gives you maximum effort.
He had a really important goal for us, a
goal scorer’s goal, on that breakaway.”
St. John’s controlled the pace of play
early on to take a lead in the first period.
McKenelley had a scoring chance out
front that was initially saved but Moore
was there to grab the rebound and score
on a wide-open net to give the Eagles a
1-0 lead.
The Cougars got right back into it
a few minutes later. Goalkeeper Noah
Dorsey-Sorofman made a kick save on
Sports
Peabody/Lynnfield downs Oakmont
By Daniel Kane
PEABODY — The Peabody/Lynnfield
girls hockey team applied the “shoot
until you score” method Saturday when
the Tanners took the ice in a non-conference
game against visiting Oakmont.
And while the first few shots couldn’t
find their way past Spartans goalie
Ashley Bourn, the Tanners’ efforts soon
paid dividends.
Peabody pumped 43 shots and scored
on four of them en route to the 4-1 win at
McVann/O’Keefe Skating Rink.
The Tanners struck through first to
grab a 1-0 lead with 5:13 remaining
in the opening period, when Carolyn
Garafoli snatched a loose puck at the left
faceoff circle, cut in front of Bourn and
whipped one low to the stick side.
Oakmont then went on the power play,
but it was Peabody who took advantage
with Sammie Mirasolo sinking one inside
the right post off a pass from Reilly
Ganter, bumping Peabody’s lead to 2-0.
Mirasolo also scored on the power play
with 4:04 left in the second period for the
final Tanners goal.
Mirasolo felt that her team did a good
job Saturday and did not get frustrated
when the Tanners weren’t taking advantage
of the wide disparity in shots.
“We did a nice job making adjustments
in the game, We’ve just got to
keep trying when the shots don’t go in,
and we need to work on our rebounds
moving ahead,” Mirasolo said. “Get
shots and put in the rebounds.”
Jenna DiNapoli also scored for the
winners, off an assist from Jennifer
Flynn. Peabody split goalies Audrey
Buckley and Jeny Collins in net. The
pair was looking for a combined shutout
but Oakmont’s Ashley Jorge popped one
in with 5:17 left in the game to spoil their
bid.
Oakmont remained winless at 0-9-2
on the season but, despite the defeat,
Spartan coach Amy Miller felt her
girls played really well against a solid
Peabody squad.
“It was tough when they got that first
goal and we couldn’t match it. This team
is getting better every day, this is a very
tough team for us to play, and they have
a lot of talent,” Miller said. “Our team
has been working so hard at practice, our
goalie played an excellent game, and our
defense was strong and our offense is
starting to come around too.”
Peabody coach Michelle Roach was
glad to pick up a win, with a tough
stretch of league games coming up on
the schedule.
“The girls played really well, it was
good to get a win (Saturday). Our penalty
killing and our power play both did
a good job; they were passing well and
finding the open man when they needed
to. It was good to get that first goal to
start things off,” Roach said. “We’re
8-4-1 now and we have a lot of really big
league games coming up, starting next
Saturday against Marblehead.”
Peabody has a week to prepare for
Saturday afternoon’s (4) game against
Marblehead back at McVann/O’Keefe.
PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
St. John’s Prep forward Jake DiNapoli (right) scored one goal in a win over
Austin Prep Saturday.
PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK
Carolyn Garofoli scored one goal for Peabody/Lynnfield in a win over Oakmont
Saturday.
St. John’s hockey blows past Austin Prep
an Austin Prep shot but Joe Thibodeau
buried the rebound to even things at 1-1.
Austin Prep came out and controlled
most of the second period, taking a 2-1
lead on Thibodeau’s second goal before
the Eagles started to shift momentum.
A power play got the Eagles on the
offensive midway through the second,
and while they didn’t score on the man
advantage, they exploded for three goals
over the next few minutes.
McKenelley scored on his one timer
just after the power play expired to even
the score at 2-2. Moore added his second
goal of the day soon after, and DiNapoli
skated to a breakaway while the Eagles
were short handed and scored to give St.
John’s a 4-2 lead before the third.
“We come back, get that second goal
and it kind of just changed things for
us,” Hanson said. “We got focused and
once we built that lead the guys really
bought in, believed and wanted it. It’s
not too many times this year that we’ve
played with a lead. It’s kind of a different
feeling for us and certainly something I
could get used to.”
The Eagles carried that momentum
into the third period. Webb and Hart
each found the back of the net in the final
period and Dorsey-Sorofman (18 saves)
was sharp the rest of the way to seal the
win for St. John’s
“We have skilled hockey players in
that room,” Hanson said. “You know it’s
a matter of time before things start to go
in. Hockey is a game of bounces and luck
and (Saturday) we got some of that. You
generate your own luck sometimes with
just effort, going to the net and making
things difficult for your opponent. We
did that (Saturday).”
The Eagles (6-3-4) host Malden
Catholic Wednesday (6:40).