PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Lynn Jets coach Joe Conlon talks with Mike Clougherty during a drill.
By STEVE KRAUSE
LYNN — Last year, the Lynn Jets got off to a hot start and ended up being colder than the ice at the O’Brien Rink in Woburn, where they lost to East Boston, 3-0.
The Jets entered the MIAA Division 3 North tournament with a 14-4-2 record and were the second seed. But even though East Boston dressed only 11 players, one of them was goalie Thomas Guarino, who stood on his head and stopped 26 shots.
The problem, said coach Joe Conlon, was offense. The Jets had trouble putting the puck in the net.
Conlon hopes that the offense comes around a little stronger this season.
“We’ve got to find ways to create more offense,” said Conlon. “We have some depth this year. On defense we’ll be solid, but we need to find a way to put a few goals up on the scoreboard.”
Conlon likes what he sees so far, both in terms of numbers and talent.
“We had a good showing for tryouts,” he said, “and that kind of gives us a nice foundation. We’re going to have more competition for playing time than we’ve ever had, and that’s a real plus to the program.”
The Jets represent the combined talents of players from all three Lynn public schools: Classical, English and Tech. Conlon has four captains on whom he’ll rely to shape the season, one of whom is goalie Jack Stafford.
Also leading the way is forward Jonathan Kosmas, who had eight goals and eight assists a year ago.
“For about a minute, he was a hero in the Thanksgiving game (Kosmas, from English, caught the touchdown pass by Matt Severance with eight seconds remaining in that game — before Classical won the game on Marcus Rivera’s 83-yard kickoff return),” said Conlon.
The coach’s heart also skipped a beat when, earlier in that game, Kosmas had to be helped off the field with an injury.
“Yeah,” he said, “we all had our hearts in our mouths over that.”
Conlon will look to a trio of junior forwards to provide some offensive depth. They are Sean Devin, Michael Clougherty and Travis Ryan.
On the blue line, Ryan Craig and Troy Petkevitch hope to provide some backup to captains Ryan Clark and Steve Patrie.
“Even defensively there’s been some competition,” said Conlon. “They’re going to get pushed a little bit.”
Last year, Conlon said, the Jets fell out of peak form due to injuries and other “bumps in the road.”
“We never really put it together in the end,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to sustain it for three months. We weren’t peaking at the right time.”
More depth, Conlon said, means the opposition cannot key in on a small group of players.
“It’s an awful lot of responsibility to put on the same guys night after night,” he said. “Hopefully some of that depth will help.”
The Northeastern Conference/South is down to four teams, with Salem pulling out: Lynn, Swampscott, Revere and Gloucester.
“It’s wide-open,” he said. “Anyone out of those four can win a game on any night.”
The Jets will also play non-league games against such NEC/North powers as Beverly, Winthrop and Peabody. Lynn will also host a Christmas tournament this year with Swampscott, Everett and Northeast Regional.
“It’s been a competitive tournament,” said Conlon. “Lots of good games.”
The Jets see their first action Sunday (12:30) against Peabody in the Northeastern Conference jamboree at Salem State.
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].