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Jets coach Joe Conlon expects to have a healthy squad when the tournament begins.
By SCOT COOPER
LYNN — For the seniors on the Lynn Jets boys hockey team, being labeled as a one-and-done bunch is not the way they want to be remembered.
The team has been bounced in their first tournament game the last three years, losing last winter in a 3-0 upset to East Boston, despite being 14-4-2 and on a roll coming into the playoffs.
Senior goalie Jack Stafford said this group of Jets is determined to change recent history and rewrite the storyline when Lynn opens up against St. Joseph’s in the first round of the Division 3 North playoffs on Thursday.
“Coming in as freshmen, every time we’ve come into the playoffs we’ve had a one and done. It’s always been a big blow to us,” Stafford said. “Freshman year we had Wayland, we stayed with them for two periods, then they ran it up. Sophomore year against Lowell Catholic, again, close for a few periods, good game until they ran up the score, and junior year against East Boston, very disappointing.”
“I think, despite those three games, if we can come out and make some noise in these playoffs, that would be a huge testament to the character that the seniors, that we have, on this team,” the goalie said.
Jets coach Joe Conlon said that the few days off before the puck drops at 5 p.m. in Stoneham for his club against the Phoenix are going to be great for his team’s recovery from various illnesses.
“We haven’t had our full team at practice for almost three weeks, we’re starting to get everybody healthy. We hope the next few days before the Thursday game will help,” Conlon said. “You can say we have some health issues, it’s been a big thing, but hopefully we’re getting past that.”
“We’re off this weekend and we’re hoping those couple of days will get us back to 100 percent,” the coach added.
Conlon will be looking for a tight game between the pipes from Stafford and offensive pop from sophomore Brian Clougherty, who led the team with 20 points. Sean Devin (19), John DiFilippo (19) and Mike Clougherty (18) will also be counted on to score for Conlon’s club.
Brian Clougherty echoed Conlon and Stafford, who both said that the team has improved their on-ice communication tremendously since the season began in December, and that has to continue on Thursday.
“We have to keep the good communication up, we have to start off first shift big on the forecheck, and just play our game out there,” Clougherty said. “Communication is big for us, but I think we really get going when we roll out all three lines and three defensemen. Our big things are our fore-check, our communication and our goaltending.”
St. Joseph’s is the last seed in Division 3, the only team with a losing record (7-9-4) in the bracket, but nobody from Lynn is taking this game lightly.
“This game is obviously huge, it means the world to our seniors, this could be the last couple of games they play in their careers, and if we put it all together, this could be a really fun ride for everybody these next few weeks,” Clougherty said.
Conlon said his team, as its health improves, will have good, focused, practices and bring a lot of energy on the ice.
“I know the kids are excited,” he said. “This is a big week for us, we’re going to have some good practices before Thursday. It’s not so much who you play now, it’s how you play. We were one and done last year, hopefully we learned from that experience.”
“The key for us is we have to be on top of everything, on both ends of the ice, starting with the opening shift,” Conlon said. “We’ve got to show up ready to play and take care of all the details on Thursday.”