FILE PHOTO
Jack Stafford of the Lynn Jets continues to play like an MVP as he looks to carry his team to the top of the Northeastern Conference.
By KATIE MORRISON
Once the tournament rolls around, one thing will be certain: any Northeastern Conference boys hockey team that makes the cut will surely be battle-tested.
The NEC is shaping up to be one of the strongest leagues in hockey this season. In the NEC/North, Danvers, Saugus, Marblehead and Winthrop are all in the mix for a league title and eventually a playoff berth, while in the NEC/South, it’s looking like a battle between Lynn and Swampscott.
The race between Swampscott and Lynn should be a good one. The Jets aren’t even halfway through their schedule, but aside from a rematch with Latin Academy (which Lynn tied, 5-5, in the season opener, a game that the Jets looked to have in the bag before the Dragons rallied back from a 3-1 deficit late) and a non-league matchup with Somerville, Lynn’s schedule over the next few weeks looks like smooth sailing. The Jets will take on Beverly, Peabody, Gloucester and Revere/Malden to close out January. Lynn (4-1-1) defeated the Patriots earlier this season, and can take advantage of the fact that Beverly (1-7) and Peabody (0-6) are having down seasons.
The Jets have only played six games, but are starting to hit their stride. In last Thursday’s game against Shawsheen, the defense looked a lot stronger than it did when Lynn let Latin Academy creep back into the game in the opener, and coach Joe Conlon said that it was goalie Jack Stafford’s best game of the season. Stafford looked every bit as good as he did last season when he won the NEC MVP.
Having Stafford playing at a high level will be key for the Jets going forward. The senior goaltender was unbelievable last season, boasting a .949 save percentage and 1.3 goals per game average. He’s allowed 12 goals in six games so far this season, but as the Jets showed last Thursday, when Stafford is playing up to his capabilities and the defense in front of him is working well, Lynn is a very tough team to score against.
On the offensive side, the Jets have a lot of firepower, scoring 29 goals over six games. The offense comes from a lot of different sources as well, which makes Lynn tough to defend. Sean Devin leads the team with five goals, and 12 other players have found the back of the net for the Jets so far this season.
The one time the Jets were shut out was against Swampscott in a 2-0 loss. When the two teams meet again on February 6, it’s going to be a battle.
The Big Blue have been rolling, and their only loss came against Winthrop early in the season. Swampscott has been dealt some adversity; senior captain Mike Johnson was injured in the win over Lynn.
Losing Johnson hurts. The forward led the team in points last season (55) and became the seventh player in Swampscott High history to join the 100-point club in the Blue’s 10-3 win over Gloucester on Dec. 21. He logged eight points (five goals, three assists) in three games this season for Swampscott. It remains to be seen when he’ll return to the ice, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the season. If and when he does return, it will be a massive boost to the Swampscott offense.
Not that the Swampscott offense has been struggling without Johnson. Senior captain Louis Olivieri (nine goals, eight assists) and junior Stevie Santanello (seven goals, six assists) have stepped up in Johnson’s absence. The defense has also been lights-out as of late; the Blue have only given up three goals over their last five games.
The game to watch, in my opinion, next week is the showdown between Swampscott and Saugus on Wednesday at Salem State’s Rockett Arena. Saugus proved that it is the real deal a couple of days ago when it gave Winthrop all it could handle in a 2-2 tie. I said a couple of weeks ago that Saugus was the most surprising team in the NEC so far, and the Sachems keep showing that they’re on the rebound from a tough 3-14-3 season last year.
The road ahead isn’t easy as the Sachems will face huge tests against Danvers and Bishop Fenwick before they even get to the Big Blue, and after that they’ll have to skate against Marblehead. If Saugus gets through this grueling stretch with a couple of more wins under its belt, it’s safe to say the Sachems are going to be a tough team to take down.
Katie Morrison can be reached at [email protected].