LYNN — The Jets will have to wait a little longer in search of their first win of the season.
Visiting Somerville was a bit too much too handle in a 9-1 Highlanders win Wednesday at Connery Rink.
Coach Mike Roberts liked what he saw in the opening period, which ended with the Jets (0-6) trailing 3-1. But the wheels fell off in Somerville’s 5-goal second frame and Lynn never recovered.
“We had 10 shots attempted in the first period,” Roberts said. “Offensively, I thought we got out in some pretty good spots. We had some opportunities we didn’t capitalize on. I thought it wasn’t too bad of an effort in the first period. The second period has been our Achilles’ heel. Guys get a little tired and our second line couldn’t get the puck out. Somerville had puck possession on our second line for pretty much the entire second period. That’s definitely something we need to work on.”
Positives moving forward? Lynn’s Christian Alquinta scored the Jets’ lone goal, unassisted in the first period. And while it may seem that Lynn’s goaltending wasn’t an upside Wednesday, freshman Stephen DiFilippo and seventh-grader Richie Avery handled their own in net. DiFilippo made 33 saves and Avery, who stepped in for the third period, finished with seven stops.
“Our first line’s giving 110 percent and going all out,” Roberts said. “We’re limited with experience on our bench and it shows on a consistent basis. But kudos to our goalies. Stephen faced 41 shots in the first two periods and Richie only let up one. It’s definitely a positive as far as our goaltending is concerned. I thought they had a lot of shots on them. They played well in areas.”
Aidan O’Donovan lit the lamp three minutes into the first period and the Highlanders followed with two more tallies within nine seconds of each other, putting Lynn in an early 3-0 hole. DiFilippo weathered the storm through the next few minutes to keep his Jets within striking distance. Alquinta brought DiFilippo’s efforts to fruition when he found the back of the net with 3:19 to go in the opening period. It remained 3-1 at the first intermission.
Nick Ciccerone bumped Somerville’s lead to 4-1 just 45 seconds into the second period. Austin Pacheco scored two minutes later on a nifty move in front of the net and stretched the lead to 6-1 on a rebound with 10:29 to go in the period. Cosmo Curtatone picked up a pass from Chris Bonney and cashed it in after a Somerville penalty kill. O’Donovan followed suit with his second goal of the night, giving the Highlanders an 8-1 lead at the second intermission.
“The guys that are here, they kind of realized after the weekend that they didn’t do what they should’ve done in the preseason in order to get themselves in shape physically,” Roberts said. “We’re only skating two lines. I think they underestimated that. But we’ve been working hard in practice to build stamina and strength. Back to basics. You really have to go back to square one and start to rebuild all over again.”
Ciccerone finished Somerville’s scoring 58 seconds into the final period. After the early miscue, Avery bounced back and kept the Highlanders off the scoreboard for the remaining 14 minutes.
Lynn travels to Kasabuski Rink for a Northeastern Conference battle with Saugus Saturday night (8). Saugus, 0-5 on the season after Tuesday’s 5-0 loss to Winthrop, is also in search of its first win.
“We’re evenly matched up,” Roberts said. “We watched Saugus play Swampscott (5-1 Sachems loss on Dec. 14). They’re kind of in a similar situation, limited in numbers. It comes down to who plays with the puck in the zone without the turnovers. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s game and the guys are too. We’ll be ready to go.”