LOWELL — The Marblehead boys hockey team needed to shake off a slow start Thursday, and a solid second period did just that in a 4-2 win over Lowell Catholic in a non-conference bout at Tsongas Center.
“We’re in a bit of a rut right now with the way we’re playing, but I saw some progress in the second and third periods,” said Marblehead coach Chris Wells. “We still have to work on being more consistent and not making poor decisions, but we had times where we played well (Thursday).”
Zach Piersol led the way with one goal and two assists for Marblehead, while Christopher Locke, Loch Sheridan and Connor Jalbert each scored one goal. Collin Hart added three assists, while Cam Razin and JT Monahan each had one assist. Goalie Peter Santeusanio made 17 saves.
“When we’re able to make the simple plays, it opens up our whole offense,” said Wells. “Almost all of our scoring chances started from simple passes and easy plays, and that’s what got us going. We’ve just got to be able to do that on a more consistent basis.”
The Magicians started the game with a bang, scoring just 40 seconds into the opening period. After making a stop on the defensive end, Hart took control of the puck at center ice and dashed into the offensive zone. He sent a pass over to Piersol, who flicked a shot that ricocheted off a Lowell Catholic defender and into the net to make it 1-0 Marblehead.
The Magicians struggled at times from there, turning the puck over on several occasions and getting called for a penalty about halfway through the period. Those mistakes finally came back to bite with just under six minutes to go, when Mike Devita found the back of the net for Lowell Catholic to knot things up at 1-1.
But Marblehead retook the lead in the early part of the second period. After Piersol set up Hart for a shot that was knocked away by Lowell Catholic goalie Cody Lesko, Locke swooped in and slammed home the rebound to make it 2-1 Magicians with just under 10 minutes left. Marblehead was able to extend the lead right before the end of the second, notching a powerplay goal at the hands of Sheridan with just 12 seconds remaining to make it 3-1.
“Really, we just wanted to get back to playing the body and being physical,” Wells said of the team’s second-period adjustments. “When we did that we were able to force some turnovers and get momentum on our side.”
The Magicians added one more goal with just over three minutes to go in the game when Jalbert netted his first career varsity goal to make it 4-1. Lowell Catholic added a goal about 30 seconds later, but it was too little, too late.
Marblehead (9-2-2) take on Northeastern Conference foe Danvers Saturday (8:20) at Bourque Arena. With five of its final eight games against NEC opponents, the Magicians knows that they have both the NEC North title and a high seed in the Division 2 North tournament within reach if they can finish the year strong.
“That game is going to be huge in the league,” said Wells. “Danvers is extremely well-coached and they’re playing really well right now, so that’ll be a tough game. The idea is just to take things one day at a time. We’re back on the ice for practice (Friday) morning and we just have to stay focused.”