Anyone who was lucky enough to take in this weekend’s home-and-home series between the Marblehead and Winthrop boys hockey teams was in for a treat, as the two Northeastern Conference foes went back and forth to each earn a win. Marblehead earned a 3-2 win Saturday on the road at Larsen Arena in Winthrop, then Winthrop came right back and won 3-2 in a road game at Cronin Memorial Rink in Revere.
“It was a pretty cool experience to play two games like this back to back, it kind of took me back to my college playing days where we would do this because of travel considerations,” said Marblehead coach Chris Wells. “I honestly wish we could have more weekend series like this, I think it really adds to the competitiveness and turns these into mini rivalry games.”
Will Shull scored two goals to lead the way for Marblehead in Saturday’s win, while Carter Laramie scored one goal. Goalie Nick Peters had a big game in net to help the Magicians secure the win.
For Winthrop, Joey Holgersen had one goal and one assist to pace the offense on Saturday. Connor Hurley had one goal, while J.D. Parker and Peter Silverman each had one assist.
The Magicians got off to a solid start in Saturday’s game, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal from Laramie and then extending it to 2-0 on a powerplay goal from Shull. Winthrop added a goal on a powerplay of its own a few minutes later, but Shull scored his second of the game late in the second period to make it a 3-1 game. Despite a goal from Winthrop late in the third period, Peters was able to stand tall in net for Marblehead to skate away with the win.
On Sunday, Laramie and Ian Cody scored one goal each in the loss for Marblehead. Eli Feingold, Aidan Jalbert and JT Monahan each had one assist.
Winthrop got one goal each from Hurley and Holgersen, while Parker also scored one goal. Chris Ferrara had two assists, while Joe Hayes notched one assist.
Laramie got the Magicians started once again in Sunday’s game, scoring on an assist from Feingold to put Marblehead up 1-0. Winthrop responded a few minutes later with a goal from Hurley, and the two teams took a 1-1 draw into the first intermission.
Winthrop took the lead on a goal from Parker early in the second period, then a late goal from Holgersen put the Vikings in control at 3-1.
Marblehead was able to get one back in the third period on a tally from Cody, but it wasn’t quite enough as Winthrop was able to run out the clock and take home the win.
“We played okay on Saturday, but we struggled on the powerplay at times and we made too many mistakes,” said Wells. “I was hoping that we’d be able to come out a little better on Sunday, but Winthrop came out hot and won all of the 50-50 battles. When a team comes out like that and does all the small things right, it’s tough to beat them. We made a run at it late but it wasn’t enough.”
Winthrop (2-2-1) travels to Masconomet Wednesday afternoon (3:10).
Marblehead (2-1-0) plays on the road at Gloucester Wednesday evening (6).
“Overall I think the season is going well so far, but we have to be a little grittier and we need to win those 1-on-1 battles,” Wells said. “We have plenty of talent, but we’ve got to do the work as well. You can’t win games in this league without outworking teams, and we’ve got to start doing that.”