NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Lynnfield overcame a sluggish start to pick up a 4-2 road win over Triton on Wednesday afternoon at Henry Graf Rink. Triton took leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the undefeated Pioneers roared back with three unanswered goals to remain atop the MIAA power rankings for Division 3.
Sophomore left wing Luke Sullivan opened the scoring for the Vikings with a power play strike in the first period. He toe-dragged past a Lynnfield defender in the neutral zone before driving into the Pioneers’ end and snapping off a wrist shot that found the twine. Head coach Ryan Sheehan’s team took the 1-0 lead to the locker room for the first intermission.
The Pioneers tied the score at 1-1 with a power play tally of their own in the second period. Off an attacking zone faceoff win, senior defenseman Drew Damiani slid the puck across the point to Aidan Norton who fired a shot on net. Junior center Joseph Raffa redirected the puck past Triton goaltender Wes Rollins.
Triton regained its lead midway through the second when senior left wing Quinn Fidler came down the left side, firing a wrist shot that beat Lynnfield senior goaltender Dan McSweeney. That was the last lead of the afternoon for the Vikings.
The advantage was short-lived as Lynnfield scored twice to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead heading to the third period. Fourth-line right wing Evan Rocha knotted the score at 2-2 as he came into the zone on a two-on-two rush.
With under a minute to play in the middle frame, the first line made a nice passing sequence that ended with the puck in the back of the net. Raffa came out of the left wing corner and slid the puck across the crease to Jack Carpenter who wasted no time burying it into the back of the net to make it 3-2 Lynnfield.
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There wasn’t much doing for either team in the third period before sophomore left wing Will Norton iced the game by sliding a puck along the ice and going five hole. It secured Jon Gardner’s team its 10th win of the season. The Pioneers now stand at 10-0-1 while Triton dropped to 6-4-2.
Here are standout players from the matchup.
Drew Damiani
Lynnfield, 3/3/05, D, right shot, 5-9/160
Damiani is the leading scorer for the Pioneers and had a secondary assist on the team’s power-play goal. There’s no doubt that Damiani can move pucks up ice and quarterback a power play. While he didn’t score, by my unofficial account, he had more shots on goal than any other player in this game. He was able to get a good amount of shots through from the top of the point. I’d like to see Damiani continue to work on his skating, details and urgency if he wants to play past high school.
Jack Carpenter
Lynnfield, 3/31/06, LW, left shot, 5-7/150
Carpenter showed more skill than anyone in this game. He has a good stick and was shifty, which allowed him to protect pucks and make plays in small areas. His goal came off a good feed from Raffa, but kudos to Carpenter for finding that soft spot and sneaking into the backdoor away from opposing defensemen. There were three or four instances where he made plays or produced scoring chances thanks to his skill. Some astute observers might remember Carpenter from the start of his high school career at St. Mary’s.
Joseph Raffa
Lynnfield, 4/11/06, C, left shot, 5-9/140
Raffa was the only multipoint producer in this game. Both of his points came from within 10 feet of the goal. He had a good redirection on the power play goal and did a nice job sliding a puck over to a wide-open linemate on the assist.
Will Norton
Lynnfield, 5/11/06, LW, left shot, 5-8/135
Norton is the team’s leading goal scorer with nine. While his insurance marker on Wednesday afternoon was somewhat of a soft goal, it was a goal-scorer’s goal. Coming out of the right-wing corner, he didn’t have any other options and slid the puck through the wickets.
Jack Lindholm
Triton, 7/1/05, D, right shot, 6-2/180
Lindholm has been a player I’ve noticed for a couple of years now when watching the Vikings. He has good size and can impact the game at both ends at this level. The Rowley, Mass., native is serving as the team’s captain as a junior.
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Michael Taylor
Triton, 1/1/07, D, right shot, 5-10/150
Taylor has the most potential of any player on the Triton team. From Salisbury, Mass., he formerly played for Top Gun. I liked his shoulder checks on retrievals and he delivered a nice hip check in the first period. There’s potential as a puck-moving defenseman, but he’ll need to clean up his habits.
Luke Sullivan
Triton, 9/15/06, LW, left shot, 6-0/155
Sullivan showed off good hands with a toe drag in the neutral zone and then speed by going wide and separating from a Lynnfield defender. The Newbury, Mass., native was another young player on the Vikings worth watching over the coming years.
Lynnfield lines
Jack Carpenter - Raffa - Scoppettuolo
W. Norton - Lucich - Sullivan
MacEachern - Neenan - Hooper
Dy. Damiani - Considine - Rocha
Micieli - Henehan - Marenghi
Da. Damiani - Cook
Connell - A. Norton
Jay Carpenter - Benedetto
McSweeney
Triton lines
C. Fidler - M. Colby - Pasquini
Q. Fidler - Egan - Johnson
Sullivan - Rumph - Hersey
Lindholm - Taylor
Monteiro - McDonald
Houlihan - G. Colby
Rollins
