Newburyport, MA – We made a trip to the seacoast to see a marquee matchup as the 6-1-0 Spartans of St. Mary’s Lynn traveled north to battle the 4-1-0 Clippers of Newburyport. From the drop of the puck the ice sheet was tilted in St. Mary’s favor as the Spartans played the body, used strong sticks and hustled to own the period. It only took 1:30 for the seal to be broken: sophomore forward Colby Magliozzi (Wakefield, MA) benefitted from the cycle game as the puck was thrown down low and he stuffed it home from the edge of the post to make it 1-0. This seemed to galvanize the bench as the Spartans kept the heat on and four minutes later it was Magliozzi again who did the damage. In a nice individual effort, he broke down the right wing, fighting through two checks, and ripped a wrister home top shelf from the dot. That was how the period ended: 2-0 Spartans.
The second period featured an early pushback by Newburyport – the Clippers were able to maintain more consistent zone time which led to more chances around the net. The most sparkling chance featured senior captain Luke Grossi-Hogg (Newburyport, MA) bullying his way to the net with two defenders draped on him, nearly poking it home short side but the puck dribbled wide. A few minutes later came a counterpunch from the Spartans who kept throwing pucks on net and were rewarded just past the halfway point when Jared Coppola (Lynn, MA) fed a cutting sophomore Max Giardina (Reading, MA) who went backhand/forehand stash to make it 3-0. Just a minute later, the Spartans were on the attack again as Kyle Ouellette (Salem, MA) fired one quickly from below the dots that trickled in: 4-0 St. Mary’s Lynn.
On we went to the third period where play was back-and-forth and no team really owned the possessions. Later in the period the momentum belonged again to the Spartans who went on the power play with just a few minutes remaining and Davis Kinne (Swampscott, MA) simply took over by grabbing a loose puck in the slot, walking around two defenders and poking it home using his full reach to make it 5-0 – which was your final from Henry Graf Arena. Junior goalie Joe Purtell stopped every shot he saw for the shutout, though he was not tested regularly in this one.
NZ’s Take:
Despite numerous pushes in the second and third by Newburyport, this game was dominated by St. Mary’s Lynn from start to finish (namely their underclassmen), as indicated by the scoresheet. The game was a contrast in styles between the two schools as the Clippers sought to slow the game down and create chances for open forwards down low, the Spartans were all about speed, shots on net and crashing the cage. The athleticism of St. Mary’s Lynn was overwhelming for Newburyport who struggled to move their feet at both ends. The Spartans were constantly in motion, playing aggressive hockey and banging bodies, looking to make plays. They will be a threat as the calendar moves towards March because of their athleticism.
As for top performers, forward Colin Reddy (Lynn, MA) is evasive, aggressive and works his tail off to make positive plays happen. He didn’t find the scoresheet in this game but he had a number of good chances which will go in on other nights. Defender Davis Kinne was simply terrific in this game as a freshman playing against physically mature seniors. He was confident, strong on the puck and creative to boot: he may be the top rookie in the MIAA this year. The mobile defenders Kyle Ouellette (Salem, MA) and Chris Kolodziej (Salem, MA) were great at advancing the puck and covering the points offensively while Damon Maribito (Georgetown, MA) and Will Flynn (Danvers, MA) showed good sprinting speed to create odd-man rushes and lengthen possessions.
For Newburyport, all players being from their hometown, of course, forward Ben Reynolds was an intriguing junior as a big body forward who plays aggressive and is strong on the puck. Senior captain Jacob Grossi-Hogg showed a similar heavy game on the puck and good knowledge of his surroundings offensively. On defense, Owen Spence and Thomas Greene were both strong in their own zones with good physicality and shot blocking ability.
Three Stars:
- G Joe Purtell, St. Mary’s Lynn
- F Colby Magliozzi, St. Mary’s Lynn
- D Davis Kinne, St. Mary’s Lynn
