Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, January 3, 2020 Saugus drops two at Christmas tourney Sachems sophomore defenseman Matty Robbins avoids the check of a North Reading opponent to make a forward pass in Thursday’s opening round contest. Saugus players Jason Freehling (8) and Andrew Cipriano (16) defend the front of the net in last Thursday’s 5-4 loss to North Reading in the opening round of the Kasabuski Christmas Tournament. (Advocate Photos by Greg Phipps) By Greg Phipps D espite being outshot by a hefty margin, the Saugus High School hockey team came close to earning its first victory of the season last Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the annual Kasabuski Christmas Tournament at Kasabuski Arena. Trailing North Reading, 5-2, in the third periLawn and Yard Care SNOW PLOWING *REASONABLE RATES * PROMPT SERVICE * PARKING LOTS USA 781-521-9927 od, the Sachems scored twice to pull within one with just over a minute left in regulation. But they couldn’t notch the equalizer and dropped a 5-4 decision. Saugus then fell to Peabody by a 5-1 count in last Friday’s consolation game and was blanked, 5-0, at Winthrop on Tuesday. As a result, the team’s record dropped to 0-5 on the early season. Saugus head coach Jeff Natalucci, whose squad had been outscored 13-2 in its first two games, was encouraged by the performance against North Reading. “I liked our effort. If we just learn to execute a little better in certain areas and certain situations, we’ll be better,” he told the press after the game. “We gave ourselves a shot and stuck with it. We were down 5-2 in the third period. It would have been easy to mail it in. We gave ourselves a chance to win this game right until the end.” The Sachems scored first when Lorenzo Keegan tallied on a breakaway off a nice feed from Richie Mauro. The visitors would score twice to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Mauro was penalized for five minutes late in the second period, and that helped lead to two quick North Reading goals and a 4-1 deficit. After Saugus’s Massey Ventre whipped in a shorthanded goal off a rebound to make it 4-2, North Reading tallied again to increase its lead to three. Jason Caron connected for a thirdperiod score to close the gap to 5-3, and Keegan netted his second tally of the day with just over a minute to go and goalie Jack Devereaux out of the net. The contest would not have been as close had it not been for the stellar goaltending by Devereaux, who was pressured all game and held North Reading at bay. He made an amazing 61 saves on 66 shots to keep his team in it. The major penalty to Mauro proved to be a key turning point. North Reading scored three times while Mauro was in the box. “We’re not built to be a man down or play four-on-four hockey, and Mauro is one of our better players,” said Natalucci. “He’s a captain and a guy we need on the ice. We can’t have him in the penalty box for five minutes.” In the loss to Peabody, eighth grader Cam Anderson scored his first varsity goal to account for the lone Sachems tally. Saugus is scheduled to host Lynn at Kasabuski on Saturday (scheduled 8 p.m. faceoff). Saugus goalie Jack Devereaux maneuvers for position in the crease against a North Reading forward. Devereaux stopped 61 shots in last Thursday’s first-round defeat. Call Driveways from $25
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