Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, FEbrUAry 9, 2024 Peabody-Saugus hockey: Blending youth and experience for late-season surge By Dom Nicastro T he Peabody-Saugus boys hockey team is looking for a strong finish to the season. And based on some recent results, the Tanners are heading in that direction. Peabody-Saugus is 3-81 after 12 games. But it has played well lately. In its last five games, it is 2-2-1, including a 7-1 win over Minuteman and a 5-3 victory over Chicopee. Coach Jason Marshall reflected on the team’s recent performances, indicating a period of positive results and competitive play, particularly after key games. This momentum is attributed to the team’s ongoing development and efforts to play a complete game, emphasizing the importance of consistency across all periods. “We’ve jumbled up the lines a little bit going into this past couple of weeks,” Marshall said. “We moved Dom Chianca (senior of Saugus) up to forward coming from defense. And so ASKS | FROM PAGE 3 Department and the DPW had responded, but couldn’t do anything to get the cat because of the location of the tree near the houses in between Warren Road and Greenwood Avenue. A: Yeah. I can get into difficult locations where they can’t. The Spider Lift fits in a 36-inch gate. You can drive it right into the backyard. Q: How long did it take you to get it? A: Maybe an hour – well, we had to take a fence down, get the equipment off the trailer and get the equipment next to the tree. But once I went up on the lift, it wasn’t even five minutes before I got to the cat. Q: The cat was crying the whole time? A: The whole time – screaming, like it wanted help. Q: So, there was no resistance when you got closer to the cat? A: No. It actually came right to me; it was so happy to see me. Then after I saved it, it was rubbing its face. Q: Was it purring? A: No, it was still meowing, but it was rubbing its face all over me. It was grateful. He knew I it’s definitely left our defense a little bit lighter. But it’s really bolstered that second line, and I say second line, very lightly, because both of our top two lines I view as our first line. But that line of Brandon Barone (Peabody sophomore), Dom and freshman Artie O’Leary (of Saugus) … they’ve been lights out over the past three, four games or so.” Senior Ryan Jones of Saugus, senior Michael Ryan Peabody and Peabody junior Tyson Higgins form the first line. “They’re very solid defensively,” Marshall said. “I’ve coached Michael Ryan now for four years. And he’s one of the better defensive forwards that I’ve seen, just at the high school level in general. Ryan Jones has got one of the best shots in our conference. And then Tyson Higgins has been really making huge strides this year, both in terms of puck battling, but really creating his own offense on the rush as well.” As for the blue line crew, had helped him. Q: How many times before have you used this equipment to rescue a cat from a tree? A: Probably three times since I’ve had this machine – the Spider Lift – probably over a year now. Q: So, you usually get a call from the Animal Control Officer or the cat owner? How does that work? A: It’s usually the cat owner. Q: And this is like a public service that you do? Some of the companies would charge like 15 hundred bucks just to bring your rig to a place. A: A minimum of four hours would be about 15 hundred bucks. Q: The Animal Control Officer Darren McCullough said he gave a number of another company to the cat’s owner, but apparently they wanted to charge for the service of coming to help out. A: Some people charge. Yeah. But I want to be able to sleep at night, so I don’t charge. Q: Was there any challenge for this particular rescue? A: Not at all. It was pretty easy. Darren helped me take the fence down; a neighbor gave us a drill, and we took the fence down. The whole neighborhood kind STUCK NEAR THE TREE TOP: MeMe, a 10-monthold male cat (shown within the blue circle) clung to a branch of a tree on Warren Road, just minutes before his rescue. (Courtesy photo by Jeannie Meredith to The Saugus Advocate) of helped, actually. Then we got the equipment in, we set it up and went up and grabbed the cat, and that was it. And I think they found the owner of the cat. Q: Yes, they did. Darren said he went door-to-door in the neighborhood to locate the owner. How high was it where the cat was? A: About 60 feet maybe. It wasn’t that high. The Spider Sachems senior Ryan Jones eyes the puck during a recent game against Marblehe junior Zach Hartnett has been huge, Marshall said. “He’s logging a ton of minutes,” Marshall added. “He gets some power play time as well. But really just being a stabilizing force for our defense, as well as our senior captain Trevor Pacheco (of Peabody), who’s always just very reliable. In our own zone, he’s really a commanding force, especially in front of our own net. Not many guys are able to get good positioning in front of the net. And he’s been huge for us as well stepping up.” Sophomore goalie Evan Tybinkowski is still getting most of the looks in net. “He’s a huge competitor,” Marshall said. “I mean, even on these games where he’s given up a lot of goals, he doesn’t stop, he doesn’t quit for like a single second for a single play. He is someone who wants to be on the ice in the net, as much as possible. Luckily, over the past few games, he’s not seeing as many shots as he has the entire season. I mean, at one point, we had maybe a five- or six-game stretch, where we were seeing easily 45 shots a game. So now we’re back at a good level. And that’s kind of been key for us in keeping us in these games. But he’s been lights out nonstop for us all season.” Looking ahead, Coach Marshall emphasizes the importance of consistency and the desire to see improvement across all lines and from younger players. The upcoming games present a challenging schedule, but also an opportunity for the team to measure their progress and competitiveness against strong opponents. “I always tell them — it’s something that was kind of told to me and it’s an old hockey term — but just have a short memory,” Marshall said. “If you’re going to make a mistake, go back out there the next shift and completely forget about it. And just on to the next one. So, I try to reiterate that as much as possible.” MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Dante Hibbard, president of ASAP Tree Care, Inc., of Saugus, gave the thumbs up sign after completing the successful rescue of a cat named MeMe, which was stuck in a tree for more than 30 hours before he used his spider lift to reach it. (Courtesy photo by Jeannie Meredith to The Saugus Advocate) Lift goes about 90 feet, and it wasn’t even close to being fully extended. Q: Now, if you didn’t rescue the cat, what would happen? A: I don’t know. That’s why I rescue them, because I don’t know what’s going to happen if I don’t. Q: I guess in the area where the tree was, there were picket fences and other pointed structures in that area, so that if it fell, the cat could get hurt. ASKS | SEE PAGE 14
11 Publizr Home