THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2022 Page 13 Sachems fall in double OT playoff opener T By Greg Phipps he Saugus High School hockey team proved more than worthy of its Div. 4 playoff berth last Thursday when it nearly knocked off ninth-seeded Assabet Valley in their Round of 32 contest at Navin Rink in Marlborough. The 24th-seeded Sachems held a 4-3 lead late in the second period before the host Aztecs tied it up in the waning seconds of the middle stanza. Both teams tallied in the third to force the game to overtime deadlocked at fi ve. The game would remain even until the Aztecs scored to end it late in the second 3-on3 overtime session to escape with a 6-5 victory. The loss ended Saugus’s season at 7-13-1 overall. Despite dropping four of their last fi ve regular-season games, the Sachems steadily improved while going up against some tough, higher-division competition. That was evident in last Thursday’s playoff at Assabet, as the Aztecs had 15 wins entering the Round of 32 and have since advanced to the Round of 8. Saugus had two players with Senior co-captain Chris Regnetta dished out four assists in Saugus’s hard-fought double overtime loss to Assabet Valley last Thursday. (Advocate photos by Greg Phipps) two-goal eff orts against Assabet. Jason Caron and Jason Monahan each tallied twice. Massey Ventre contributed a goal and assisted on another, and Chris Regnetta took over the role of playmaker by dishing out four assists. Goalie Matt Smith took the loss in net but made some fi ne saves to keep his team in it. The Sachems came back from 2-0 and 3-2 defi cits, and forced the overtime when Monahan Youth Hockey Playoff s East Coast Junior Patriots make it to the Semifi nals after a pair of come-from-behind wins; fi nish third in tournament By Meghann Breton Special to Th e Saugus Advocate R ecently, the East Coast Junior Patriots (ECJP) competed in the State Championships for Massachusetts. The ECJP are a triple A PeeWee youth hockey team made up of 11- and 12-yea- old kids from Saugus and the surrounding towns. The ECJP were one of only eight teams that made it to the tournament this year in their division. The kids made it all the way to the Semifi nals and fi nished in third place. The ECJP played their fi rst States game on Friday, Feb. 25, at the John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown against Nonotuck. By the second period the ECJP were losing by three goals. During the second period the ECJP made a comeback; Conor Lacy scored the fi rst goal, Adam Mouhib followed up with the second and fi nally Shane Higgins tied up the game with the third goal. In the third period the ECJP kept the momentum going, prevented Nonotuck from scoring and also scored two more goals. The ECJP fi nished strong, winning 5-3. The ECJP played their second States game on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Veterans Memorial Rink in Waltham against Whitman Hanson Kingston. At the end of the fi rst period, ECJP was down by three goals again. Adam Mouhib ended the second period scoring the fi rst goal for ECJP. Shane Higgins scored two goals – tying up the game – during the third period. In the last 40 seconds of the game, Domenic Magliozzi scored, stealing the lead and winning the game for ECJP, 4-3. The ECJP became the only undefeated team in the tournament after two come-from-behind wins. The ECJP played their SHOWING GRIT AND DETERMINATION: Bella Krokos made a valiant eff ort in recent playoff action by the East Coast Junior Patriots. (Courtesy photo by Meghann Breton to The Saugus Advocate) third States game later that night at the Veterans Memorial Rink in Waltham against Sudbury Maynard Stow. In the second period, Sudbury Maynard Stow (SMS) scored the first goal of the game. Shane Higgins quickly followed up with a goal for ECJP. Jace Pereira ended the second period scoring and securing the lead for ECJP. During the last few minutes of the third period, SMS scored three goals, stealing the lead. Cameron Marchand quickly scored for ECJP, tying the game back up. In the last minute of the game, SMS scored, taking the lead. With just 10 MAKING HIS MARK: Cameron Marchand (left) was one of the standouts for the East Coast Junior Patriots in their recent playoff run. The Patriots fi nished third of out of eight teams competing in the State Championships. (Courtesy photo by Meghann Breton to The Saugus Advocate) seconds left in the game, Cameron Marchand tried to score another goal for the ECJP, but was unsuccessful. SMS beat ECJP, 4-3. The ECJP played their State Championship Semifi nals on Sunday, Feb. 27 at the John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown against Burlington. Artie O’Leary started off the fi rst period strongly, scoring the fi rst goal for ECJP. James Caruso ended the fi rst period with another goal, making the score 2-0. In the second and third periods, Burlington came back strongly, scoring goal after goal against the ECJP. The ECJP kept fi ghting, but they were unable to make a comeback. Burlington beat ECJP, 7-2. This loss knocked ECJP out of the tournament. The ECJP have come a long way from two years ago. Back in 2020, the ECJP competed in the State Championships as Squirts. In 2020, these kids didn’t even come close to the Semifi nals. They were out skilled and unprepared for the competition that they faced. After two years of practice and hard work, these same kids not only managed to qualify for the State Championships again, but also managed to finish in third place in their division. The ECJP plan to keep working hard and honing their skills, come back stronger next year and win the State Championships. In the meantime, the ECJP plan to fi nish up their regular hockey season and then fi nish off strongly with their playoff games this month. The ECJP will play their next game on March 12 at 12:50 p.m. at the Kasabuski Rink in Saugus. scored with 5:27 left in regulation to tie it at 5-5. Assabet’s Nolan Tomczyk scored the game-winner just under three minutes into the second OT. Saugus Head Coach Jeff Natalucci told the press after the game that he is proud of his team’s playoff performance. Young goalie Matt Smith saw his fi ne season come to an end in last Thursday’s playoff loss to Assabet Valley. “We battled back a few times out there,” he said. “But in the end [the Aztecs] were just able to make one more play than us.” Saugus’s seven wins came against Lynn (twice), Swampscott (twice), Pentucket, Everett/Revere and Somerville. The Sachems fi nished with a 2-7-1 record in Northeastern Conference play. Departing seniors are Ventre, Caron, Monahan, Regnetta, Ryan Ragucci, Matt Robbins and Jason Freehling.
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