Fishermen advance to Quarter-finals; Headers head home
Gloucester Goalie Nick Tarantino catches a flying puck from his left corner.
March 8, 2022
Last night, the No. 2 Gloucester Fishermen hockey team won 6-4 against the No. 15 Marblehead Headers. In their fourth contest of the year, great goaltending by sophomore Nick Tarantino and a hat trick by sophomore Emerson Marshall led to the Fishermen’s victory.
“Job’s isn’t finished,” senior captain Jack Costanzo said. “Big break right now but when Friday comes we will be ready to go.”
Gloucester’s head coach also spoke about the exhilarating atmosphere in the sold out Tank.
“It’s unbelievable the support we’ve had from the city and students,” Head Coach Derek Geary said. “We’re happy to play another game for them.”
Within minutes of the puck drop, GHS unloaded countless shots at the Marblehead Goalie. The Fishermen’s first goal came from sophomore Colby Jewell. Costanzo passed to Jewell in the slot which gave Jewell a clear shot to the net. Sophomore Emerson Marshall scored Gloucester’s next goal. Sophomore Brett Cunningham, from the left corner, assisted Marshall. The game was 2-0 GHS. Cunningham, behind the net, connected with Marshall in the slot to bring the score to 3-0 Fishermen. Gloucester continued their offensive pressure but could not get the puck in the net. GHS finished the first period up 3-0.
Marblehead began the second period with offensive pressure. Header Connor Jalbert snuck one in on Tarantino’s right corner. The score was brought to 3-1, with the Fishermen still leading. While on a power-play, Marblehead’s Eli Feingold deflected a shot in to get a goal for the Headers. The Fishermen saw their lead get cut to 3-2 at the start of the second. Although Marblehead still dominated the puck, Cunningham saw an opportunity and made a move on the left wing to score, bringing GHS’ lead to 4-2.
Gloucester’s next goal came on a power play, where Marshall scored a 5 hole from the left wing to get his second hat trick in two playoff games. The Tank was showered in hats by the fans to celebrate. Both teams fought back and forth with even control of the puck. The second period concluded with Gloucester up 5-2.
The Headers started the third period off with a quick 30-second goal in which a Marblehead player passed to Chris Locke to score from the slot. Gloucester’s lead was brought down to 5-3. Tarantino had what could have been the defensive play of the night saving a 1 on 1 breakaway. He then once again saved the rebound shot. The crowd was delighted as they pounded the glass. The Header’s Locke went on and scored their fourth goal of the night off of a loose puck. He brought the game to 5-4 Gloucester with over 9 minutes left in the game. Some head games were played and there seemed to be some pushing and shoving by each team. Tarantino continued to keep Gloucester in the game with save after save.
In the final minutes of the game, Marblehead pulled their goalie but it led to no success. After a faceoff, Gloucester kept the puck in Marblehead’s zone where Jewell passed to Costanzo in the slot where he scored. GHS’ lead was brought up to 6-4 with less than a minute left in the game. Coach Geary called a timeout to get the Fishermen in check and they closed out the game to win 6-4.
“It was a thrilling game,” Geary said. “I thought it started with our Goaltender Nick Tarantino, he made some unbelievable saves starting in the first period. To have that kind of backbone gives the team a lot of confidence. When things got tight, we thought that was kind of our extra sauce,” Geary said. “We know Costanzo and Marshall are unbelievable players, Jewell, Delaney, and Cunningham, but Tarantino needs his spotlight as well.”
No. 2 Gloucester advances to the round of 8 of the Division 2 Boys’ State Hockey Tournament. GHS, having home ice advantage, will either face No.7 Norwood or No.10 Newburyport. The time and date of the game are TBD.
