The GHS boys hockey team brought home the CASB Holiday Tournament championship title back to Gloucester with wins over both the Medford Mustangs and the Barrington Eagles. The Eagles placed 2nd, the Mustangs placed 3rd, and the Marblehead Magicians took home 4th place.
The Fishermen opened the tournament in a back-and-forth 4-2 win over the Medford Mustangs. Assistant captain Colby Jewell scored a hat trick, while assistant captain Brett Cunningham scored one goal. Assists went to Jackson Hakes (2) and Charlie Terelak (1).
Jewell was the first to strike in the game with 3 minutes left in the 1st period. However, Medford wouldn’t let the Fishermen start that easy, scoring with 21 seconds left. Throughout the first period, both teams were aggressive with their passing and checks. The pushing got worse in the second period, with multiple players on both teams getting hard checks into the boards or onto the ground. Jewell and Hakes struck again with 12 minutes left, shooting the puck easily into the net. Chris LoJocano and Cunningham went into the box just 20 seconds apart from each other before Medford tied the game up with 6 minutes left in the second.
Entering the 3rd period, Gloucester and Medford were tied with 2 goals each. James Sanfillipo was put in the penalty box early in the 3rd period before Cunningham scored off a Terelak pass. With Gloucester leading 3-2, Jewell scored his third goal unassisted with 50 seconds left on an empty Medford net. The game ended with a 4-2 Gloucester win to advance to the championship.
A day later, the boys prepared themselves for their 8pm championship game against reigning CASB tournament champions, the Barrington Eagles. The Fishermen took home the title in a chippy 4-3 overtime win. Goals were scored by Cunningham (2), Hakes, and Jewell.
It was a surprising decision from the Fishermen to put in the team’s other starting goalie Riley DeHaan, but the senior held strong between the pipes to secure Gloucester’s win. Captain Joe Orlando led the Fishermen into the game with his known determination and compassion for the game.
Terelak was aggressive for the Fishermen, along with strong offensive plays by freshmen Sam Sanfillipo and Connor Mahoney. Hakes was quick to score, with a goal off a pass from Cunningham 5 minutes and 30 seconds into the game. Adam Gorman of the Eagles was put inside the box before Gloucester ended the period 1-0.
Within 4 minutes of the second period starting, Cunningham scored off a pass from Hakes to lengthen the Fishermen’s lead to 2-0. Barrington woke up and scored 3 minutes after Cunningham’s goal, making the game come to 2-1. The Eagles started to be more aggressive towards the Fishermen, with a defenseman pushing Hakes hard into the boards. A commotion of bodies inside the net led to a Jewell goal off a Cunningham assist, but not long before punches started to be thrown from Barrington’s side. Gloucester fought back, despite the ref’s whistle, which resulted in multiple players being pushed and thrown down to the ice. John O’Connell of the Eagles was the only player to be placed inside the penalty box for both teams. Cunningham faced a hit from the Eagles before the period ended, with Gloucester leading 2-1.
Just as the Fishermen thought their lead was comfortable, Barrington scored 2 goals back to back to start off the first 6 minutes of the third period. A shot by Barrington with 3 minutes and 45 seconds left just missed the net, leading to the end of regulation and the beginning of overtime. With 5 minutes on the overtime clock, Gloucester had to score first to win during sudden-death overtime. Luckily, Cunningham got possession of the puck and brought it to the Barrington net. The assistant captain shot the puck at the goalie, which went through his legs and stopped right at the goal line. With Cunningham trying to shove the puck in while Barrington’s goalie and defenseman trying to push it out, the puck miraculously passed the goal line and secured Gloucester’s win of the tournament.
“I thought the games went well for us,” Captain Orlando said post-game. “We had collapses in both games, but battled through the challenges and ended up getting two important wins out of it. This tournament win will be big for our motivation and momentum going forward as we get into the meat of our schedule.”
With a win on December 30th against Lynnfield, which included a Cunningham hat trick, the team’s record now stands at 5-1. The boys look to keep their 5 game-winning streak alive with a win over Newburyport on January 3rd. Come pack the tank in USA apparel at 6 for puck-drop!
