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STONEHAM — Maybe you’re surprised that the Marblehead High hockey team is now in the North semifinals, two wins away from skating at the TD Garden in this, their first foray as a Division 2 club.
But the Headers aren’t.
“This was our plan from the start of the season. We expected this from ourselves,” said senior left wing Erik Powers, who scored twice in his team’s 4-1 quarterfinal triumph over North Reading last night at Stoneham Arena.
“What we’ve done, it is impressive,” added senior goaltender Miles Barry, when told it was his team’s 18th win of the season. “I think we all knew we had excellent potential coming into the season, and we’ve been looking towards this all year.”
Seventh-seeded Marblehead (18-5-1) took control early by scoring three times in the game’s first 7:43 and dominated the Hornets statistically, outshooting them 44-10.
The Headers now advance to the Division 2 North quarterfinals Monday at the Chelmsford Forum in North Billerica against the winner of last night’s late Masconomet/Tewksbury game (time TBA) at the Chelmsford Forum.
Marblehead’s Red (1st), Green (2nd) and Maroon (4th) lines all scored while its Grey (3rd) unit forechecked effectively the entire game and never let second-seeded North Reading (16-3-2) much in the way of an offensive attack. On the few occasions the Headers suffered a defensive breakdown, Barry was there standing his ground. The 5-foot-8, 140-pound keeper stopped Shane Driscoll on a semi-breakaway early in the second period before robbing Mike Driscoll on a clean break, catching the puck between his collarbone and mask.
“All four lines played very well,” said head coach Bob Jackson, “and Miles didn’t see a lot of shots but came up really big when he had to. And we did a great job on man-down situations (killing 5 of 6 penalties).”
Marblehead wasted little time establishing its first period dominance, scoring 64 seconds after the puck was first dropped. Powers netted his 13th goal of the season after collecting defenseman Trevor Gelineau’s shot from the point and depositing it in back of North Reading netminder Keith Linnane (40 saves).
“It was a great way to start the game,” Barry said. “Coming out fast like that catches everyone off guard.”
Senior fourth liner Chris Cormier, who didn’t score at all during the regular season, bagged his second goal in as many playoff games to make it 2-0 at 7:23. Setting up shop in front of Linnane, he took a pass from linemate Max Delvento  (who was stationed behind the net) and one-timed the puck home.
On the very next shift, the Headers broke out of their zone 2-on-1 as brothers Tom and Matt Koopman bore on in Linnane. Matt, the sophomore center, kept the puck and roofed a missile high glove side that Linnane couldn’t get to.
“We definitely caught them flat-footed in that first period,” said Powers, who added an empty net goal with eight seconds to play. “But we knew they were a good team and they’d come out after us the next two periods. But us playing those four lines I think wore them down.”
North Reading came out and played much better in the second stanza, getting a power play goal from senior captain Tom Day at 4:41. But those two terrific saves by Barry and some staunch penalty killing prevented further damage, a trait Marblehead continued in the final period until Powers’ empty netter sealed the deal.
Marblehead 4, North Reading 1
at Stoneham Arena
North Reading: 0 1 0 — 1
Marblehead: 3 0 1 — 4
First period: M, Erik Powers (Trevor Gelineau, Time Kalinowski), 1:04; M, Chris Cormier (Max Delvento, Liam Gillis), 7:23; M, Matt Koopman (Tom Koopman), 7:43.
Second Period: NR, Thomas Day (un), ppg, 4:41.
Third Period: M, Powers (un), eng, 14:52.
Saves: M, Miles Barry 9; NR, Keith Linnane 40.
Records: M, 18-5-1; NR, 16-3-2.

STONEHAM — Maybe you’re surprised that the Marblehead High hockey team is now in the North semifinals, two wins away from skating at the TD Garden in this, their first foray as a Division 2 club. But the Headers aren’t. “This was our plan from the start of the season. We expected this from ourselves,” said senior left wing Erik Powers, who scored twice in his team’s 4-1 quarterfinal triumph over North Reading last night at Stoneham Arena. “What we’ve done, it is impressive,” added senior goaltender Miles Barry, when told it was his team’s 18th win of the season. “I think we all knew we had excellent potential coming into the season, and we’ve been looking towards this all year.” Seventh-seeded Marblehead (18-5-1) took control early by scoring three times in the game’s first 7:43 and dominated the Hornets statistically, outshooting them 44-10. The Headers now advance to the Division 2 North quarterfinals Monday at the Chelmsford Forum in North Billerica against the winner of last night’s late Masconomet/Tewksbury game (time TBA) at the Chelmsford Forum. Marblehead’s Red (1st), Green (2nd) and Maroon (4th) lines all scored while its Grey (3rd) unit forechecked effectively the entire game and never let second-seeded North Reading (16-3-2) much in the way of an offensive attack. On the few occasions the Headers suffered a defensive breakdown, Barry was there standing his ground. The 5-foot-8, 140-pound keeper stopped Shane Driscoll on a semi-breakaway early in the second period before robbing Mike Driscoll on a clean break, catching the puck between his collarbone and mask. “All four lines played very well,” said head coach Bob Jackson, “and Miles didn’t see a lot of shots but came up really big when he had to. And we did a great job on man-down situations (killing 5 of 6 penalties).” Marblehead wasted little time establishing its first period dominance, scoring 64 seconds after the puck was first dropped. Powers netted his 13th goal of the season after collecting defenseman Trevor Gelineau’s shot from the point and depositing it in back of North Reading netminder Keith Linnane (40 saves). “It was a great way to start the game,” Barry said. “Coming out fast like that catches everyone off guard.” Senior fourth liner Chris Cormier, who didn’t score at all during the regular season, bagged his second goal in as many playoff games to make it 2-0 at 7:23. Setting up shop in front of Linnane, he took a pass from linemate Max Delvento  (who was stationed behind the net) and one-timed the puck home. On the very next shift, the Headers broke out of their zone 2-on-1 as brothers Tom and Matt Koopman bore on in Linnane. Matt, the sophomore center, kept the puck and roofed a missile high glove side that Linnane couldn’t get to. “We definitely caught them flat-footed in that first period,” said Powers, who added an empty net goal with eight seconds to play. “But we knew they were a good team and they’d come out after us the next two periods. But us playing those four lines I think wore them down.” North Reading came out and played much better in the second stanza, getting a power play goal from senior captain Tom Day at 4:41. But those two terrific saves by Barry and some staunch penalty killing prevented further damage, a trait Marblehead continued in the final period until Powers’ empty netter sealed the deal. Marblehead 4, North Reading 1 at Stoneham Arena North Reading: 0 1 0 — 1 Marblehead: 3 0 1 — 4 First period: M, Erik Powers (Trevor Gelineau, Time Kalinowski), 1:04; M, Chris Cormier (Max Delvento, Liam Gillis), 7:23; M, Matt Koopman (Tom Koopman), 7:43. Second Period: NR, Thomas Day (un), ppg, 4:41. Third Period: M, Powers (un), eng, 14:52. Saves: M, Miles Barry 9; NR, Keith Linnane 40. Records: M, 18-5-1; NR, 16-3-2.

Thomas Day and Jared Potter each scored twice for North Reading, which locked down the Cape Ann League Division 2 title with a 5-4 win over Wilmington.

Keith Linnane made a whopping 47 saves, and after two scoreless periods North Reading made that effort stand by scoring three times to give the Hornets a 3-0 victory over Sandwich in the Jeff Hayes Tourney final. Nick Day scored two goals and Sean McGreal added the other.

Jared Potter scored three goals and added four assists as North Reading blasted Saugus 9-0.

Nick Day scored two goals, both assisted by brother Thomas Day to lead North Reading to a 2-0 win over Amesbury/Whittier.

HAVERHILL — It might say Sachems on the jerseys, but that didn't stop the Pentucket/Georgetown hockey squad from going to another Native American dialect for its team motto: we martin. "It's the Algonquin word for brotherhood," Ben Klosowski said. "We're Sachems, but we needed an Indian word for brotherhood. The junior forward and his mates pulled off a shocker yesterday at Veteran's Memorial Rink with a convincing 3-0 victory yesterday over previously undefeated and Cape Ann League-frontrunner North Reading. "We knew they were supposedly the best team in the league, and we just wanted to prove otherwise," said goalie Anthony Orlando, who splits time with fellow frosh Robert Porter in net. "When things are going (as well as they were last night), all you can do is pay attention to how nuts the bench is going." With 27 saves, Orlando was a big part of the upset, which came on the heels of Porter's shutout of Lynnfield earlier in the week. Those wins have helped the Sachems (4-3 overall, 2-3 league) rebound from a 6-1 loss to Newburyport, which then dropped a 2-1 decision to North Reading on Thursday. "We knew we were the best team in the league and we just had to prove it to them," Klosowski said of yesterday's showing. "We were getting the puck deep and pressing the net." Which exactly is what PG did — starting early. Wasting no time attacking North Reading (6-1-1, 3-1-1), PG took the lead for good at the 2:40 mark on a score by Georgetown sophomore Cam Wolbach. A mere 68 seconds later, Klosowski scored the first of his two goals. "We stressed all week long that (North Reading) was a good team," PG coach Bill Burns said. "They hadn't lost yet and we had to be ready for a (fast) pace. We had to have a high intensity level and we had to start quick. We could not afford to spot them a lead. "I think the kids understood that right away. We went over our defensive system at length to make sure we didn't make any mistakes down low, and the kids did a pretty good job of executing that." North Reading, which had not not allowed more than two goals in any of its first seven games while averaging 1.3 goals against, fell into an even deeper hole on Klosowski's power-play goal with 4:04 left in the first. That was more than enough offense for Orlando, who received strong play from the five defensemen Burns utilizes. In fact, with starters John Moner and Patrick Slack, who are both from Georgetwon, and backups Andrew Greenbaum, Bob Hallowell and Ben Gardner leading the way, PG kept the Hornets out of the net on all of their five power-play opportunities. North Reading managed only five shots on its three one-man advantages in the third period "I think when you have success early in the year, it's a dangerous thing — especially for some high school kids" North Reading coach John Giulotti said of the setback. "They start looking at the stats and they start looking at the standings, and they think that's real. "What they need to understand is that hockey is a very emotional sport and you have to come out every day. Today, Pentucket played a fantastic game, and they really took it to us. You take the goods and the bads and put them in the rear-view mirror and move on." As for the motto? Well Burns went to Wikipedia to find that. "We lost eight seniors last year off a good team that just missed going to states by one game, "Burns said. "These kids coming in had to realize all they had was each other. And that's brotherhood, which is what that word means." Any way you say it, the brothers of Pentucket/Georgetown incredibly are still in the hunt for a league title.

Jared Potter scored two goals as North Reading topped Methuen 4-1.