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Clipper captain nets hat trick in upset of North Andover

Monday, January, 07 By Jim Sullivan
Correspondent

The Newburyport hockey team needed a player to emerge as its go-to scorer during Saturday's tilt against North Andover. The Scarlet Knights entered undefeated in league play (4-0-1), while the Clippers would've dropped to 2-4 with a loss and had their hopes of capturing a Cape Ann League title all but dashed.

Who better to step up than Newburyport captain Derek McCoy? When all was said and done, the senior skated away with a hat trick and two assists to send North Andover packing with a 6-4 loss.

"McCoy has a refuse-to-lose attitude," praised coach Paul Yameen. "He took the game into his own hands and it had a snowball effect for the rest of the team."

Despite a less-than-stellar record (2-3 entering the contest), the Clippers began the lancing in the third minute with Kyle McElroy’s goal assisted by McCoy and Derek Freeman.

Thirty-seven seconds later, Billy Eiserman lit the lamp assisted by Sean Hickman and Kirk Dillon to put the Port up 2-0 inside the first three minutes.

North Andover (4-4-1) answered back less than 20 seconds later with a goal by Ryan Gillespie assisted by Ryan Sifferien. The score remained 2-1 for the rest of the first by Newburyport’s freshman goalie Anthony Federico.

Dwarfed by many of his older teammates and opponents Federico (5 foot, 5 inches) played David to North Andover's Goliaths who entered the crease.

"He’s not a big boy," Yameen observed. "But he’s got a big heart."

Federico continued showing said heart during a tough, physical second period as McElroy teamed up with McCoy and Freeman for his second goal of the day.

The tail end of the period saw the Knights living up to their name when Ryan Arsenault, assisted by Sifferien and Jack Hyman, slipped one past Federico’s left shoulder. Sifferien followed that up with an unassisted five-hole goal on the freshman, sending the game tied 3-3 into the second intermission.

When the third period began, it was McCoy, McCoy, McCoy | literally.

The fireworks started with McCoy scoring top shelf assisted by McElroy and Eiserman for his first goal. McCoy did it again, exactly two minutes later, with a wrap-around shot assisted by Corey Ruane and David Freeman.

The Knights tried to stop the bleeding with a goal by Gillespie. But McCoy charged in again | this time unassisted | for goal No. 3.

Despite his first hat trick of the season, McCoy chose to focus on the team's performance.

"We won as a team, came out strong, and had three hard periods," he said.

"This was a big game for us," Yameen said. "We had some big (penalty) kills. We put three periods together and finished strong. (North Andover coach) Denis Barrette does a great job. They’re a hard-working, physical team. We knew it was going to be a battle with North Andover."

"It’s good to know you can win when you have to," Yameen concluded. "They worked their tails off, and they deserve it."

The Clippers, now 3-3, will next face Central Catholic Wednesday night (7 p.m.).

Additional stories:

• Newburyport too much for North Andover