RallyNorth.net

Sun, Jan 13, 2008 07:00 PM @ Rockport

Team	1	2	3	Final
Lynn Tech	0	0	0	0
Rockport	1	4	1	6

Rockport blanks Lynn Tech for second time

Monday, January, 14 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

Rockport hockey coach Mike Greel was a little nervous after the first period against underdog Lynn Tech last night. The Vikings were facing a squad that they had previously beaten 8-0 and found themselves up just 1-0 after the first period.

Fortunately, the Vikings were able to turn it on with four goals in the second period and cruise to a 6-0 win over the Tigers yesterday at Dorothy Talbot Rink.

Rockport (3-4-3) dominated in all facets of the game, outshooting Lynn Tech 51-15 and keeping constant pressure on goaltenders James Wall and Jared Greel the entire game.

"I had a little concern after the first period," Greel said, "because (Wall) looked like he was getting hot and we have been struggling to score goals. I was worried that we weren't going to break it open, but we did. We kind of sleepwalked through the first, but we doubled our intensity in the second period and the results showed."

The Vikings opened up the scoring just one minute into the game when Adam Clay put home a centering pass from Cam Smith to make it 1-0. Rockport still managed to keep the pressure on Wall for the rest of the period, but he was able to turn away 16 shots.

Rockport put the game away in the second thanks to the play of Scott Greene. The sophomore forward, who came into the contest with just one goal on the season, recorded a hat trick in the second period alone.

Greene would put home a rebound to make it 2-0 Vikings. Senior Eric Juncker would rip a wrist shot past Wall to make it 3-0. Greene would then add his second and third goals of the game on one shift, just 18 seconds apart to give the Vikings a 5-0 lead.

John Equi would cap off the scoring with a third period goal to make it 6-0.

Greel was very happy with his team's effort and the way they executed their game plan.

"We really bottled (Lynn Tech) up and kept the puck in our offensive zone," Greel said. "Scott (Greene) played a great game, getting a natural hat trick. That was a nice surprise."

Vikings goaltender Bryan Greel got his second shutout this season against Lynn Tech, and did so by facing only 15 shots.

"I was happy to get the shutout," Greel said. "It's tough to stay focused sometimes when you don't face a lot of shots, but my defense played pretty well and made it easy for me. It's nice to come out with a win."

Rockport now moves on to face Bishop Fenwick tonight at the Dorothy Talbot Rink (8 p.m.). The Vikings fell to Fenwick 7-4 earlier in the season.

Tonight's game starts what Mike Greel called the most crucial part of the season, the last eight games. The Vikings need nine points in their last eight games to qualify for the state tournament.

"From now on every game is like a playoff game for us," Mike Greel said. "This is an eight-game playoff series. It's important for us to play well because we have to win just about all of these games."