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Newburyport records nine goals in tournament-clinching win

Thursday, February, 14 By Dan Guttenplan
Sports editor

As the game clock ticked off the final seconds of last night's Newburyport vs. Triton tilt, the scene hardly resembled what hockey fans have come to expect from the classic River Rival matchup.

Newburyport's forwards, as had been the case all night, continued to pepper a Triton net, which at that point was being guarded by the team's second-string goalie. The scoreboard read 9-0 Newburyport, and fans who had long-since recognized the inevitable outcome began heading for the exit.

Two teams heading in two very different directions. The Clippers' victory, which was keyed by a Derek Freeman hat trick, ran the home team's winning streak to four. With three games remaining | two against River Rival teams | the Clippers (10-6-1) appear primed to enter the EMass. Tournament with a full head of steam.

Triton (7-9-2), on the other hand, fell for the sixth time in seven games. The Vikings will need to win their final two to qualify for the state tournament.

That tournament picture is a far cry from how things looked as recently as the first meeting between the teams on Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 21) | a game Newburyport won 5-4.

After starting the season 5-1-2, Triton appeared to be the class of the River Rival Region. Newburyport, on the other hand, was a distant second. The Clippers started 2-3 and had tough nonleague games against Central Catholic, Gloucester and Franklin remaining on its schedule.

The turning point for Triton seemed to occur after its holiday tournament | a two-game set in Exeter, NH. That tournament served as nothing more than a chance to get ice time for the Vikings as they fell to Kennett, NH, in the first round and missed out on chance to play NH-powerhouse Exeter. It was hardly the Cape Ann League tuneup Vikings coach Kevin Dodier anticipated.

Newburyport, on the other hand, fine-tuned its skills over the break and has since posted a tie against Central Catholic and a victory over Gloucester. Prior to the season, Clippers coach Paul Yameen scheduled the toughest nonleague games he could find in hopes that the Clippers would be hitting their stride at this time of year.

"We schedule them for a reason," Yameen said last night. "Even if we don't win, we're the winners in the long run. I don't know if they learned anything, but they're playing the way we want now. They play smart, and we're in a great position."

Dodier, in his first year at Triton, is not to blame for the softer nonleague schedule. Due to his late hire | two weeks prior to the season | he didn't have a chance to line up games against the top North Shore schools. Most schools schedules were complete by then.

"Next year's next year," Dodier said last night. "I haven't looked that far ahead. I know Newburyport has played great teams, but I'll worry about that next year."

For now, Triton must beat Pentucket in the opening round of the Newburyport Bank Classic Saturday evening to keep its tournament hopes alive. In all likelihood, if the Vikings win Saturday, they will face Newburyport in the final next Thursday.

Let's hope the Vikings can shake the memories of the closing minutes of last night's game before then.

"We have to do a better job of getting them up," Dodier said. "It comes down to emotion and wanting it more. Every shift we have to give 110 percent. That's probably on my shoulders to get them ready."