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Solloway fan club goes home happy

Saturday, December, 27 By David Willis
Staff writer

SALEM — Pinkerton’s J.J. Solloway couldn’t help but laugh as he looked into the stands to see nearly a full section of fans wearing Pinkerton sweatshirts sporting his No. 35 on the back.

“Most of them were family or friends that I had given sweatshirts to,” said Solloway. “They love coming and wearing them. It’s funny to see them all in one section wearing them.”

The Solloway fan club had plenty to cheer about yesterday.

Behind the efforts of the junior netminder, Pinkerton bested Londonderry 7-1 in the second day of the Salem Holiday Classic at the Salem Icenter. The Astros will now play two-time defending champs Salem for the title today at 5:10 p.m.

“The most overlooked thing with the lopsided score was the play of J.J.,” said Pinkerton coach Casey Kesselring. “In the first period they took it to us and he made big saves that helped us take the lead. It could have been a different story. J.J. has played so well.”

In the first period alone, Solloway had to make 10 saves against an aggressive Lancers attack that took command. But he was more than up to the task.

“After the first period I thought it would be a really close game,” said Solloway. “Some of the shots they were getting on me were really hard and all over the place. I just had to take a few breaths and relax. We recovered and cleared the rebounds.”

Solloway continued to excel as his teammates were building a big lead. He finished the game with 25 saves. The best was a stellar stop with his left pad on an open net. He also had to make a stop after his stick had snapped. The lone goal he allowed came in the third after a Pinkerton defenseman couldn’t clear a rebounding puck that had stopped dead in a watery patch of ice.

Not bad for a goalie that did not start of the first game of the tourney because of the team’s rotation.

“I was so excited,” he said. “Not playing the first game and getting the call now, I was so pumped. Getting to play against Londonderry was great.”

Teddy McCarran gave Pinkerton the lead with 59 seconds left in the first when he scored off assists from Jason Carace and Mike Shea. The Astros then opened up the second with a goal each from Mark Kissel, Alex Campbell and Carace. Carace added a second goal in the third, along with one each from Eddie Galvin and Billy McCarran.

“This is the team we thought we had when we started the season,” said Kesselring. “The team everyone picked to finish in the top of the league showed up today.”