GLOUCESTER— Although the Gloucester hockey team had been eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the week, they still had something to play for Saturday when rival Danvers visited the Talbot Rink.
Not only did Gloucester want to go out winners on senior night, they wanted to prevent the Falcons from winning the Northeastern Conference large title on its home ice. Danvers came into the game tied with Winthrop and needed a win to clinch at least a share of the title.
While the Fishermen gave the Falcons all they could handle, they fell just short dropping a hard fought 3-2 decision. The win for Danvers (14-4) combined with a Winthrop loss to Beverly on Saturday meant that the Falcons were NEC North champs. It was a disappointing punctuation mark to a disappointing season for Gloucester, who finishes up the year at 6-9-5, short of the state tournament for the third time in the last four years.
"I thought we played pretty well everywhere, forwards, defense and goaltending," Gloucester head coach Don Lowe said. "We would have liked a win to go out on a positive note but we played a good game."
With the score tied at 1-1 heading into the third, Danvers would be the team to break out with momentum. With just over five minutes to play in the period Danvers took advantage after a hard Gloucester centering pass zipped through the slot and over a Gloucester defenseman's stick that was holding the blue line. The play resulted in a two-on-none opportunity that Tyler Dustin handled himself beating Gloucester goalie Jesse Glidden (24 saves) with a wrist shot giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
Just 3:21 later the Falcons struck again while on the power play when a Rob Buchanan shot went over the net, hit the glass behind the goal and bounced right out front to a waiting JD Hodgkins, who tapped it into the net for a 3-1 lead.
"Gloucester played hard like we knew they would," Danvers head coach Kevin Brown said. "We caught a little break on Tyler's goal but the key was getting the next goal and making it a 3-1 game."
The Fishermen battled back 47 second later when Alex Webb put home a pass from Johnny Interrante. Gloucester applied pressure in a desperate attempt at a comeback with Interrante ringing the post and Webb nearly sneaking one past Falcons goalie Seth Kamans through a scrum in front of the net in the final two minutes, but Danvers held on.
"(Danvers) had a few more shots then us and they executed on the power play," Lowe said. "I thought Jesse played well in net but Danvers buried their chances."
Gloucester opened the scoring 3:18 into the game when Interrante ripped a one timer top shelf past Kamans for a 1-0 lead. But Danvers answered back with a goal of their own three and a half minutes later when Joe Strangie tipped in his own rebound. The Falcons aggressively crashed the Fishermen net Saturday and the result was a 27-14 shot advantage.
"Getting the tying goal was huge," Brown said. "We have lost games in this building in the first period. Gloucester is tough and they always play well here so it was key to get some momentum after they took the lead."
Saturday's game marked the final contest for 10 seniors, all of whom will be missed on next year's team. Leading the way for Gloucester this season was senior Mike Russo, who was a top 5 scorer in the NEC North with 35 points on the season. Interrante was a point a game player for the third year in a row while Ben Favazza was also a big threat on the offensive end with 23 points on the season.
As for the future, Gloucester's leading returning scorer will be Webb, who scored nine goals on the season. Peter Mondello turned into a solid winger this season and the entire third line of Matt Lane, Casey Noyes and Cam DeCoste are all returning along with defensemen Mike Muniz, who was arguably the team's best blueliner before he went down with a late season hip injury.
Goalie Jesse Glidden, who established himself as the team's bona fide starter this year, will also be back. "Our seniors will be missed," Lowe said. "Russo had an all league caliber season and Interrante and Favazza are All Stars in my book. We have some good players returning next year but we are losing (40) goals. They will be tough to replace."
Danvers 3 Gloucester 2
at Dorothy Talbot Rink, Gloucester
Danvers102
Gloucester101
1st Period: G, Johnny Interrante (Coltyn Rivas) 3:18; D, Joe Strangie (Rob Buchanan, JD Hodgkins) ppg 6:47.
2nd Period: no scoring
3rd Period: Tyler Dustin (un.) 4:47; D, Hodgkins (Buchanan) ppg, 8:08; G, Alex Webb (Interrante) 9:21.
Saves: D, Seth Kamans 12; G, Jesse Glidden 24.
Record: D, 14-4; G, 6-9-5.
