GLOUCESTER - This one lived up to the hype.
Saturday's Northeastern Conference matchup between bitter rivals Gloucester and Danvers had a little bit of everything that hockey fans crave. Their was intensity from both parties, good puck movement, great goaltending and bone-crushing physical play by both squads.
In the end, the difference was Andrew Fulford.
The Gloucester captain netted two goals and an assist to go along with solid forechecking en route to a 3-1 win over the Falcons at Dorothy Talbot Rink. With the win, Gloucester (10-1-1) clinched a berth in the Division 2 state tournament.
"It was nice to see Fulford break out tonight," Fisherman head coach Don Lowe said. "It was good to bounce back after last week's loss (7-1 to Peabody), and the guys worked really hard. Plus we're in the state tournament which is what it's all about."
Danvers head coach Kevin Brown also praised Fulford, crediting his style of play.
"Fulford is a bulldog," Brown said. "He a big-game player and he showed up today in a big game."
The Fishermen came out strong in the first period. Fulford put Gloucester on the board four minutes into the game when he raced past the Falcons defense and beat goaltender Patrick O'Kane high to make it 1-0. The Falcons would tie the score three minutes later when Jay Sabino ripped a shot from the point that awkwardly deflected off of a Fishermen defenseman and past goalie Bradley Robertson.
Gloucester would take the lead with just 26 seconds to play in the period when Fulford scored in front of a crowded net.
The Fishermen were extremely happy with the way they played in the period.
"We really set the tone and came out flying in the first," Fulford said. "It didn't feel good losing the way we did last week so we wanted to come out and play well early."
After a scoreless second, Gloucester would add an insurance goal late in the third when senior Marc Buotte buried a wrist shot from a tough corner angle to make it 3-1.
Despite his team's loss, Brown was happy with the way the Falcons battled.
"We played a pretty good game, especially in the second and third period," Brown said. "They came out flying and we expected that, but I'm happy. We left it all on the ice."
Saturday's Northeastern Conference matchup between bitter rivals Gloucester and Danvers had a little bit of everything that hockey fans crave. Their was intensity from both parties, good puck movement, great goaltending and bone-crushing physical play by both squads.
In the end, the difference was Andrew Fulford.
The Gloucester captain netted two goals and an assist to go along with solid forechecking en route to a 3-1 win over the Falcons at Dorothy Talbot Rink. With the win, Gloucester (10-1-1) clinched a berth in the Division 2 state tournament.
"It was nice to see Fulford break out tonight," Fisherman head coach Don Lowe said. "It was good to bounce back after last week's loss (7-1 to Peabody), and the guys worked really hard. Plus we're in the state tournament which is what it's all about."
Danvers head coach Kevin Brown also praised Fulford, crediting his style of play.
"Fulford is a bulldog," Brown said. "He a big-game player and he showed up today in a big game."
The Fishermen came out strong in the first period. Fulford put Gloucester on the board four minutes into the game when he raced past the Falcons defense and beat goaltender Patrick O'Kane high to make it 1-0. The Falcons would tie the score three minutes later when Jay Sabino ripped a shot from the point that awkwardly deflected off of a Fishermen defenseman and past goalie Bradley Robertson.
Gloucester would take the lead with just 26 seconds to play in the period when Fulford scored in front of a crowded net.
The Fishermen were extremely happy with the way they played in the period.
"We really set the tone and came out flying in the first," Fulford said. "It didn't feel good losing the way we did last week so we wanted to come out and play well early."
After a scoreless second, Gloucester would add an insurance goal late in the third when senior Marc Buotte buried a wrist shot from a tough corner angle to make it 3-1.
Despite his team's loss, Brown was happy with the way the Falcons battled.
"We played a pretty good game, especially in the second and third period," Brown said. "They came out flying and we expected that, but I'm happy. We left it all on the ice."
Fulford was also quick to credit his opponents.
"Give credit to Danvers, they battled all game," Fulford said. "This was a hard-fought game and Danvers is a good team. We will see them again and we expect it to be another battle for the (Northeastern) conference title."
Both the Fishermen and the Falcons were led by the play of their goaltenders, Robertson and O'Kane. Both netminders made a number of difficult saves, keeping the game close. In the first period, O'Kane robbed Fulford on a full-extension glove save to keep the game knotted at 1.
Not to be outdone, Robertson also made a number of big saves to keep the Fishermen up a goal. Robertson's best save came early in the third when the junior made a sprawling pad save to rob Danvers' D.J. Yost.
"Bradley came up with some big saves," Lowe said. "He kept (Danvers) at bay and held our lead. I'm very proud of the guys. This was our first really close game of the year and they played well with the slim lead."
The game got a little ugly with three and a half minutes to play, as a scrum ensued in front of the Gloucester net involving every skater from both teams. After order was restored, a player from both teams was hit with a game misconduct.
"It's Danvers and Gloucester," said Lowe of the scrum. "It was just a little scrum, and when two rivals like that square off emotions run high."
Fulford also down-played the incident.
"We were protecting our goalie," said Fulford, who was not on the ice at the time. "There were a couple misconducts which is unfortunate but luckily it didn't get out of hand. But it happens sometimes. That's hockey."
