Marblehead Middle School Hockey Champs

The following was submitted by Stuart Woodrow:

The Marblehead Middle School Hockey Team rolled into Salem State College on Monday Night with a perfect 15-0 record and the Viking Hockey League Championship on the line.  They took on the number two seed Peabody Tanners who fought them tough in every contest this season.  The last matchup ended in a regulation tie but was settled with shootout goals by Matt Koopman and Owen Picariello and an outstanding performance by Ronan Cunningham in the Marblehead net.

Both teams were announced prior to the championship game and both teams exploded to the ice following the National Anthem.  Opportunities were had a both ends of the ice as the intensity picked and shots began to fly off the sticks.  Marblehead quickly understood that Peabody came to play in this contest and that a championship would not come easily.  Ronan Cunningham received his wakeup call as the pucks came quick and often in his crease.  Cunningham kicked back and made a stellar kick save with his pads on what looked to be a sure opening goal for Peabody.

Peabody would not be denied as they continued their onslaught and reached pay day at 4:01 after a skirmish in the Marblehead crease.  PJ Roy took offense to this goal and broke his forwards free with a nice outlet pass  10 seconds later to Colin Daly and Conor Fallon.  Fallon fed Owen Picariello at the top of the circle and the puck quickly found the back of the net following a blistering snap shot at 3:38.  The scoring flood gates exploded with four goals in the next two minutes on both ends of the ice.  Braden Haley intently put Marblehead in the lead after his wrister was setup perfectly by wingers Tim Kalinowski and Kyle Koopman at  2:50. Haley returned the perfect pass to Matt Koopman and another Marblehead goal at 2:28.

Jacob Woodrow continued the scoring drive with a goal of his own after Danny Gienieczko held the at his point and unloaded a blast to the Peabody crease.  Woodrow tip the shot which was blocked but he followed his own rebound and slammed home the goal.  Marblehead felt pretty confident taking a 4-1 lead into the closing minutes of the first period but two defensive breakdowns led to two quick Peabody goals at 1:06 and 0:46 leading to a brand new contest.

The intensity and physical play picked up in the second period with Marblehead clinging to a single goal lead. The defensive pairings of Ridge Driscoll, Christian Hennigar, PJ Roy, Dan Gienieczko, Kyle Koopman and Alex Delvento stepped up their games and fended off strong rushes by Tanner forwards Hentosh, Shaw and Lynch who brought determination, skill and speed to the Peabody ice.

Both teams executed the breakout with skill and were able to generate strong offense opportunities in the second. None better than a tic-tac-toe setup from PJ Roy to Matt Koopman to Tim Kalinowski who gave his team a two goal lead at 10:46.  However, Peabody took notice and returned the effort after a highlight reel setup and goal at 6:43 of the second period.  Marblehead dodged a bullet after it was caught with too many men at 3:12.  The defense and Cunningham in the net turned away a very proficient Tanner power play  and escaped the offensive with a Peabody charging call at 1:37.  This put both teams in a 4 on 4 situation and ultimately left Marblehead with a 55 second power play of their own. The period wound down with a narrow 5-4 Marblehead edge but this game was far from over. 

Peabody gained the edge to open the third period and kept up the barrage on Cunningham and the Marblehead net. The Headers were back on their heels and had to defend and dump the puck out amidst the constant Tanner pressure from Lynch and Hentosh who seemed to be on the ice most of the period.

The crowd of 300 strong were in a cheering frenzy until a massive hit at center ice by Shaw on Garrett Keough gave Marblehead a power play half way through the period.  Keough, who has been a standout for the Marblehead offense all season, skated slowly to the bench but would return to the ice for his team. Marblehead could not convert the power play but kept an eye on the clock as they carried their slim lead with under five minutes to play. James McCarthy, another stellar performer for Marblehead,  also retired his skating effort half way through the game after a gutsy performance in fighting his illness leading up to the game. The lead quickly turned into a deficit as Peabody goals at 4:13 and 3:03 turned the world upside down for Marblehead. 

Coach Rob Haley called a time out and settled his team and goaltender while giving them words of confidence to finish the game strong. And strong they were. Matt Koopman came up big after Alex Delvento did a great job holding the puck at his blue line and sent the puck in just wide of the Tanner net.  Tim Kalinowski picked up the bounding puck off the board and fed Koopman for the equalizer at 2:08 of the third period.  The crowd rallied both squads for the game winner with time running down in regulation.  Marblehead had one last bid as Kyle Koopman’s blast from the point rung off the crossbar with less than a second on the clock.

This championship game was going to overtime.

Marblehead took the momentum into the extra frame and quickly setup in the Peabody zone.  The Headers ripped a few shots on the third Peabody goaltender of the night and kept up a constant pace of pressure.  It would be Braden Haley, assisted by Matt Koopman, who would seal the undefeated 16-0 season and Viking League Championship for Marblehead, after their overtime goal at 3:27.  Haley arrowed his victory march through center ice where he was mobbed by his teammates. Following the award presentation of the team trophy at center ice, Coach Haley highlighted the strength of the team and the promising years of Header High School hockey in the years to come.