Wilmington Upends Top Seeded Lynnfield [VIDEO]

There were plenty of plotlines in Friday night’s North Division 2 boys hockey quarterfinal game in Stoneham. For Wilmington head coach Steve Scanlon, there was just one – freshman goaltender Drew Foley.

“Drew was the story tonight,” said Scanlon. “He just continues to keep us in everything. We make mistakes and he’s there to bail us out. It gives the team a lot of confidence. They know they can make a mistake or two and he’s behind them. He’s playing out of this world sometimes, and he needs to.”

Foley held No. 1 seed Lynnfield scoreless for most of the game and fought off flurries of Pioneer shots as he helped the No. 8 Wildcats snag a 2-1 victory to seal a spot in the Div. 2 semifinal on Tuesday against North Andover.

Foley turned aside 12 first period shots, and saw more of the same in the second frame. With 9:39 to play in the middle period, the freshman blocked shots from point blank and from along the blue line in succession.

Less than a minute later, his teammates rewarded him for his hard work in preserving the shut out.

Defenseman Brian Pickett blasted a shot from the point and found the back of the net to provide the locals with a 1-0 edge at the 8:54 mark of the frame.

The score remained the same entering the third period in front of a packed house at Stoneham Arena. Less than one minute into the final period, Cam Owens extended that edge to 2-0 when he scored his third goal in two playoff games off of feeds from Jake Rogers and Pickett.

Lynnfield struck with 4:00 to play in the game to make the score 2-1, and a nerve wracking finish ensued for the Wildcat fateful in attendance.

But Foley and the Wildcat defense salted away the win, moving into the semifinal round at Chelmsford Forum for a second straight season.

“We’ve been picking up our game more and more,” said Foley. “These teams are just as good as the teams in the Middlesex League, which helps us.”

Scanlon has voiced concerns throughout the season about individual play appearing too much for the Wildcats. But in two playoff wins, the Wilmington mentor has been excited about the level he’s seen.

“You can feel them getting together a little more,” said Scanlon. “They’re doing a good job of sticking together and playing more as a team. The further you go, the more you have to rely on each other.”

North Andover, the team’s next foe, toppled Wilmington early in the season. But the Wildcats played that game .

Scanlon said after the that Owens has historically given Cape Ann League teams fits, and added that he’s even tougher to defend when you haven’t played against him during the year. Both of those will ring true in Tuesday’s tilt.

Lynnfield head coach Vin Mirasolo’s team was the higher seed entering play on Friday, but the Pioneer coach wouldn’t go as far to classify the result as an upset.

“We feel that this Wilmington team is as good as any team in the bracket, as good as any team in the division,” said Mirasolo.

The Wildcats will continue trying to prove that to be true on Tuesday night.