The Revere High hockey team was looking to get to the .500 mark as they concluded the first half of the season against Northeastern Conference rival Saugus last Wednesday. But the Patriots fell short by a 3-2 margin and this dropped to a record of 3-5-2 as the 2009-2010 campaign reached its midway point.
“That was a tough loss for us,†said RHS head coach Jim Palumbo. “We really wanted this one, but it just was not meant to be.â€
It certainly was not for a lack of trying by the Pats, who poured 33 shots on the Saugus net and had numerous scoring chances. “The Saugus goalie played a great game and we had some tough luck,†said Palumbo, noting the times his team hit a post or just missed.
After a scoreless opening period, Patriot all league center Jay Sasso lit the lamp at 3:28 of the second frame, assisted by Sean Dean. Sasso played another stellar game for the Pats, accounting for about a third of his team’s shots on net.
However, Saugus returned fire and potted two goals within 1:23 of each other, at 5:37 and 7:00, to take a 2-1 advantage, which is where matters stood at the second horn.
Dean knotted the contest at 2-2 with a marker at 4:20 of the third period, but the Sachems scored a goal of the “seeing eye†variety at 9:21 for the game winner.
Palumbo lauded the efforts of Patriot netminder Nick DiMare, who stopped 27 Saugus shots. “Nick played his usual solid game and made some great saves,†said the coach of his NEC all star netminder. Palumbo also cited defenseman George Winer for a strong performance,.
The Pats will be back in action Wednesday evening when they host former GBL rival Everett at the Cronin Rink for a 6:30 face off. On Saturday they entertain NEC foe Marblehead with a 5:00 p.m. face off.
