Sachems edged by Winthrop, 2-1

  After a week between games, the Saugus High School hockey team returned to action on Wednesday night at Kasabuski Arena. It was a hard-fought, entertaining contest, but the Sachems didn’t get the result they were hoping for in an eventual 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Winthrop Vikings. The Sachems had a scheduled road game against the Lynn Jets postponed last Saturday due to the ice storm the day before. So with a week layoff, Saugus came out of the gate ready to go on Wednesday in a game that featured some hard hitting and some chippiness between the two squads.

  Goalie Matt Smith, just an eighth-grader, once again performed well in net for the Sachems. In particular, his stellar play in the third period when Winthrop began to ramp up its offense kept Saugus in the game.  The Vikings finally did beat Smith after he had made two excellent saves on a Winthrop rush. But the rebound of the second shot came to a Vikings forward, who drilled it home with just over 10 minutes remaining to give the visitors a 2-1 lead they would hold on to.

  Both teams had good scoring chances in the first period but neither squad hit paydirt. Saugus’s Chris Regnetta drew first blood by whipping one home off a faceoff just over a minute into the second period. It didn’t take long for the visitors to respond, as the Vikings tied it up on a close-in goal two minutes later. It stayed a 1-1 contest through two periods before Winthrop broke the tie and was able to protect the one-goal lead the rest of the way.

  The loss dropped the Sachems to 5-8-1 overall. Saugus will play Swampscott at Salem State University on Friday night and will travel to Haverhill Valley Forum to take on Masconomet on Sunday.