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It seemed like a recipe for disaster.

Newburyport at Central Catholic.

A Clipper squad that has been nothing if inconsistent this season vs. a Raider team that qualified for the Super 8 Tournament last winter.

The Newburyport hockey team needed a player to emerge as its go-to scorer during Saturday's tilt against North Andover. The Scarlet Knights entered undefeated in league play (4-0-1), while the Clippers would've dropped to 2-4 with a loss and had their hopes of capturing a Cape Ann League title all but dashed.

North Andover's Ryan Sifferlen stayed hot, scoring an impressive breakaway goal and assisting on two others, but the Scarlet Knights fell to Newburyport, 6-4.

Ryan Gillespie added a pair of tallies and Ryan Arsenault had one goal for North Andover, which rallied back from a two-goal deficit in the second.

Tim McAuliffe's goal with less than a second to play helped North Reading to fend off Newburyport and allow the Hornets to remain in first place in the Cape Ann League with a 3-2 victory.

After Aaron Semaio's second goal put the Hornets (4-0-1 in the CAL, 4-3-1 overall) up 2-0 with 7:59 to play, the Clippers responded with a pair of scores, the last coming with 53 seconds remaining. A fortuitous bounce on Fred Hein's slapshot found McAuliffe, who went top shelf just before the final buzzer sounded for the game-winner.

The Newburyport hockey team gave itself an opportunity to enjoy the holiday break with a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Pentucket on Christmas Eve.

Derek Freeman netted two goals to go with an assist for the Clippers (2-2). Derek McCoy and Billy Eiserman had a goal and two assists each, while Kyle McElroy chipped in with three assists for Newburyport. Meanwhile, Colin Cusack notched a goal with an assist, and Corey Ruane, Kevin Holmes, David Freeman and Sean Hickman posted assists.

Things got ugly at the Graf Arena Saturday night where a combination of a 5-3 loss to the Wilmington Wildcats, a myriad of penalties and near rumble left Clippers coach Paul Yameen none too pleased.

Saying his team displayed "a total lack of sportsmanship," a fuming Yameen said, "I've never seen a display like this in the five years I've been here. The way we played, the way we acted."

The Newburyport hockey team can breathe a sigh of relief. There will be no 0-3 start this season.

That seemed like a realistic prospect entering last night's tilt with Lynnfield | a team that advanced to the EMass. ivision 2 North final last winter and already outscored two opponents, 15-3, this season. With a North Reading squad that finished 12-6-5 last winter on the schedule for Saturday, the Clippers appeared to be destined for a three-game losing streak.

With a December Nor'easter bearing down on the Haverhill Valley Forum, Newburyport opened it season against defending CAL champs Masconomet Saturday night. However, the Chieftains were more powerful than the gathering storm for the Clippers to overcome.