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Newburyport earns holiday break with victory over Pentucket

Wednesday, December, 26 By Dan Guttenplan
Sports editor

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.

Following an ugly loss to Wilmington Saturday, the Clippers needed the victory to get back to a .500 record just in time for an eight-day layoff. They return to the ice Jan. 2 at North Reading.

"The back half of our schedule is heavy, and we're playing some tough teams," Newburyport coach Paul Yameen said. "It's a good opportunity for our kids to play against the best competition. If we make some changes and start playing consistent hockey, I think we'll be fine."

Pentucket hardly played the role of underdog Monday, jumping out to a 3-0 first-period lead. Alex Roberts led the Sachems scoring attack with two goals and an assist. Andrew Barba added a goal and an assist. Andy Pagliuro also had a goal.

Newburyport responded with five goals in the second period. Freshman Anthony Federico earned the victory in net after replacing senior Brenden Doherty to start the second period.

"Anthony played extremely well in his first varsity experience," Yameen said. "He was a bright spot. It's nice to have some competition and know we have a couple options at that position."

Breaking a historical trend, the Clippers will not play any games over the holiday break. Typically, the Clippers play nonleague games during the layoff. The scheduling doesn't allow for the Clippers to play either of their nonleague opponents | Gloucester or Central Catholic | this break.

"We like to get in games during the holiday break, but we don't want to drop Gloucester or Central Catholic from the schedule," Yameen said. "Our kids get a lot out of those games, so we pushed them to later in the season and we'll get some much-needed practice over the vacation."