Moses' hat trick powers Pingree past Berwick
Dec. 9—SOUTH HAMILTON — Both visiting Berwick Academy and Pingree were hungry for their first win and home cooking was what it took to deliver it for the Highlanders.
After three road losses the Highlanders returned home to Johnson Rink and feasted with a decisive 7-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon.
The first line did the bulk of the damage, accounting for five of the seven goals with sophomore Quinn Moses of Ipswich getting his first hat trick, and captain Michael Lynch collecting two goals and three assists for a five point night. Center Ryan Kavanagh assisted on four goals and used his speed to create scoring opportunities.
Senior netminder Matt Cusollito from Wenham had 37 saves in the shutout, including several big stops early. He was steady throughout, and had to bring his A Game in the third period when play got chippy and the Highlanders went to the penalty box.
"He played terrific all night," said Pingree coach Dan Gordon. "Matt was especially good in the first period when we had a one goal lead. He did a great job keeping the puck out of the net."
Pingree got off to a slow start, but Cusolito took care of business, and Lynch put his team on the board late in the initial period with a pretty goal. Moses gave him a great pass to create the scoring chance, and Lynch beat goalie Jared Swisher top shelf with just over three minutes remaining.
The game was decided in the middle frame which Pingree totally dominated and scored three more goals. Freshman Nick Moulison from Georgetown beat Swisher with a low shot into the right corner, and just 19 seconds later Moses scored the first of three as the Highlanders jammed the front of the net.
Late in the period Pingree got a little sloppy and turned the puck over creating scoring chances for Berwick, but Cusolito turned everything aside, and in the final minute Lynch tipped the puck past Swisher with Moses and Trey Hanson assisting. Hanson, a freshman from Topsfield, is the son of former Pingree standout Bobby Hanson, who grew up in Peabody.
It was more of the same in the third period with Moses getting two in a row, both assisted by Lynch and Kavanagh. Moses rang a shot off the pipe that changed direction and went in early in the third, and then recorded the trick with second effort on a loose puck in the crease.
The last goal was by junior forward Ryan Clark, who also had an assist. He pounced on the rebound off a shot by Lynch that Swisher saved, and found the back of the net. Freshman Max Becker had a helper on the last goal, Jack Berube figured in the second goal, and assistant captain Cody Plaza, a senior defenseman from Danvers, set up the first Moses score as 10 different players contributed to the scoring.
"This was a good win," said Gordon. "We did take a lot of penalties at the end, and while that's not good we were able to kill them off. That's something we'll have to clean up. The boys definitely wanted Matt to get the shutout, and we were able to keep the puck out of the net.
"The first line of Lynch, Kavanagh, and Moses figured in six of the seven goals which is really nice to see. I was also pleased to see Moulison get his first varsity goal, and it came at a crucial time."
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Pingree 7, Berwick 0
at Johnson Rick, S. Hamilton
Pingree (1-3);1;3;3;7
Berwick (0-3);0;0;0;0
Scoring summary
First period: P — Michael Lynch (Quinn Moses, Ryan Kavanagh), 14:27
Second period: P — Nick Moulison (Jack Berube, Ryan Clark), 2:10, P — Moses (Kavanagh, Cody Plaza), 2:29, P — Lynch (Moses, Trey Hanson), 17:22
Third period: P — Moses (Lynch, Kavanagh), 4:33, P — Moses (Lynch, Kavanagh), 12:14, P — Clark (Lynch, Max Becker), 16:42
Saves: B — Jared Swisher 28, P — Matt Cusolito 37
Contact Jean DePlacido @JeanDePlacidoSN