PEABODY — It was something they undoubtedly all learned a decade-and-a-half ago watching Sesame Street — and it worked wonders for the Peabody High hockey team Saturday evening at the Rockett Arena.
Three was the number of the day.
As in, three goals scored in exactly three minutes of the third period.
And wouldn't you know, the game-winning tally was recorded by — you guessed it — the third line as the Tanners toppled Beverly, 5-2, to clinch at least a share of their first Northeastern Conference Large championship.
"We knew we had to outskate them and keep putting the pressure on," said Peabody defenseman Ryan "Noodles" Noftle, of his team's mentality between the second and third periods. "We didn't need to change anything; we just had to keep at it."
Entering the final stanza knotted up at 2-2, sophomore left wing Eric Costa broke out of the neutral zone 2-on-1 and fed center Rob Houghton at the last instant, then watched as the junior one-timed his pass by Beverly netminder Tony Walsh with under 11 minutes to play to give his team the lead for good.
"That third line (including sophomore right wing Mike Chiappini) was tremendous all night," said Peabody head coach Mark Leonard, whose team can clinch the NEC crown outright with a single point against either Danvers Wednesday at home or at Revere Saturday. "When they skate like that, they can cause a lot of trouble. They might be little, but they can fly."
First liners Derrik Pereira and Andrew Bucci quickly followed suit after Houghton's marker, with each bagging their second goal of the game 94 and 179 seconds later, respectively.
Bucci leads all North Shore with 26 goals and 42 points, while Pereira isn't far behind with 35 points, including 10 goals. Captain Matt Rodgers (41 points) added three helpers.
The triumph improved Peabody's league record to a sparkling 12-0-1 and put them at 13-2-2 overall.
"That team, their skill is so evident," said Beverly head coach Bob Gilligan, who termed the loss a learning experience as far as the type of hockey they'll see in the playoffs. "That first line, they can start to take off before they even get the puck and still get it in stride. They're not big, but that first line will burn you."
It was the Panthers (8-7-1 overall, 4-7-2 NEC) that jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one period. Freshman defender Andrew Irving got the puck to captain Jack Liacos, who fired a shot on Peabody netminder Derek Savage that was stopped. Troy Cabral, however, got in the crease and swatted home the rebound at the 12:30 mark.
The Tanners (who held a 34-19 shot advantage) responded quickly in the second as Bucci put home a rebound two minutes in on the power play. Beverly again took a one-goal lead when Ryan Lally's wrister from along the right wing boards eluded Savage, but the visitors tied it up 16 seconds later on a Pereira shot from the slot.
Peabody's heady forechecking scheme, with the first man up attacking hard in the Beverly zone, caused problems for the Panther defenders.
"Beverly came out desperate and played very well for two periods," said Leonard, "but we didn't get frustrated. We've been down this road before, and we don't panic. Plus, we're in good shape and (playing three lines compared to mostly two for Beverly), I think they ran out of gas by the third period."
"We got tired," admitted Gilligan. "You could see it."
Walsh, who was a busy man for most of the afternoon, had the save of the day in stopping Bucci on a breakaway when it was 2-2 late in the second period.
