CHELMSFORD — Even with all of the big moments he’s already experienced in his short life — both while playing hockey and performing his two country music albums in front of a live audience — Gavin Marengi admits that shootouts still make him nervous.
In his mind, though, solving them involves a simple solution.
… Well, until it doesn’t.
“When you go into a shootout you never really know what to expect,” said Marengi, Triton’s senior netminder. “It’s a nailbitter every time. The guy is closing in on you, and your feet get tangled up a bit. It’s a little bit stressful, but the second he makes that first move you kind of know where he’s going. … Unless you don’t and you get a goal scored on you, which would be some bad luck.”
Thankfully for Triton, the solution came easy for Marengi on Saturday night.
A returning Daily News All-Star from a year ago, Marengi saved four of the five shots he faced in a shootout to lead Triton to a victory over host Chelmsford in the Lions Cup final, 1-1 (2-1 in shootout). The Vikings were the two-time defending champions heading into the tournament, and completed the three-peat thanks to some late heroics and a stellar shootout performance from their goalie.
“It’s a good tournament,” said Triton coach Ryan Sheehan. “Danvers is always a good team in Division 3, Chelmsford is always a tough out in Division 2, and Lowell Catholic is a well-coached team. So it’s a good measuring stick in the beginning of the year.”
Marengi (33 saves) was named the tourney MVP for the second straight year.
And for the majority of the game, both goalies were standing on their heads.
It was scoreless until about 4:30 left in the third period. Marengi initially made the kick save on a hard drive to the net, but the puck popped out front for an easy tap-in goal off the rebound. It was looking like a tough loss to take for Triton (3-2-1), after it had controlled play for most of the night and had created the lionshare of good chances.
But the Vikings weren’t giving up their two-time title defense so easily.
With 1:49 left and Triton pressing, choas near the Chelmsford net saw the puck drift back towards the blue line while multiple bodies hitting the ice. Sophomore defenseman Cullen Kohan skated in, and had an open lane to blast a perfect slapshot into the upper-left corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
“I thought we were playing pretty good throughout the entire game,” said Sheehan. “I thought we provided some offensive pressure and kind of just stuck with it. (Their) goalie was making a lot of saves, seeing a lot of pucks, but I think the consistent pressure allowed us to finally break through.”
Triton then drew a penalty and nearly won it in regulation while a man up, but a rocket from Mason Colby hit the post. Michael Taylor, Connor Rumph, Josh Hersey, Vinny Magee and Alex Pasquini all played well in the 4-on-4 overtime period, but neither team was able to find a winning goal.
So to a shootout it went.
“Absolutely not, I had no doubt in this team,” said Marengi. “Every man, every play on the ice, we play as a cohesive unit. It’s a good time out there playing with these boys.”
Triton had the opening shot, and wasted no time grabbing a lead.
Senior captain Luke Sullivan — who created arguably the best chance of the night in the second period — zoomed into the zone before faking right, and coming back left to slide home the puck. Marengi saved the first three shots he faced in the shootout, and a goal from Vaughn Gagnon made it 2-0 Vikings after three rounds.
“It’s great having Gavin back there,” said Sheehan. “He controls rebounds well, makes big plays, and he’s definitely a calming presence for the team.”
Triton’s first chance at a win in the fourth round was saved, and Chelmsford responded with its lone shootout goal to send it to a fifth round. Again the Vikings were stuffed on a game-winning chance, but Marengi lifted his team to its third straight Lions Cup title with a game-ending save.
“(The Lions Cup) is a big deal,” said Marengi. “It kicks the season off in the right direction, and it’s good to get a couple of wins and some momentum before we get back into the league.”