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Salah leads Fishermen past Arlington

Tuesday, February, 19 By Nick Curcuru
Correspondent

It had been a frustrating season for Gloucester's Josh Salah.

The junior forward was touted as one of the top players in the Northeastern Conference and was slated to have a big year for the Fishermen. Salah, however, could not stay healthy, missing most of the season with a broken wrist and a cut on his leg.

Unfortunately for the rest of the NEC, the Fishermen tri-captain showed his fans and teammates what he could do in last night's 6-2 win over Arlington. Salah, playing healthy for the first time since December, netted two goals and an assist last night at the Dorothy Talbot Rink. The junior forward was also skating circles around Spy Ponder defenders and creating numerous scoring opportunities.

"I've been waiting for a game like this for a while," Salah said. "I've been trying to stay positive even though I haven't been able to stay healthy. It feels good that I was able to step up and contribute to this team."

Gloucester head coach Don Lowe was also happy to see Salah back on the ice, and likes what he has seen of his team as of late. The Fishermen are 3-0 in their last three games and have outscored their opponents by a margin of 17-4.

"The team's playing well right now," Lowe said. "It's key to get (Josh) Salah back and have Bradley (Robertson) in net, we're playing really well."

The Fishermen (13-4-2) dominated the Spy Ponders from the get go, outshooting their Division 1 opponent 40-22. Salah netted the first goal for the Fishermen late in the first period when he banged home a rebound after Arlington goalie Dan Styffe (34 saves) stopped Brett Cahill's shot from the point. Gloucester would score again with just 19 seconds to play in the period when Andrew Fulford won a battle along the boards and found Jeremy Fanning all alone in front of the net. Fanning would finish the play to make it 2-0 after one period.

The second period was a lot like the first with the Fishermen dominating the play. Salah gave the Fishermen a 3-0 lead midway through the period when he put home a centering pass from Marc Buotte. Fulford would add a power play goal two minutes later to make it 4-0, which is where it would stand after two periods.

Arlington came clawing back early in the third with a power play goal from Kevin Bishop and a short handed goal from Joe O'Hare. That was as close as the Spy Ponders would get as Fanning and Biondo scored late goals to seal the deal. Salah credited the entire team for the win.

"This was a complete team effort," Salah said. "We played three solid lines for three periods and we didn't let up the entire game."

Salah's fellow tri-captain Paul Russo echoed Salah's sentiment.

"The difference in the game tonight was that we finished our shots, and played tough defense," Russo said. "We did a great job keeping the puck out of our zone and we capitalized on our scoring chances, it was a great overall effort."

The Fishermen will wrap up their season tomorrow night when they host Dennis-Yarmouth (6 p.m.). A win will be big for the Fishermen as seeding in the state tournament is very important.

"We've accomplished what we need to in the regular season," Russo said. "Now we're playing for a high seed, and it's been important that we are playing well and winning some big games."