PEABODY — These days, it seems the Lynnfield boys hockey team just can’t catch a break.

According to head coach Jon Gardner, the Pioneers played their best hockey of the season Saturday. They outshot Newburyport 33-15. They spent nearly 20 minutes on power plays – including close to four minutes of 5-on-3 play. The Pioneers also controlled possession in the offensive zone when both teams were at full strength. 

Most noticeably, they kept their cool in the face of what can only be described as a slew of Clippers cheap shots, two of which resulted in five-minute majors.

But you can’t win if you don’t score, and Saturday, the Pioneers’ inability to finish proved fatal. In contrast, Newburyport didn’t have a lot of quality scoring opportunities and spent most of the game defending behind its blue line, but the Clippers made the most of their chances in a 3-1 win at McVann O’Keefe Skating Rink.

Trailing 2-1 with about two minutes to go, the Pioneers gambled and pulled goalie Michael Marenghi, but with 44 seconds left in regulation, the Clippers’ Tristan Joyce scored a long empty-netter to seal the deal.

“That was our best effort all year, no question about it,” Gardner said. “I just told them that I can get behind that. That was what we wanted. I liked how we conducted ourselves the whole game except for the end when we literally were having a temper tantrum. We almost tripled them up on shots. We did everything on the power play, zipping it around, but that goalie was a big kid. We kept telling them to shoot quicker and lower and move him side to side to get some rebounds and tips, but we just didn’t  do it enough. We banged our heads against the wall and said, ‘We are going to beat him short side high.’ You can’t do that when the goalie is that big.”

Joyce (from Jackson DeVivo) put the Clippers on top 1-0 at the 10:32 mark of the first period.

A little more than five minutes into the second period, Joyce picked up a 5-minute major for charging. Carpenter, Dylan Damian, and Nick Kelter all had chances for Lynnfield around the crease, but couldn’t convert. Three-and-a-half minutes into the penalty, Owen Considine was decked by the Clippers’ Luke MacIssac, who was flagged for hooking, giving the Pioneers’ a two-man advantage for nearly two minutes. Carpenter needed only 30 seconds to deposit a rebound off the stick of Joe Raffa. Jarret Scoppettuolo was also credited with an assist. 

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, an icing call on the Pioneers set up the Clippers’ game-winning goal. A couple of seconds after the faceoff, Will Palermino stuffed a loose puck into the net just inside the near post.

“That was just a faceoff play,” Gardner said. “We recently changed our faceoffs because our wingers weren’t holding their position, so our team could get to the puck – win, lose, or draw. That goal was a seeing-eye. I think it may have gone off someone’s pants. It was just one of those things when we do all the work, but don’t get the reward.”

Lynnfield had a chance to get right back into it when DeVivo was flagged for a five-minute major. Aidan Norton, Will Norton, Scoppettuolo, Carpenter, Tim Sullivan, and Raffa all had quality chances, but came up empty. 

Gardner said he was impressed with defensemen Jay Carpenter and Jake Connell, Scoppettuolo, a forward, and Marenghi.

“Jay is just really solid back there,” Gardner said. “Jarret is an absolute beast. He deserves more credit. He’s always in front of the net getting beaten up and is buzzing around, one-handed, fighting kids off and is one-man forechecking all the time. He’s been great all year and Jake has been great on D. He’s just a good, stay-at-home defenseman, blocking shots like the big one he had on the power play.”

“I thought our goalie Michael played well against what we consider a talented, skilled  team,” Gardner said. “We’ve generated a ton of offense. It’s just the finish we can’t seem to do.”

Gardner was also happy with the Pioneers’ second power play unit of Considine, Kelter, Evan Rocha, Damiani and Will Norton.

“We’ve always relied on a top-heavy power play, but we are now going to a second unit more frequently,” he said. “I’m glad we’ve been leaning on a second unit because with all those majors, you need a second unit.”

It’s not often in hockey that coaches are inclined to praise the officials, especially after a loss, but Gardner took time Saturday to do just that.

“I give the refs credit because a lot of the time, they ref from the scoresheet,” he said. “We had a 5-on-3, a bunch of power plays in a row, and a lot of times they try to break the chain and come up with a phantom call, but today they didn’t, so they did a good job.”

The Pioneers (3-6) have a quick turnaround Monday when they travel to the Canton Ice House for a non-league game against Division 2 Westwood. The puck drops at 2 p.m.