Groth's short-hander lifts Newburyport past rival Triton

Jan. 14—It's always a hard-hitting affair whenever rivals Newburyport and Triton meet up at Henry Graf Rink, and Wednesday night was no different.

With both teams in need of two points, it was the Clippers who got a short-handed, second-period goal from senior co-captain Jon Groth which ended up being the game-winner in a 2-1 final.

After falling to Masconomet earlier in the week, the win was a much-needed one for Newburyport (2-3-1).

It was a 1-1 game after the first period thanks to two hard-earned goals. Newburyport junior defenseman Ryan Philbin scored his first career goal on a power play after he was set up by Kane Brennan and Groth, but Triton senior co-captain Cole Daniels came right back down and netted his third of the year to tie it up.

But with Triton on a power play in the second, Groth struck. It was actually Clipper goalie Jamie Brooks who started the break with a pass to Brennan, who then dished it off to Groth for the rare short-hander.

It was also Groth's third goal of the young season.

And once they got the lead, the Clipper defense led by Max Puleo stood strong in front of Brooks (14 saves) to close out the win. On the other end, Triton (3-4-0) goalie Gavin Marengi had another solid game with 30 saves.

Newburyport will be at Needham Friday night (8 p.m., Babson College), while Triton will try to bounce back at home against North Reading on Saturday (2 p.m.).

Newburyport 2, Triton 1

Newburyport (2-3-1): 1 1 0 — 2

Triton (3-4-0): 1 0 0 — 1

Goals: N — Ryan Philbin, Jon Groth; T — Cole Daniels

Assists: N — Kane Brennan, Groth, Jaime Brooks; T — Jack Lindholm

Saves: N — Brooks 14; T — Gavin Marengi 30