BOYS HOCKEY
ST. JOHN'S PREP 1, XAVERIAN 0: Senior Greg Tremblay knocked home a rebound at 7:05 of the second period for the game's only goal yesterday afternoon. Sophomore goaltender David Letarte from Salem made that one score stand up, making15 saves for his fifth shutout of the season as the Eagles officially clinched second place in the Catholic Conference and with it punched their ticket to the Division 1 North playoffs.
"We told our guys beforehand that this was our biggest game of the season, and they understood the magnitude of the situation. They rose to the occasion," said Prep head coach Kristian Hanson, his team now 8-7-1 on the season.
"The goal was great, too. David made two great saves for us, we got the rebound and transitioned up the ice on a 3-on-2 break. Colin Blackwell fed the puck to Sam Kurker, and their goalie (Xaverian's Kyle MacDonald) made a nice save. But Tremblay was following the play, pounced on the rebound and buried it."
St. John's Prep, which got a terrific game in all three zones yesterday from junior third line center Derek Palm of Salem, is now 4-2-1 in league play heading into today's Catholic Conference finale at league champion Catholic Memorial (4:30 p.m.).
Danvers 2, winthrop 2: Captain Tom Conway, moved from his normal spot on defense to the front of the Winthrop net with his goalie pulled for an extra attacker, scored the game-tying goal with 16 seconds left as the Falcons (8-4-3) moved to within a point of qualifying for postseason play.
Kyle Larson added a goal and an assist for the Blue-and-White, who overcame an early 2-0 deficit. Fellow junior Chris Milne and senior captain D.J. Yost added assists while senior goalkeeper Mike Allain stopped 17 shots to help preserve the tie.
Masco 6, triton 0: Sean Haines had a huge game with three goals and two assists, powering the Chieftains (12-5-1) to victory. Junior Casey Tudor turned aside 16 shots for his second shutout while aided by the scoring efforts of Ryan Dooley (2 goals, 2 assists), Vincent Zingarelli (goal, 2 assists) and Pat Crosby (4 assists).
BP. FENWICK 3, TRINITY CATH. 1: The Crusaders (10-7 overall) officially clinched the Catholic Central League Small crown and earned a postseason berth, improving to 7-0 in league play as Mike Cipriani had two goals and an assist. Linemate Brett Kidik also scored an assisted on both of Cipriani's scores, while Andrew Ruby and Tyler Burgess added solo assists. Twenty saves earned Blaine Thibodeau the win in goal.
MARBLEHEAD 0, SAUGUS 0: Junior Tony Cuzner had 16 saves to pick up his fifth shutout of the season, but the Headers had to settle for a tie as all 22 of their shots were turned aside by Saugus' Nick Hegarty. Marblehead (13-2-3) is back at it this afternoon with a non-league contest at Somerville (4 p.m.).
SWAMPSCOTT 6, SALEM 5: Captain Justin Massey scored a hat trick, including two scores in a four-goal third period for his team, and finished with five points as the Big Blue (8-8-1) got a much needed two points. Fellow captain Colby Wollerscheid added two goals and an assist while Anthony DiPietro recorded a goal and an assist. Defenseman Tom Ball contributed two assists as well.
Junior Jesse Wilkins had a big night for Salem, scoring twice and assisting on another. Anthony Sabatini added a goal and an assist for the 0-16 Witches, who also got scores from Zach Holt and Spencer Collins. D.J. McRae, Dan Tsivin, Zach Gaucher, Paul DiMarino and Jake Stokes all added single assists.
GIRLS HOCKEY
BEVERLY 2, MEDFORD 2: Junior Clare Leathersich and freshman Kara Donati buried goals for the Panthers, but visiting Medford scored the tying goal in the final 17 seconds to salvage a tie. Janelle Parker, Katelyn DeSimone and Olivia Konaxis all had assists for Beverly (10-1-4)
MARBLEHEAD 4, WILM. 1: Lexie Laing netted a pair of goals and one assist while Lauren Turner and Casey McDonald also lit the lamp as the Lady Headers improved to 9-4-4. Molly Depew needed to make just nine saves to pick up the victory. Ally Healy also had a big day with two assists.
TRACK
BEVERLY SETS 2 SCHOOL MARKS: The Panthers' distance medley relay team of Millie Chapman, Heidi Bezemes, Wendy Marciano and Monica Adler finished first at yesterday's McIntyre Elite Relays in a school record time of 12:30.45. Beverly's 4x800 relay team, comprised of Marciano, Chapman, Adler and Brenna Bailey, took fifth place in 9:44.77.
MARBLEHEAD 4X400 RELAY WINS: Julia Kingsley, Emma McGuirk, Mary Keroack and Sarah Bitterman ran the second fastest time in the state this year, finishing first at the Elite Relays in 4:02.19. The Magicians' distance medley team, comprised of Madeline Piela, Maura Tubridy, Gretchen Rowe and Chloe Heskett, placed ninth in 13:23.
PEABODY EARNS THIRD, FIFTH: The Tanner boys' 4x200 relay broke a 20-year-old school mark by placing third as Jamal Abu-Hijleh, Jonathan Acquaviva, Nate Gaye and Bobby Rossano ran a 1:33.41. Also, the hurdles team finished fifth overall in 26.89 as Zachary Grube, Joe Votto, Edwin Mejia and Joseph Rossano all ran well.
FENWICK GIRLS FOURTH: The sprint medley relay team of Elly O'Leary, Cailyn Webb, Brittany Dolan and Marial Quezada, which came in seeded 10, ran to a fourth place finish in 4:19 for the Crusaders. The girls' shot put relay team of Tina Moran (a personal best throw of 31-3), senior captain Andi Sidell and Meredith Ross finished ninth, while the boys' 4x800 relay team of Tom Banks (a 2:02 split), Bob Farrell, Andrew Young and Bill Harrington ran a 8:30, placing 15th.
Ipswich takes seventh: The Tigers' quartet of juniors Lauren Hanlon and Olivia Putnam, sophomore Samantha Brown and senior captain Molly Miller set a school record in the shuttle hurdles, placing seventh (31.15) yesterday.
At last Friday's Cape Ann League JV Open, a pair of Tigers recorded first place finishes. Freshman Tina Keiran won the 1,000 in 3:12.6, while junior Taylor Merloni captured the 600 in 1:48.2.
WRESTLING
Masco FOURTH IN DIV. 2: Backup Richard Weishaar came in to win his match via pin at 103 pounds to highlight a strong day for Masco at the Division 2 North tournament, where it beat Tewksbury, 41-33 before losing to Winchester, 52-13. Senior Carlton Jones also secured a big pin at 160 pounds in his first varsity match. Other winners for the Chieftains included Nate Hooper (112 lbs.), Zachary Barry (125), Dylan Mann (130), Chris Fitzsimmons (152), Aydan Strachan (171) and heavyweight George Alexandrou.
VOLLEYBALL
Pingree 3, bb&n 0: The Highlanders (10-5) rolled by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-21. Senior captain Kara Kovacev had 11 service points in the first game, while fellow senior Cat Dioli of Ipswich was a standout on defense.
SWIMMING
PREP WINS LEAGUE TITLE: Aaron Athanas and Ryan Fortin each won two events as St. John's Prep scored 527 to retain the Catholic Conference title. Athanas captured the 200 and 500 freestyle, while Fortin was victorious in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Catholic Conference MVP Brian Brennan of Beverly won the 100 free, John Bateman captured the 50 free, and the Eagles also won all three relays.
pingree 52, DEXTER 42: Molly McSweeney won the 200 IM (2:27.80) and 500 free (5:55.18) and was part of both the triumphant 200 medley relay and 400 free relay squads. Alex Guldemond scored a personal best in winning the 100 free (1:09.19), as did Reinhold Willcox in taking second (1:10.09). Emma Gaquin was also a winner in the 200 free (2:11.84), as was the 200 free relay team.
BOYS BASKETBALL
masco 62, Charlestown 58: Senior captain John Daniels scored 14 points and had a monster game on the boards with 23 rebounds as the red-hot Chieftains (15-1) shaded the powerful Townies at home.
Fellow captain Collin Burke added 15 points in the win; he, along with senior Jake London, each hit two big free throws in the final 30 seconds to help ice the win. Masconomet sophomore guard Adam Bramanti led all scorers with 20 points, including six 3-pointers.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
BP. FENWICK 89, METHUEN 66: Junior forward Sarah James had 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals as Fenwick (10-7) rolled. Four other players hit double figures for the winners as junior guard Amy Pelletier had 18 points, eight assists and four steals; senior captain and guard Sydney Southern had 17 points, six steals and three assists; senior guard and fellow captain Lizzy Trainor had 10 points, seven steals and seven assists; and junior forward Erin Botticelli finished with 10 points.
cENTRAL cATH. 50, MASCO 29: The defending state champs shot out to a 19-2 lead after one quarter and cruised from there over the Chieftains (12-6). Brooke Stewart was high scorer for Masco with nine points while Emily Winskowicz added eight
MEN'S BASKETBALL
GORDON 62, Nichols 49: Brady Bajema became the 16th player in Gordon history to surpass 1,500 career points, leading all scorers with 23 points as the Scots (17-3) won their 13th straight contest.
Currently ranked No. 7 in New England among Division 3 teams, Gordon also got 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots from Greg Walker. Teammate Aaron Trigg added nine points and eight boards off the defensive glass.
ENDICOTT 98, REGIS 85: Graham Whitelaw led all scorers with 27 points, hitting on 9-of-13 shots in this high scoring affair as Endicott (5-4 CCC) evened its overall record at 10-10. Aaron Karkow contributed 15 points in the win, Lance Greene added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Mike Rhodes finished with a dozen.
SALEM STATE 86, WESTFIELD 63: Brian Clark scored 17 points and blocked three shots as the hosts improved to 6-2 in MASCAC competition and 7-13 overall. Nate Simpson also finished in double figures with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Terry Carter finished with eight points and seven boards. In all, 12 different players scored for the Vikings.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
SALEM STATE 66, WESTFIELD 54: Fighting through double and triple-teams, Danielle Jenkins poured in 21 points as the Lady Vikings improved to 15-6 (6-2 MASCAC). The senior forward also hauled down 15 rebounds for the winners. Nine points apiece were scored by teammates Amy Barry and Jakoya Wilkins (who also had 5 assists and 2 steals) as Salem State used a 22-3 run in the second half to pull away.
ENDICOTT 82, REGIS 70: Ashley White had 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and added seven rebounds to power the visiting Gulls to their eight Commonwealth Coast Conference win in nine tries. Also hitting for double figures for 15-5 Endicott were Ceciley Chisholm (18 points on 8-of-11 shooting), Ashley Wright (12 points) and Kaylin Burke (10 points). Endicott finished the day bettering 63 percent shooting from the field and 77 percent from the foul line.
NICHOLS 80, GORDON 60: Despite 24 points and four assists from Heather DeKleine, the Scots fell to 2-7 in conference play and 9-12 overall. Kim Levinsky added 16 points while Rebecca Carroll had 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
MEN'S HOCKEY
SALEM state 4, UMASS DARTMOUTH 2: Chad Johnson, Dan Smolinsky, Nick Lampson (the game-winner on the power play) and Matt Genovese all had goals as the Vikings improved to 7-2-3 in MASCAC play and 9-7-3 overall. Sam Avoine made 18 saves to grab his fourth win of the season in the SSC cage.
