Fri. 3/2/12-updated
LA, Nobles Advance to Title Game
#4 Lawrence Academy, on the strength of a Devin Tringale OT goal -- his second goal of the game -- topped #1 Salisbury, 3-2, in the first of two tight, hard-fought NEPSIHA semifinals at the IceCenter in Salem, NH tonight. In the nightcap, #2 Nobles topped #3 Exeter, 5-3.
Lawrence and Nobles will face each other in an all-Keller Division final Sunday at 3:30 pm.
First Semifinal: Tringale Leads Lawrence to the Title Game
#4 Lawrence 3, #1 Salisbury 2 (OT) -- final
A Devin Tringale goal at 3:29 of OT -- his second goal of the game -- gave Lawrence Academy a hard-fought upset win over Salisbury School in a taut, exciting semifinal here in Salem, Mass tonight. The assist on the game-winner went to Tyler Whitney.
On the winning goal, Tringale drove down the right side and deftly tucked the puck between the inside of the post and the left pad of Salisbury goalie Justin Nichols, who had played a strong game.
Tringale also got the goal that sent the game into OT. With Salisbury's Zack Pryzbek off for hooking, the Harvard recruit scored with 5:59 remaining in regulation, with assists going to Conor Helfrich and Thomas Newton.
There was no scoring in the second period.
In the first, Salisbury went up 1-0 when junior Aaron Berisha scored a power play goal-- Tringale was off for a slash -- at 3:01, with an assist going to John Stevens. LA tied it up at 1-1 just 24 seconds later, George Hunkele scoring with an assist from senior D Jacob Schecter. Salisbury answered, going up 2-1 at the 11:49 mark when defenseman Thomas Welch scored, off assists from Jake Hand and Mark Hamilton. But that was the last goal that Salisbury would score, as Lawrence -- led by Tringale's goals -- began to take control of the play.
Both goaltenders, LA's Nathaniel Heilbron and Salisbury's Justin Nichols played very well, with Heilbron coming up with a particulary big glove save on Salisbury sharpshooter Philip Zielonka in the first period to keep it a one-goal game at the time. Lawrence outshot Salisbury, 41-27.
"The seniors on this team have been playing together for four years," said Lawrence head coach Kevin Potter. "The chemistry between them is just unbelieveable. They played very well against a very good team. They executed the game plan. All those little things we asked for they did. And as the game went along they just got better and better."
Lawrence will have to be good again on Sunday, as they will be facing a Nobles squad that beat them, 5-3, back on Jan. 13th. However, a week later, Lawrence travelled to Nobles and the two teams battled to a 3-3 deadlock.
Second Semifinal: Nobles' Maher Stymies Exeter's Comeback Bid
#2 Nobles 5, #3 Exeter 3 (final)
After Nobles exploded for three second-period goals, turning a 1-1 game into a 4-1 game and a potential rout, Exeter head coach Dana Barbin answered with a timeout. Whatever he told his charges certainly worked, for less than three-and-a-half minutes later, Exeter had narrowed the gap to 4-3. Then it was Nobles head coach Brian Day's turn to call a timeout to settle down his guys. That worked too, as Exeter would not score again, though they came out hard in the third and had two sparkling chances early. Both times, though, Nobles goaltender Connor Maher came up big, first stopping Exeter star Brian Hart on a powerplay attempt, and then, a couple minutes later, stopping a Michael St. Denis attempt. After that, Nobles started tightening things up again, though it took an insurance goal from P.J. Falvey -- the defenseman's second tally of the game --with 2:13 left to make it 5-3 and put Nobles into Sunday's title game.
Earlier, at 5:04 of the first period, Exeter defenseman Austin Caito helped give his team its only lead of the night when he got the puck to Brian Hart in the slot. Hart make a great play, faking the shot and making a short pass to Alex Carlacci, stationed a few feet to his right. Carlacci beat Nobles goalie Connor Maher to make it 1-0.
Nobles tied the game at 1-1 when Colin White's rebound of a Tim Boyle point shot rebounded to Chris Calnan, who beat Exeter goaltender Nolan Daley at the 12:33 mark.
That was it for the scoring in the first. Exeter had a couple of chances with a minute left in the period, but Maher came up with a pair of sparkling saves -- in quick succession -- to keep it a 1-1 game.
In the second period all hell broke loose, as the two teams combined for five goals.
Adam Gilmour got things going, giving Nobles the lead it would not relinquish when the lanky center, from a scrum, managed to lift the puck over Daley 5:04 into the period. Colin White and Chris Calnan picked up assists on the play.
Nobles made it 3-1 less than two minutes later when PJ Falvey's shot from the right point eluded Daley at the 6:33 mark. Calnan and Phil Sciretta assisted on the play.
Nobles struck yet again, making it 4-1 when Max Franklin converted an Andrew Doane pass at the 11:15 mark. At this point, as it was looking like Nobles was going to blow the game wide open. Exeter head coach Dana Barbin used his time out to settle his team, which had been hemmed into their end for a lengthy stretch -- and they responded, with two quick goals.
Exeter's Max Summermatter scored an unassisted goal at 13:12, beating Maher 5-hole, and cutting the lead to 4-2.
Just 1:32 later, Exeter defenseman Will Goss, with his team on the powerplay, rotated down to the half wall. Brian Hart slid over to the left point and passed it to Goss, whose low shot along the ice tucked inside the post to make it a one-goal game going into the third.
In the third. Exeter switched goalies replacing Daley with Tim Cooney. Exeter also carried the play early in the period and, as mentioned above, Nobles' needed Maher to come up big and preserve the lead -- and that's exactly what he did.
"I thought for a good portion of the game we played at a good pace," said Day. "But we lost our focus a bit after we went up 4-1. In the third, though, we battled really hard. Maher was terrifice, making those saves early. I thought the Burke-Poli-Bell line was terrific. They gave us great energy, and we needed it because Exeter is an explosive team."
Exeter outshot Nobles, 40-31.
Upcoming:
Sat. March 3 (IceCenter; Salem, NH)
9:00 am -- Piatelli/Simmons Semifinal -- KUA vs. Dexter
11:30 am -- Piatelli/Simmons Semifinal -- Brooks vs. Holderness
2:00 pm -- Martin/Earl Semifinal -- Berkshire vs. Albany Academy
4:30 pm -- Martin/Earl Semifinal -- St. Sebastian's vs. Kent
Sun. March 4 (IceCenter; Salem, NH)
10:30 am -- Piatelli/Simmons Final
1:00 pm -- Martin/Earl Final
3:30 pm -- Stuart/Corkery Final
Wed. 3/7/12
New England Girls Prep All-Stars
Div. I
Player of the Year:
Mary Parker, Sr. F, Noble & Greenough School – Milton, Mass.
First Team:
Sydney Daniels, Jr. F, Westminster School – Southwick, Mass.
Kathryn Tomaselli, Sr. F, Williston-Northampton School – Cranston, RI
Jamie Haddad, Sr. F, Deerfield Academy– Wilbraham, Mass.
Briana Mastel, Jr. D, Choate-Rosemary Hall – Wallingford, Conn.
Bella Singsigalli, Jr. D, Berkshire School – Redding, Conn.
Celeste Robert, Sr. G, Winchendon School – Rouyn-Noranda, Que.
Second Team:
Lillian Braga, Sr. F, Winchendon School – Winchester, Mass.
Rachel Kennedy, Sr. F, Westminster School – Trumbull, Conn.
Casey Leveillee, Jr. F, Northfield-Mt. Hermon – Delanson, NY
Eleni Tebano, Jr. D, Westminster School – Glastonbury, Conn.
Jenn Godin, Sr. D, Tabor Academy – Clarence Center, NY
Brianna Laing, Jr. G, Noble & Greenough – Marblehead, Mass.
Div. II
Player of the Year:
Jordan Juron, Sr. F, Middlesex School – Latham, NY
First Team:
Melissa Piacenti, Sr. F, Thayer Academy – Weymouth, Mass.
Courtney Turner, Sr. F, Southfield School – Milton, Mass.
Janelle Ferrara, Sr. F, Rivers School – Winthrop, Mass.
Taylor Cross, Sr. D, Rivers School – Saugus, Mass.
Erin Hall, Jr. D, Southfield School – Pembroke, Mass.
Abby Guerra, Sr. G, Holderness School – Durham, NH
Second Team:
Maeve McMahon, Jr. F, Groton School – Duxbury, Mass.
Maddie Winslow, Soph. F, Middlesex School – Newbury, Mass.
Ellie Haines, Jr. F, Canterbury School – Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Kate Haslett, Jr. D, Brooks School – Rothesay, NB
Talia Simon, Sr. D, Groton School – Carlisle, Mass.
Katie White, Sr. G, Middlesex School – Falmouth, Mass.
Sun. 3/4/12
Nobles, Proctor This Year's Prep Champs
-- at the Berkshire School; Sheffield, Mass.
New England Prep Finals
Div. I Championship Game:
Nobles 2, Lawrence Academy 0
Mary Parker and Natasha Rachlin each had a goal for Nobles. Mary Parker was named Div. I Tournament MVP.
Div. II Championship Game:
Proctor 5, Middlesex 4 (OT)
Michelle Holmes had three goals for Proctor -- including the game-winner in OT -- and was named Div. II Tournament MVP. Brea Davis and Nikki Gorman also had goals for Proctor.
Sat. 3/3/12
Girls Prep Semifinals
The semis and finals are being played this weekend at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass. Here are the results of today's games, and tomorrow's schedule.
Sat. March 3:
12:00 pm – Div. II semifinal: Middlesex 3, Gunnery 1
2:00 pm – Div. II semifinal: Proctor 3, Rivers 1
4:00 pm – Div. I semifinal: Nobles 3, Cushing 1
6:00 pm – Div. I semifinal: Lawrence 2, Williston 1 (OT)
Sun. March 4:
11:00 am – Div. II Championship Game: Middlesex vs. Proctor
1:10 pm – Div. I Championship Game: Nobles vs. Lawrence
