Sun. 3/4/12
Lawrence Edges Nobles; Wins Prep Crown
-- Seniors Tringale, Whitney, Heilbron Lead Spartans
Lawrence Academy 3, Nobles 2 -- Salem, NH -- A Devin Tringale goal with 18 seconds left in the second period proved to be the game-winner as Lawrence Academy edged Nobles 3-2 here today to win the 2012 NEPSIHA Championship -- the school's first. The goal, which gave Lawrence its first lead of the afternoon, came off a bad turnover 15 feet in front of Nobles goalie Connor Maher. Tyler Whitney picked off the puck, and quickly moved it to Tringale who buried it at the 17:42 mark. Lawrence carried the momentum gained from Tringale's goal into the third period -- and didn't let up until the final buzzer sounded and the players, in jubilation, piled onto senior goaltender Nathaniel Heilbron, who was excellent all weekend.
Just a few minutes prior to Tringale's game winner, Whitney had tied the game at 2-2 for Lawrence, with assists on the goal going to George Hunkele and Tringale.
Earlier in the period, at 3:08, Nobles' Will Sleeper banged home the rebound of a Max Franklin shot to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.
In the first period, the two teams traded goals. Lawrence got on the board first, as Matt Baldino converted a nice pass from Will Messa at the 13:45 mark. Nobles, though, came right back to tie it up at 1-1 as Cal Burke scored at the 16:10 mark, with an assist going to Andrew Doane.
Lawrence outshot Nobles 11-6 in the first, and 15-8 in the second.
A number of Lawrence's key players are seniors who have been with the program since their freshman year -- Tringale, Whitney, Matt Baldino. Last March, the Spartans reached the playoffs -- without Whitney, who was injured -- but were knocked out by eventual champion Milton in the semis. There was a palpable determination to this year's squad which became increasingly evident as the season progressed, and especially as they beat Belmont Hill in the quarters, #1 Salisbury in the semis, and #2 Nobles today.
"It's been a long ride for the seniors who have been here all four years," said Lawrence head coach Kevin Potter afterward. "Those are great character kids."
Potter gave a big thumbs-up to the play of his goaltender, West Vancouver, BC native Nathaniel Heilbron. "When he gets determined like he did in the third," said Potter, "I knew no one was going to score on him. I just love his competitive nature."
Potter said that today his team focused on doing what they do well, like quick transitions. "We didn't want the puck in our zone for long, not with some of those guys they have over there. I thought the last nine periods -- except for the second period against Belmont Hill -- we played well. We stayed out of the box. And we played good team hockey."
(While Potter was coaching Lawrence in the boys final, the girls championship game was being played 100 miles to the west, at the Berkshire School. And, as fate would have it, the girls final also pitted Nobles against Lawrence. Potter spent the off-day Saturday at Berkshire, watching his daughter, a freshman, in semifinal action, a 2-1 overtime win over Williston. Today, however, the Nobles girls blanked Lawrence, 2-0.)
We caught up with Nobles head coach Brian Day after the game. "We are disappointed," he said, "but Lawrence is a terrific team. They are disciplined. They are well-coached. And they are very tough to play against. They clog things up well -- and they cashed in better than we did."
Day wasn't happy with the defensive breakdown that led to the turnover that resulted in Tringale's game-winner. "The same applies to the goal before that," he added. "Some of the same characteristics were present."
However, said Day, he was happy with the season as a whole. "This is a group of tremendous character," he said, "and with great senior leadership. They bought into the whole essence of collective good."
And, just like that, the curtain came down on the 2011-12 campaign.
-- McGovern's OT Tally Gives Berkshire the Large School Championship
Berkshire 4, St. Sebastian's 3 (OT) -- Salem, NH -- A Brendan McGovern goal at 1:05 of overtime lifted Berkshire to the Large School Championship here this afternoon. On the winning goal, the puck was flipped in and, as the St. Sebastian's defensemen and goalie Gord Donnelly tried to play it, the bouncing puck flipped up in the air. McGovern gloved it to himself, held it on his forehand and, when both d-men went down to block it, the senior forward buried it.
The game reached overtime on the strength of David Loughborough's powerplay tally at 6:59 of the third period, thus completing the Arrows comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
In the second, the two teams traded goals. Greg Smart, cutting across the top of the crease extended Berkshire's lead to 2-0, with assists going to Charlie Corcoran and Brian Brown at the 5:24 mark. St. Seb's answered just 28 seconds later, as Tommy Kelley converted a Corey Ronan pass to cut the Berkshire lead in half -- Danny O'Regan also got an assist on the play. Berkshire came back, going up 3-1 when Corey Wisnowski scored from a scrum right after a great save by St. Sebastian's Gord Donnelly at 8:52. O'Regan scored on a wraparound at 11:47 to cut the Berkshire lead to one going into the second intermission. Berkshire outshot Seb's 16-10 in the second.
Earlier, in the first period, Berkshire went up 1-0 when Kevin Rooney spotted Gus Harms barreling down the slot, hit him with a perfect pass and Harms one-timed low glove side at the 15:28 mark. Brown also got an assist on the play. Shots on goal in the first were 12-6 Berkshire.
Final shots for the game were 42-30, Berkshire.
"This team," said Berkshire head coach Dan Driscoll, "had 10 OT games and 18 one-goal games over the course of the season. We have good soul... good team character and a never-say-die leadership that really benefitted us today. There are 11 seniors on the team, and they were invested in playing for each other and in playing for the school."
Asked about his 6'7" goaltender, Driscoll said, "(Feeley) has tremendous upside. It's been so much fun watching him improve from this point last year. The sky's the limit for him."
-- Roberto's OT Goal Lifts KUA To Small School Title
Kimball Union 3, Holderness 2 (OT) -- Salem, NH -- Nick Roberto scored with 1:56 left in the first OT to lift Kimball Union to a 3-2 win over Holderness in the NEPSIHA Small School Tournament championship game. Casey Miller set up the winning goal when he stripped the puck from the Holderness defender along the wall and got the puck out front to Roberto, who buried it. Rufo also had an assist on the play.
Both teams had some excellent chances in overtime, and both goalies -- Holderness' Andy Monroe and KUA's Ryan Lund -- came up with some great saves. Kimball Union had the edge in play in the OT session, though Holderness had some great chances to end it. Shots on goal in the extra session were 11-5 Kimball Union.
The game had been tied at 2-2 for roughly 27 minutes of play, since Holderness tied it up at 9:47 of the third when, on the PP, defenseman Gavin Bayreuther, from just inside the blue line, ripped off a great across-the-grain shot that cleanly beat KUA goaltener Ryan Lund. Immediately afterward, Lund robbed Holderness' Connor Loree to keep it at 2-2.
Earlier, at 1:44 of the third, Niko Rufo put KUA ahead 2-1 when he broke down the right side alone, cut in, got Monroe moving, and snapped the puck past him. Assists went to d-man John MacLeod and Jonathan Charbonneau.
After a scoreless first period, Holderness went up 1-0 at 9:01 of the second on a rebound goal by Nick Renzi who, alone in front, lifted a backhander over KUA goalie Ryan Lund. Assists went to Bailey Walsh and Gordie Borek. KUA came right back, and, at 12:28 tied it at 1-1 when defenseman Connor Evangelista, with a great stretch pass, sent Jonathan Charbonneau in alone. Charbonneau beat Holderness senior goalie Andy Munroe, who kept Holderness in the game with a few sparkling saves in the first.
Final shots on goal were KUA 43, Holderness 30.
Afterward, Mike Levine, Kimball Union's head coach, said, "Anytime you win a championship at any level, it's special. Roberto, Rufo, Miller and our entire d-corps really stepped up today. We had four D -- including a freshman (MacLeod) -- who logged a ton of minutes today. As a team, we really pulled together. We battled down the stretch and worked hard. We worked hard today, too. We had to because Holderness is extremely well-coached, their goalie played great, and their team worked really hard."
Sun. March 4 (IceCenter; Salem, NH)
10:30 am -- Piatelli/Simmons Final -- #1 KUA vs. #3 Holderness
1:00 pm -- Martin/Earl Final -- #1 Berkshire vs. #2 St. Sebastian's
3:30 pm -- Stuart/Corkery Final: #4 Lawrence vs. #2 Nobles
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
