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 Sat. 3/5/16

Prep Semifinals

Results from Saturday's semifinals, and matchups for Sunday's championship games.


Stuart/Corkery Tournament (AKA Elite 8)
1. Avon 2. KUA 3. Exeter 4. Salisbury 5. Gunnery 6. Milton 7. Loomis 8. Brunswick

#5 Gunnery, #6 Milton Advance to Sunday's Elite 8 Title Game

Gunnery 5 @ Avon Old Farms 3 -- On the eve of today's semifinal, the #1 goaltender on the #1-ranked team, Avon senior Matt Ladd, took 20 stitches when, in the locker room after practice, a teammate in skates stepped on his bare foot.

So the Winged Beavers were shorthanded going into today's game against a determined Gunnery team which, three days earlier, had dispatched defending champs Salisbury in a 3-2 road semifinal win.

Today, Gunnery did it again, earning another gritty road playoff win, this time in front of a packed house at Avon's Jennings Fairchild Rink.

Avon looked good at the start. Right off the opening draw, Tyler Carangelo took it right to the Gunnery net for a scoring opportunity. It appeared to be a starting statement from the home team. And it looked even better when, on a later power play, Patrick Harper skated it around from behind the Gunnery net and then held it until Gunnery senior goaltender Trevin Kozlowski went down -- and lifted it over his outstretched body and into the net to give Avon an early 1-0 lead.

Let us interject something here: the officiating in this game was really about as bad as this typist has seen this season -- and this was a prep semifinal game, with a trip to the championship game on the line. The first two periods were just bizarre. If either of the two teams benefitted from dubious calls, it was hard to discern. The game,  played at a high tempo, was very physical. But it wasn't a dirty game and the officials, in their zeal to prevent it from becoming one, called everything, thus putting themselves front and center and, simultaneously, bringing the game to the doorstep of anarchy. 

The second period was action-packed. Gunnery got on the board when, on the PP, senior Chad Varney, from behind the Avon net, spotted Daniel Haider out front with a perfect pass. Haider roofed it on Avon junior goaltender Brandon Schellin to tie the game at 1-1.

Gunnery took a 2-1 lead when, in even-strength play, a flurry around the Avon net produced several rebounds -- and several opportunities for Gunnery players to knock one home past Schellin. Avon couldn't clear out in front and, on the third whack, junior Albert Washco banged it past Schellin to put the visitors up 2-1.

Harper got it back for Avon, tying it up at 2-2 shortly after a power play had expired, with 9:45 left in the period.

And then Tyler Madden, on the PP, put Avon up 3-2 with just 1:03 left in the period, silencing the boistrous Gunnery cheering section. 

And then there was the third period. Noteworthy here was the fact that the officials jammed their whistles in their pockets and let the kids play -- to a point.

Also of note was the fact that Gunnery came out really hard in the third. Daniel Haider, who was a force all day for Gunnery, had a great early opportunity, but couldn't convert.

Gunnery tied it up at 3-3 when senior Cam Donaldson, who can do some pretty nifty things when given a square inch in which to work, carried the puck into the Avon end. It was a little difficult to see exactly what happened -- the rink was packed -- but junior Albert Washco eventually got the puck past Schellin. The game was tied, and Gunnery had a boost.

The game settled in a bit at this point, and took on a this-could-be-going-to-OT feel. The officials cooled it on the incessant penalty calling.

With 6:38 left, an Avon player was penalized off the draw, not really the kind of penalty that would normally be called when the whistles have been stashed, there's no flagrant foul, and the game is tied late. But it happened. 

And Gunnery, to their credit, took advantage of the situation. The game-winning goal was not a thing of beauty. Defenseman Josh Gagne wristed a shot from the point, Schellin moved laterally, but low, in order to get a clean look at the shot, and the puck sailed over his shoulder for the game-winning goal. 

Gunnery added an empty-net goal to make it 5-3.

"Our returnees led the way," said Gunnery head coach Craig Badger. "They play it the right way. Wednesday, Noah Williams had a big goal to get us going. Today, the Washco-Pellegrino-Donaldson line had two goals and were just all over the Avon net."

"Our game is to take away time and space. We did that on Wednesday against Salisbury and we did it today. These are dangerous teams."

Asked about defense and goaltending, Badger said, "I felt that with both Salisbury and Avon, we shut them down -- and they still both scored three goals."

Avon head coach John Gardner said, "Gunnery played well. They played hard. They kept the game simple."

It was a tough end to the season for Avon, but a good season, said Gardner.

"We had a 25-game unbeaten streak," he said. "We put Avon hockey back on the map."


Milton 2 @ Kimball Union 1 -- For the first 6-7 minutes, Milton, which had a tie and a win in two regular-season games vs. KUA, was blitzed by the host Wildcats. On top of that, Milton took a penalty. 

It looked, said Milton coach Paul Cannata, like "trouble early." But, he added, "we killed off the penalty and then balanced ourselves and came out of the period 0-0. We were lucky, especially given the crowd and the loud environment."

In the second, Milton leveled the playing field. After Jack Bliss hit a post, Bobby Beniers, who had won the faceoff, scored at 16:39 to put Milton up 1-0.

In the third, George Sennott tied the game up for KUA at the 7:05 mark. Nearly five minutes later, Milton came back with what would turn out to be the game winner, with Andrew Dumaresque putting a fake on a defender and scoring on KUA goaltender Payton Porter from 35 feet.

There were a total of three penalties called in this game, two against Milton and one against KUA. In its two playoff wins, Milton has had a total of one power play.

Kimball Union outshot Milton 35-30. Winning goaltender Ethan Domokos kicked out 34 of 35 shots and, while not forced to make 10-bell saves, was every bit as good as he had to be. 

He'll have to be good again on Sunday, when Milton faces Gunnery in the 2016 New England prep title game.


***

Martin/Earl Tournament (Large School)
1. Cushing 2. Westminster 3. Proctor 4. Thayer 5. Tabor 6. Belmont Hill 7. St. Sebastian's 8. Nobles

#2 Westminster, #4 Thayer to Face Off for Large School Title Sunday

Thayer 3 @ Cushing 2 -- A third period goal by junior Casey Carreau, from Ty Amonte and PJ Garrett, was the game-winner here.

Carreau (1g,1a), Ty Amonte (1g,1a), and Robert Carmody (1g) led the Tigers' attack.

For Cushing, junior Ashton Fry had both goals. Both goalies, Cushing's Joey Hallstrom and Thayer's Mike Royer, kicked out 29 shots.

Cushing finishes its season 21-11-1. Thayer, winners of 7 of 8 (and 10 of 12), moves on and faces Westminster in the Large School title game on Sunday. 


@ Westminster 4, Belmont Hill 2 -- After a slump (they lost 4 of 5), Westy has gone 6-1-1 over its last 8. Today, they never trailed against Belmont Hill. JP Schuhlen had a couple of goals (the second an ENG), and junior Jay Powell and sophomore D Patrick Dawson also had goals. Senior Stephen Gasior stopped 35 of 37 to earn the win. Freshman Connor Hopkins stopped 26 of 29 for Belmont Hill.


***

Piatelli/Simmons Tournament (Small School)
1. Rivers 2. St. Mark's 3. Brooks 4. Dexter 5. Lawrence 6. New Hampton 7. St. George's 8. Canterbury

#1 Rivers, #2 St. Mark's to Meet in All-ISL Final Sunday

@ Rivers 3, Dexter 2 (OT) -- A Frank Boie goal at 12:36 of OT lifted Rivers into the Small School Championship Game tomorrow against Dexter. 

In the first period today, Tommy Giandomenico and Nolan Donato gave Dexter a 2-0 lead. 

In the second, Michael Young and Teddy Wooding took it right back for Rivers, tying it up at 2-2.

There was no scoring in the third, thus setting up OT -- and Boie's game-winner.

For the game, Rivers outshot Dexter by a 36-21 margin. Sophomore Aidan Murphy was in net for Rivers, and junior Aidan Murphy was in net for Dexter. How many games have you seen with two goalies, each named Aidan?

@ St. Mark's 3, New Hampton 0 -- Senior Ryan Ferland kicked out all 31 shots he faced, and seniors Zach Tsekos, Peter Housakos, and Derek Osik each scored a goal.

ISL foes Rivers and St. Mark's will meet for the NEPSIHA Small School championship at noon on Sunday.


***

Sunday's Schedule

Championship Games -- Sun. March 6
at St. Anselm College; Manchester, NH

Piatelli/Simmons Tournament (Small School):
#1 Rivers vs. #2 St. Mark's, 12:00 pm

Martin/Earl Tournament (Large School):
#2 Westminster vs. #4 Thayer, 2:30 pm

Stuart/Corkery Tournament (AKA Elite 8):
#5 Gunnery vs. #6 Milton, 5:00 pm

 Sun. 3/6/16
Championship Sunday & Prep All-Star Teams

Sunday, March 6, 2016 -- Championship Games
At the Noble & Greenough School; Dedham, Mass.

Div. I Championship Game:
Nobles 4, Loomis 0

Period 1
Nobles -- Charlotte Brown (Becca Gilmore, Casey O’Brien) 3:51
Nobles -- Gilmore (Caitrin Longeran, Katie Tresca) 13:44

Period 2
No scoring

Period 3
Nobles -- O’Brien (Lily Farden, Gilmore) 6:44
Nobles -- Bridget McCarthy (Longeran, Steph Nomicos) 13:00

Tournament MVP:
Becca Gilmour, Nobles

***

Div. II Championship Game:
St. George's 3, Brooks 2

Period 1
St. George's -- Erika Martin (Madi Aumann, Victoria O’Heir) 4:34
St. George's -- Alyse Borelli (Hannah Dreschsel, O’Heir) 14:07

Period 2
St. George’s -- Hayley Doneghey (Madi Aumann, Madison Tregenza) 3:21
Brooks -- Julia Nearis (Caroline O’Keefe) 8:22
Brooks -- Caroline Cutter (Tess Martin, Emma English) 12:31

Period 3
No scoring

Tournament MVP:
Beth Larcom, St. George’s


***

2015-16 New England Prep Girls All-Star Teams
D-I Player of the Year:
Caitrin Lonergan, Sr. F, Noble & Greenough

D-I First Team:
Forwards: Becca Gilmore '17 (Noble & Greenough), Caitrin Lonergan '16 (Noble & Greenough), Delaney Belinskas '16 (Williston)
Defense: Cayla Barnes '17 (New Hampton), Rachel Rockwell '16 (Williston)
Goalie: Morgan Fisher '16 (Williston)

D-I Second Team:
Forwards: Charlotte Welch '18 (Andover), Meaghan Rickard '16 (Williston), Kelly Browne '18 (Tabor)
Defense: Taylor Matherson '17 (Tabor), Paige Capistran '16 (Loomis)
Goalie: Lindsay Reed '18 (Hotchkiss)

D-II Player of the Year:
Beth Larcom, Sr. G, St. George's

D-II First Team:
Forward: Julia Nearis '18 (Brooks), Maddi Blauth '16 (Canterbury), Olivia Soares '16 (St. George's)
Defense: Alice Pingeon '16 (Rivers), Taylor Methven '16 (Proctor)
Goalie: Beth Larcom '16 (St. George's)

D-II Second Team:
Forward: Samantha Estes '16 (Rivers), Alexis Fagan '17 (Proctor), Jen Manning '16 (Worcester)
Defense: Maura White '16 (Canterbury), Kiana Melvin '16 (Hebron)
Goalie: Clara Pingeon '16 (Rivers)

Sat. 3/5/16

 
Girls Prep Semifinals

Here are the semifinal results from Saturday, March 5th, and the schedule for Sunday's championship games.

Saturday, March 5, 2016 -- Semifinals

Div. I
1. Nobles 2. Williston 3. Loomis 4. Kent 5. Andover 6. New Hampton 7. Milton 8. St. Paul's.

@ Nobles 2, Kent 1  
Loomis 5 @ Williston 2 

Div. II
1. Brooks 2. St. George's 3. Worcester 4. Rivers 5. Proctor 6. Canterbury 7. Gunnery 8. Southfield.

@ Brooks 3, Proctor 2
@ St. George's 2, Worcester 1 (OT)

Sunday, March 6, 2016 -- Championship Games
At the Noble & Greenough School; Dedham, Mass.

Div. II Championship Game:
Brooks vs. St. George's, 12:30 pm

Div. I Championship Game:
Nobles vs. Loomis, 3:00 pm

Wed. 3/2/16- Updated Thurs. 3/3 at 8:45 pm.

2016 Girls Prep Quarterfinals -- and Weekend Schedule

Here are the quarterfinal results from Wednesday March 2nd -- and the weekend schedule. We'll be filling in the game times as they become available.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016 -- Quarterfinals -- at Campus Sites

Div. I
1. Nobles 2. Williston 3. Loomis 4. Kent 5. Andover 6. New Hampton 7. Milton 8. St. Paul's.

@ Nobles 6, St. Paul's 0  
@ Williston 3, Milton 1  
@ Loomis 1, New Hampton 0
@ Kent 3, Andover 1

Div. II
1. Brooks 2. St. George's 3. Worcester 4. Rivers 5. Proctor 6. Canterbury 7. Gunnery 8. Southfield.
 
@ Brooks 2, Southfield 1 (OT)   
@ St. George's 2, Gunnery 1 (3-OT) 
@ Worcester 4, Canterbury 3 (2-OT)   
Proctor 2 @ Rivers 1    

Saturday, March 5, 2016 -- Semifinals

Div. I
#4 Kent @ #1 Nobles, 2:00 pm 
#3 Loomis @ #2 Williston, 2:45 pm

Div. II
#5 Proctor @ #1 Brooks, 3:00 pm
#3 Worcester @ #2 St. George's, 4:00 pm

Sunday, March 6, 2016 -- Championship Games -- at Noble & Greenough School
Div. II -- 12:30 pm
Div. I -- 3:00 pm