North Shore hockey teams are heading down the stretch, and Salem News sportswriters Matt Williams and Phil Stacey have a lot to talk about this week. First a look at how the NEC Large will shake out; Peabody and Winthrop are at the top, but who else will make the play-offs? Then Stacey and Williams give teams the 'Real or Not' test, assessing which teams have a shot of having a productive post-season.
Total time: 15:35 Subscribe on iTunes
The contest brings together the top seniors in Eastern Mass as nominated by coaches and then selected by a panel from the Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association.
Bucci, who led the area in scoring last season as a junior and recently topped 100 career points, was the lone representative from the Northeastern Conferece.
Former St. John’s Prep superstar wrestler Ryan Malo is now taking his dominance on the mat nationally.
The Williams College star is featured in this week’s “Faces in the Crowd” section of the Feb. 1, issue of Sports Illustrated.
Wrestling at 197 pounds, Malo is 32-4 this season, with all four defeats coming against Division 1 opponents. Heading into this weekend’s Metro NY/NE Duals, Malo is 24-0 vs. Division 3 opponents and 28 of his 32
victories (.875) have been pins.
Ranked second nationally in Division 3, Malo was 39-2 in 2008-09, which included 24 pins, the most in all NCAA divisions last season. Malo’s
28 pins this season breaks the Williams record for pins in a season he set last winter.
An All-American in 2009-10, Malo earned the honor at 197 pounds after
moving up from 184 pounds midway through the season. Currently, Malo’s career record at Williams stands at 68-6 (52 pins).
The sportswriters of The Salem News discuss some of the player of the year candidates at the halfway point, as well as some of the surprises thus far and some bold predictions.
Total time: 22:30
The sportswriters of The Salem News discuss some of the area's teams with strong records, including St. John's Prep (14-0) and Masconomet (11-1) as well as how underdog Marblehead is on track to make the state tourney.
Total time: 11:55
The sportswriters of The Salem News discuss the tournament chance's of various local girls basketball teams, including Bishop Fenwick, Danvers and Masconomet.
Total time: 15:29
You didn’t get a chance to head over to the Reggie Lewis Center to catch the latest state meet? No problem.
Check out “Live” from Reggie Lewis at www.globalathletics.com/rltac/ to watch videos of all the major MSTCA (Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association) events.
Sophomore defenseman Nick Pandalena, known more for dishing out big hits and protecting the front of his own net, threw a shot on goal from the top of the left point that wove its way past past B.C. High goaltender Joe Young with 1:29 to play this afternoon, giving the resurgent St. John’s Prep hockey team a 3-2 triumph in this Catholic Conference clash at Wilmington’s Ristuccia Arena.
The victory, the third straight for the Eagles, puts them at 5-5-1 and gives the team a .500 mark for the first time since they were 1-1 after their opening weekend series in Vermont.
Greg Tremblay (his 3rd of the season) and Sam Kurker (his 4th) added second period goals for the Prep, while captain Colin Blackwell assisted on all three goals.
Sophomore David Letarte earned the win in goal by stopping 23 shots for the Eagles, who now host the state’s top ranked team, Catholic Memorial, Wednesday night in Wilmington (7:20 p.m.).
The 11 locals who play hockey at St. Mary’s of Lynn, unforuntately, won’t be playing in the state tournament.
The Spartans (7-4) will not participate by MIAA rule after five of their players got game misconducts after a fracas broke out during the post-game handshake of a loss to Arlington Catholic Wednesday night.
“The officials did everything they could to break it up,” said St. Mary’s Athletic Director Jeff Newhall in a release. “From our point of view, all of our players share equal blame for our role in the incident … We understand hockey is a contact sport in which emotions run high, but we expect our players to do a much better job controlling those emotions. We support the rules of the MIAA and accept the penalties for breaking them.”
According to the school’s press release, Under MIAA Rule 72.12, any team whose players receive a total of three game misconduct penalties over the course of the season is ineligible for the MIAA tournament. Rule 72.14 states that any team getting more than four game misconduct penalties collectively must forfeit one game.
That game will give Gloucester an automatic win and two crucial points as the Fishermen look to make a return to the postseason in Division 2 North. The five Spartans in question will serve two-game suspensions after that.
St. Mary’s does have the option to appeal the postseason ban, something Head of School Dr. Raymond A. Bastarache says the school will re-visit at the end of the year if the season is completed without another incident, according to the release.
