WHS Sports Roundup

Vikings Knock Off Masco To Move Into First Place in Nec; Ranked 2nd in D-4

A chilly Saturday afternoon in January, a packed house at Larsen Rink, and a key contest with a Northeastern Conference (NEC) rival — those have been the typical ingredients that have been the hallmarks of the Winthrop High hockey program for the past five decades — and they once again were the recipe for coach Dale Dunbar and his Viking crew in their contest with Masconomet this past Saturday in which Winthrop knocked off the Chieftains in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 victory in overtime before a boisterous, standing-room-only crowd at Larsen Rink.

Although Masco has only been a member of the NEC for a few years, the Vikings and the Chieftains have developed a fierce rivalry which once again was on display Saturday from the opening face-off.

Winthrop opened the scoring on its first power play goal of the afternoon in the opening period, with Jackson Andy lighting the lamp, assisted by captains Jack Hayes & Petey Silverman, giving the Vikings a 1-0 edge in a hard-skating and physical 15 minutes.

Masconomet struck quickly to start the second period, scoring two goals within three minutes to take a 2-1 lead, but assistant captain Billy Hayes, assisted by Phil Boncore, brought the Vikings back even with a power play goal from the point with less than five minutes to go in the period.

With the teams level at 2-2 entering the final period, the large crowd was expectant of a dramatic finish and they were not disappointed.

Both teams played in a version of “Fast and Furious,” with plenty of opportunities at both ends, but it was Masco that seized the initiative to grab a 3-2 advantage. However, with less than two minutes to go in regulation, Billy Hayes found the back of the Chieftain net with another shot from the point, assisted by fellow defenseman Hunter Fife and Jack Hayes, sending the contest into OT deadlocked at 3-3.

The overtime rules call for the teams to play 4-on-4 for the five-minute OT session, which all but ensures that the action will be freewheeling with plenty of chances to break the tie, and that also tests the conditioning of the skaters.

The Vikings certainly had their opportunities, but it was captain Silverman, assisted by Billy Hayes, who finally broke past the Masco defense to score the game-winner, much to the delight of the jubilant Viking faithful.

WHS goalie Nico Babine turned in another solid performance in the net, especially in the third period and OT.

Dunbar’s Vikings now stand alone atop the North Division of the NEC with a record of 4-0-1 (8-2-1 overall), with Masco in second place with a 4-2 mark and Glocuester in third at 3-1-1.

Winthrop was set to play at non-league rival Medford last night (Wednesday) and will journey to Endicott College Saturday afternoon for a 5:30 face-off with NEC South for Beverly.

The Vikings, who are ranked second in Division 4 in the MIAA Power Rankings, return home next Wednesday evening for a big NEC battle with Danvers at 6:10. Winthrop edged the Falcons, who are 3-4 in the NEC North, in overtime in their first meeting in mid-December.

Boys Hockey Team Blanks Stoneham, Wins Chiulli/Macero Cup

The Winthrop High boys hockey team blanked non-league opponent Stoneham, 4-0, last Wednesday to bring home the first annual Lou Chiulli/John Macero Cup.

The Vikings grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period on a power play goal by captain Jack Hayes, who was assisted by fellow capt. Petey Silverman and Mike Holgersen.

Winthrop made it 2-0 in the middle stanza when junior Glen Calla made a nice move to the net on which freshman Phil Boncore assisted.

Another Viking freshman, Nick Romano, lit the lamp in the third period, assisted by Silverman, who then applied the coup de grace with an open net goal for the 4-0 finale.

Senior goalie Nico Babine earned the shutout with another solid effort between the pipes.

WHS Girls Top Revere, Marblehead; Ranked 11th in D-4

The Winthrop High girls basketball team enjoyed a 2-0 week with victories over non-league rival Revere and Northeastern Conference (NEC) foe Marblehead.

The Lady Vikings hosted Revere last Friday and cruised to a 47-27 triumph. Winthrop went up 25-9 at half and never looked back.

“We came out very strong defensively, just causing havoc, which led to easy offense,” said WHS head coach Anthony Hatzisavas.

Reese Brodin had what Hatzisavas termed “her best game of the season” with 20 points. “Reese did it all, hitting a couple of three-pointers and also leading the fast break, which started on the defensive end with three steals,” said the coach.

Hatzisavas also praised the all-around performance of Maddie Stiglets.

“Although Maddie had a tough night shooting the ball — she still scored seven points — but she does so much for us,” said Hatzisavas, noting Stiglets’s powerful stat line of 11 rebounds and seven steals.

Sophia Lindinger came off the bench to make a nice contribution, hitting a pair of three-pointers for six points.

This past Tuesday, Hatzisavas and his crew trekked up the coast to Marblehead and came home with a hard-fought, 54-44 triumph.

“Marblehead is a very well-coached team and is not an easy place to travel to play,” said Hatzisavas. “They wanted to slow the game down and they did that in the first half.”

Though the Lady Vikings found themselves trailing at the intermission,  24-21, they came out firing on all cylinders to start the third period, outscoring the Lady Magicians 17-7 in the eight-minute stretch to move out to a 38-31 advantage entering the final period, from where they never looked back.

“It was a total team effort and started on the defensive end,” said Hatzisavas. “Maddie was able to step up in the second half and had the offensive game we are used to, scoring 13 of her 16 points in the second half, which really ignited the team.”

Kaylee Farrell had another strong game, scoring 14 points and pulling down seven rebounds, while Grace Fleuriel achieved a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards.

“Grace and Kaylee have been so big for us underneath, where they give any team a tough matchup every night,” noted Hatzisavas.

“Zoey Bogusz also had a great game,” continued the coach. “She was very active on defense and always finds the soft spot against the zone with her terrific passing.”

Brodin made a nice contribution at both ends, dishing out six assists, making four steals, and blocking two shots to go with her four points.

“We have a team where it’s not always going to be the same leading scorer every night,” said Hatzisavas. “We have different girls stepping up in different ways and it’s really fun to watch, not just to coach.”

The Lady Vikings, who now stand at 5-2 in the NEC and 6-7 overall, are ranked 11th in  the D-4 power rankings as they head into the final third of the regular season.

Winthrop travels to Saugus tomorrow (Friday) for a huge NEC game and then will trek to St. Mary’s of Lynn Monday.

They will return home to host Gloucester next Tuesday.

WHS Gymnasts Top Beverly, 132.35-127.8

The Winthrop High gymnastics team earned its second victory of the season with a 132.35-127.8 victory over Beverly this past Sunday morning at the Winthrop Gymnastics Academy.

The Vikings started the competition on the uneven bars with Brooklyn Banfield up first.

“Brooklyn did a nice routine, starting us off on the right foot,” said WHS co-coach Christa Vaccaro.

Captain Shannon Abbott followed with a clean routine, scoring a 6.55. Junior captain Ellie O’Donnell, third in the line-up, scored a 7.55. Zoe Rey and Isabella Rice tied with a 7.3, leaving senior Captain Alayna Ronan, who was last up, taking first-place in the event with a 7.8.

The score at the end of the first event left Winthrop with a slight edge over the Panthers, 29.85-29.05.

The next event, the balance beam, didn’t go as planned for the Vikings, but Beverly had the same problem fighting to stay on the beam. The final event tally had Winthrop taking a slight advantage, 33.9-32.5.

The vault turned out to be a better event for the Vikings with Jillian Buonopane leading the way with a stuck handspring. Banfield followed with a great second vault, scoring a 7.85.

Abbott performed her handspring and stuck her first of two, scoring an 8.1. Julia Hurley added a half twist in the beginning and finished with another half twist at the end, making her vault a degree higher in difficulty. Julia finished with an 8.5 and second place behind senior Alayna Ronan.

Rice added a full twist to her vault and scored 8.05 for third place, giving Winthrop a slight edge in the vault, 33.25-32.45.

The last event, the floor exercise, has been a bright spot for the Vikings this season. Buonopane and Hurley tied with a score of 8.2, followed by Abbott and Rey tying with an 8.6. Ronan scored an 8.85 for third place and O’Donnel hit her routine for a season-high of 8.9.

But the show belonged to sophomore Isabella Rice, who added a full twisting back layout to score the only 9.0 in the competition.

When the final score was tallied, Winthrop won the meet, 132.35-127.8.

WHS Gymnasts Do Well vs. Hamilton-Wenham

The Winthrop gymnasts made the long trek to Wenham last Thursday night for a meet with Hamilton-Wenham. Although the Viking crew of co-coaches Pete Gobiel and Christa Vaccaro performed well, they came up short to the host Generals.

The Vikings started on uneven bars with Brooklyn Banfield scoring a 6.4. Junior captain Shannon Abbott hit her routine scoring a 6.9. Captain Ellie O’Donnell, who has been a consistent performer, all season scored a 7.1.

Freshman Zoe Rey, with her signature back uprise to freehip, took third place, scoring a 7.3. Isabella Rice pushed through her routine scoring a 7.5. Senior captain Alayna Ronan took first place with her swinging flyaway, scoring an 8.0.

However, after the first event, the Vikings trailed 32.2-29.9.

The next event, the vault, proved to be a challenge for the Vikings, with a runway at the H-W facility totaling just 53 feet in length, compared to the standard runway of 80 feet in length.

Banfield was the first competitor for Winthrop and handled the short runway, scoring a 7.9. Abbott adjusted well on her second vault, earning an 8.25. Sophomore Julia Hurley, after crashing into the wall during warmups, also adjusted and hit her vault for an 8.6 and third place.

All-around Isabella Rice flew past her landing, rolling off the mat, but after talking to coach Christa Vaccaro, hit her second vault with an 8.7. Captain Alayna Ronan hit her twisting vault, scoring a season-high 9.05.

However, despite the strong performance by Winthrop, Hamitlon-Wenham outpointed the Vikings, 36.6-34.6.

The Vikings needed a strong showing on the balance beam to get back into the competition. Jillian Buonopane was first for Winthrop and did a great routine. Freshman Zoe Rey kept the ball rolling, doing a solid routine for a 7.9.

Ride and Ronan tied with an 8.6 for second place.

But it was the beam routine of the season turned in by Captain Ellie O’Donnell that will be talked about for a while, said WHS coach Peter Gobiel.

Ellie put together her best performance of the season, taking first place and scoring her personal best with a score of 9.1. Thanks to O’Donnell’s strong effort, the final beam tally gave Winthrop a slight edge, 34.95-34.25.

The last event, the floor exercise, also proved to be a challenge, with three of the walls touching the edge of the floormat. The Vikings one again were forced to adjust their routines during warmups and met the challenge.

Buonpane started Wimthrop off with a nice routine, scoring a 7.6, her personal best. Hurley and Rice tied with a 7.8.  Next in the lineup was Rey, performing a front step-out into two front somersaults, scoring well with an 8.0.

Last up for the Vikings was Ronan, hitting her new floor routine with an 8.6.

However, it was not enough to overtake the Generals, who prevailed by a final score of 137.15-131.8.

Boys Basketball Falls to Marblehead

An underdog Winthrop High boys basketball team put up a valiant effort against a strong Marblehead squad, but came up short by a score of 75-56 Tuesday evening in a contest at Winthrop High.

Viking captain Zach Bogusz topped the Viking scoring column with 19 points. Teammates George Galuris (12 points) and Jeremy Matias (11 points) also reached double figures.

“It was a tough night for us,” said WHS head coach Mike Triant of the battle with the Magicians, who sport a 7-2 record. “We fought until the end, but couldn’t get it any closer than 15. But it’s back to work tomorrow.”

Triant and his crew, who now stand at 5-8 on the season and are ranked 30th in the MIAA Division 4 power rankings, will make the long trek to Gloucester next Tuesday. 

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